"Then there's even less reason to rush. Let them fight for a bit, use up some energy. It'll be easier for you to break it up when you get there."
Her eyes went wide. She could hardly believe her ears.
'Is he even human?'
***
By the time Annelise Valentine arrived at The Empyrean Palace, Ezra Quinn and his crew were slumped against the wall in a disorderly heap, bruised, swollen, and groaning in agony.
Ezra Quinn, at the center of it all, was in the worst shape. His face was a swollen mess, and he kept sucking in sharp breaths of pain.
Grimacing, Ezra Quinn snarled threats at Zane Patterson. "Zane Patterson, you motherfucker… You dare hit me? Just you fucking wait! This isn't over! The Quinn Family… will not let you off!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he seemed to pull on an injury and let out a whimper of pain. A classic case of being all talk—he couldn't win the fight, but he still had to win the war of words.
Zane Patterson stood over him, head slightly bowed, the back of his hand still smeared with blood. At Ezra Quinn's shouts, the vicious aura around him threatened to erupt once more.
When Chloe Fairchild saw Annelise appear, it was like seeing a savior.
"Annelise, you're finally here! If they keep fighting, Ezra Quinn is going to be seriously messed up! Zane's drunk and seeing red; nothing's getting through to him. Go try and talk some sense into him."
Annelise's heart clenched. The instant Zane's fist was about to crash into Ezra Quinn's face again, she cried out,
"Zane!"
At the sound of her voice, Zane's fist faltered, freezing in place as if he'd been abruptly pulled back to reality.
"Annelise…?" he stammered her name.
Seeing that Zane had stopped, Ezra Quinn's cowardly, face-saving bravado returned.
"Go on! Fuck! Why'd you stop?! Weren't you so tough a second ago?! If you've got the balls, kill me right here, today! Zane Patterson, you coward! You worthless piece of shit! You're nothing but Annelise Valentine's fucking lapdog! If you don't kill me today, I'll be the one looking down on you!"
Seeing Zane's rage ignite again, Annelise didn't hesitate. She quickly stepped between him and Ezra Quinn, blocking Zane from striking again.
"What are you just standing there for?!" she yelled at the manager of The Empyrean Palace, who was lingering nearby, too scared to step forward. "Hurry up and get some people to carry them out of here! Take them to the hospital, now!"
"Yes, yes! Miss Valentine! Right away! Right away!"
Only then did the nearby waiters and security guards rush over in a flurry, hauling Ezra Quinn and his friends away.
Once the hallway fell silent, Annelise turned to Zane and asked worriedly, "Zane, why did you drink so much?"
Zane gazed at her, his eyes filled with love. He wanted to tell her everything he'd kept hidden in his heart for so many years. He wanted to tell her he didn't want to be just her good friend anymore.
"Annelise, I…" Zane's throat worked as he seemed to search for the right words.
"Ahem! Annelise! Zane's had too much to drink. Let's take him to the sofa over there to sober up." Chloe Fairchild, quick on the uptake, knew from one look at Zane's eyes that this was bad news. 'This atmosphere, this posture, this look of wanting to speak but holding back… isn't it obvious he's about to confess?!'
She shot forward and pulled Zane back.
Sean Conrad reacted a moment later, quickly grabbing Zane's other arm. He worked with Chloe to pull the man back. "Yeah, yeah, Zane, let's slow down, let's just slow down!"
Chloe and Sean were breaking out in a cold sweat.
Jett Westgate was standing off to the side, seemingly calm, but there was something utterly terrifying about his expression.
'If Zane confesses to Annelise in front of Jett Westgate, that's a declaration of war!'
'In Zane's current state, he'd get destroyed if he went head-to-head with Jett Westgate!'
The two worked in perfect sync. Dragging and pulling, they moved so fast they were practically a blur as they manhandled the would-be confessor, Zane, over to the lobby's sofa area.
The alcohol, combined with his emotional turmoil and complete exhaustion, was hitting Zane hard. He was practically unconscious.
Jett Westgate, who had been standing silently to the side, wrapped an arm around Annelise's shoulder. In a lazy tone tinged with a hint of a pout, he leaned close and whispered in her ear,
"Baby, I'm tired. I want to go home."
Annelise, who was worried about Zane, jumped when Jett suddenly wrapped his arm around her.
She whipped her head around, glaring at him in disbelief. "Tired? What are you tired from?! You haven't moved a muscle!"
"Standing still is exhausting. Besides, watching the drama unfold took a lot of energy."
His absurd reasoning and sheer audacity once again redefined shamelessness for Annelise.
She tried to shrug off his arm but discovered that while his hold seemed casual, it was deceptively strong.
She was worried about Zane, and she also wanted to know why he had gotten into a fight with Ezra Quinn. She didn't want to leave; she wanted to stay with Zane, Chloe, and the others.
Annelise stated her position clearly. "If you're tired, go home ahead of me. I can't. I haven't figured out what happened tonight, and I need to find out!"
Jett's eyes darkened at her words, and he took half a step toward her.
"You're that worried about him?"
"He's my friend, of course I'm worried! Is there a problem with that?"
Jett, however, seemed to take this as an incredibly dismissive answer. He couldn't be bothered to argue. Just as Annelise was about to say more, he swept her up into his arms, princess-style.
"We're going home."
He ignored her kicking and furious protests, striding out the door with her in his arms.
Chloe and Sean saw this and moved to intervene, but they were stopped dead by a single glance from Jett. His presence was so overwhelming that neither dared to take another step.
Once again, Annelise found herself being forced into his car. She was furious and felt utterly wronged, her eyes welling up.
'This man is nothing but an unreasonable brute!'
***
By the time they returned to Valentine Manor, it was nearly midnight.
Both sets of parents had stayed behind at The Valentine Ancestral Home. They said that since it had been years since the old friends had seen each other, they wanted to catch up, play some cards with the old master, and reminisce.
As a result, Valentine Manor was exceptionally quiet that night.
Jett's bedroom had been arranged in the guest room next to Annelise's master suite. The intention couldn't have been more obvious—they might as well have spelled it out in giant letters on the doorframe.
Jett escorted her forcibly to her bedroom door. He made no move to get closer, simply leaning against the doorframe and murmuring in a soft, alluring voice:
"Baby,"
"Get some rest,"
"Good night."
Then he thoughtfully closed the door for her.
Annelise ran a hand through her hair in frustration, then threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.
***
「1:30 AM」
Annelise crept out of bed, changed into a set of casual clothes, and tied her long hair into a practical ponytail.
Then, she crept to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening for any noise from outside.
Dead silence.
'But she knew someone like Jett Westgate had to be extremely alert. And with his room right next door, opening her door would almost certainly wake him.'