Lana Larsen flirtatiously tossed her hair, reached out, and hooked her arm around Adrian Jennings’ elbow to assert her sovereignty: "Are you Miss Rhodes? Hello, I’m Lana Larsen, Adrian’s girlfriend."
Talia lowered her eyelashes, her gaze locked tightly on the spot where Lana Larsen’s hand rested; her heart felt like it had been stabbed by something.
Adrian Jennings stood there, his eyes lowered as his gaze casually swept over the woman’s hand that was hooked onto his arm. He wanted to explain, but couldn’t speak.
Yvonne Coleman couldn’t stand it anymore; she rushed over and tugged Lana Larsen’s hand away, "Get your hand off!"
"If you want to show off your love, get out and do it somewhere else! This is not the place for your public displays!" Yvonne Coleman, her face flushed red with anger and her big eyes flashing, said, "What? Can’t the great Jennings Family Crown Prince afford a room?"
Those words were harsh.
Ryan Quinn was shocked and quickly stepped in as a mediator.
He pulled Yvonne Coleman back, "Alright, alright, calm down. We’re all friends here, let’s not make a scene."
Yvonne Coleman struggled, "Let go of me, don’t hold me back!"
Ryan Quinn held on tightly, desperately winking at Yvonne Coleman.
Lana Larsen wasn’t annoyed. She smiled good-naturedly, softening her tone as she sweetly said to Adrian Jennings, "Adrian, it seems your friends don’t welcome us. Why don’t we go get a room and enjoy our time alone?"
Lana Larsen truly deserved her title as a movie queen; her demeanor perfectly captured the essence of a seemingly innocent manipulator.
Upon hearing this, Talia’s heart sank, her doe-like eyes immediately misting over, her nose tingled with sorrow, and she felt like crying, though she didn’t want to shed tears in front of Adrian Jennings and Lana Larsen.
She stubbornly looked at Adrian Jennings, her voice trembling as she tried to maintain her composure, "Adrian, you must have your reasons, right? Tell me, I can understand; don’t do this, it really hurts... Can we clear things up?"
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Talia’s voice had a sobbing tone, "Didn’t you say that as long as I didn’t bring up breaking up, you’d never leave?"
Adrian Jennings’ dark eyes were as deep and impenetrable as the sea. He curved his lips into a mocking grin, "Miss Rhodes, we’re all adults here. Do you really believe that kind of childish lie?"
The color drained from Talia’s face.
Her eyes were full of pain, her lips moved as if to say something, but no sound came out.
Adrian Jennings was pained by Talia’s expression and couldn’t bear to look at her any longer. He averted his gaze, his voice cold as if tempered by ice and snow, "Miss Rhodes, I’ve made everything clear. Let’s not engage in pointless entanglements; let’s part with some dignity."
Talia seemed like a deflated balloon, her shoulders slumped, and she staggered a few steps to the side, making way at the door.
Winter Donovan worried about Talia, walked quickly over, and gently embraced her, "It’s alright, Talia, you still have us, it’s alright..."
"Adrian Jennings, don’t go too far!" Yvonne Coleman was so enraged she wanted to rush over and hit someone, but Ryan Quinn held her back tightly.
"Yvonne, don’t be impulsive, don’t be impulsive!" Ryan Quinn was beside himself with worry.
Winter Donovan, while comforting Talia, turned to signal to her brother Andrew Donovan.
Andrew Donovan went over and whispered something to Adrian Jennings.
Adrian Jennings left with Lana Larsen.
"I’m so mad, really so mad, they’re too much!" Yvonne Coleman ranted.
Ryan Quinn, holding onto her, felt like he was in over his head.
Suddenly, Yvonne Coleman turned her head to glare at Ryan Quinn.
Ryan Quinn’s heart dropped, sensing trouble.
Sure enough, Yvonne Coleman took out her anger on him, swinging a punch, "You get out too!"
"Great-Aunt, it’s none of my business!" Ryan Quinn felt more wronged than Dou E in folklore.
Yvonne Coleman angrily said, "If you hadn’t meddled and gotten Adrian Jennings here, would this have happened? The whole point today was to comfort Talia, and we didn’t even get started before she got hurt again. Get out, get out, you get out too!"
With that, Yvonne Coleman pushed him out.
Winter Donovan said to her brother Andrew Donovan, "Brother, you should go with Ryan too. Yvonne and I will stay here with Talia; we’ll manage better as us girls."
Andrew Donovan didn’t say anything, just nodded, and then pulled Ryan Quinn to leave.
Adrian Jennings and Lana Larsen walked out of the room, and as soon as the door closed, he shook off the woman’s hand.
Lana Larsen shrugged, unconcerned.
The two reached the elevator.
Lana Larsen absent-mindedly asked, "What are you planning to do next? It seemed like you really hurt your sister-in-law today. How are you going to clean up this mess?"
Adrian Jennings’ lips were set in a straight line, his slender fingers clenched into fists at his side, not answering.
His mind was filled with Talia’s ashen face and wounded eyes.
Uttering those hurtful words, his heart hurt no less than Talia’s.
As long as she didn’t bring up breaking up, he would never leave her.
Back when he said those words, he never thought they’d turn into sarcasm: "Do you really believe that kind of childish lie?"
After the men left, the room quieted down.
Yvonne Coleman opened two bottles of fine red wine from the bar, "Talia, don’t be sad over that jerk, he’s not worth it. Tonight, let’s drink until we drop. You’re so beautiful, and your family is rich, what kind of man can’t you find?"
Yvonne Coleman said as she popped open the bottle, "In this world, the last thing we lack is men! Tomorrow, we girlfriends will hire some models for you, ten of them!"
Talia sat on the sofa, her gaze pained, unable to muster any interest.
After a few glasses of wine, Talia felt a bit dizzy.
This was her first time drinking alcohol.
Yvonne Coleman, holding a wine glass in one hand and her phone in the other, opened her social circle, "Let me tell you, Talia, I’ve got a lot of handsome guys on my list. Look, this one, six-foot-two, with abs, and he’s a college student."
Yvonne Coleman leaned over to show Talia the photo, "How about that, pretty good, right?"
She was just about to say that although this guy wasn’t as good-looking as Adrian Jennings, he was still a campus heartthrob, and more importantly, he was a young college student full of vigor, something that old guy Adrian couldn’t compare with.
But she swallowed her words back.
She couldn’t mention Adrian Jennings.
Talia glanced at the photo on the phone and chuckled dizzily, "This one’s really good."
"Right, right. I’ve got loads more, let me show you." Yvonne Coleman swiped through her phone, "Check out this one, six-foot-three, an athlete, great figure, though his skin’s a bit darker. But that tanned look gives a wild and sexy vibe. Should I recommend him to you?"
Talia was already a little drunk, not able to hold her liquor.
She giggled and said, "Sure!"
The three girls drank and chatted as time quickly passed.
The New Year’s midnight countdown began.
"Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen..."
The three girls held up their glasses, counting down in unison, shouting: "Three, two, one, Happy New Year!"
Brilliant and dazzling fireworks lit up the night sky.
The crowd downstairs was bustling and noisy.
Talia sat cross-legged, barefoot on the cashmere carpet by the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes dreamy as she watched the sky full of fireworks.
A new year had started.
Adrian Jennings, I should say goodbye to you too. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novèlfire.net
A new year, I wish you happiness every day.