"Babe, what are you doing here?"
Penny, Grace, Nina, and Ginnie froze when Lily was suddenly pulled away from their group. Despite the loud music blaring through the bar, they heard the man’s voice. Slowly, the ladies turned to where Lily was, catching sight of a man grabbing her arm, causing Lily to nearly stumble.
"What...?" Lily was initially confused, but the moment she saw the face of the man holding her arm, her eyes widened. "Aiden?"
The man, Aiden, pressed his lips together as his expression soured at the sight of her. His eyes trailed down her body, and the veins in his forehead protruded.
"Lily, what the hell are you doing here... dressed like that—"
Before he could finish, Lily aggressively yanked her arm away. "What the hell are you doing here?!" she snapped, immediately drawing the attention of people around them. "The nerve for you to show up in front of me—hah!"
"Don’t you call me that!" she warned, pointing a finger at him, nearly touching his chest. "You and I... we’re over, and that’s not my fault. I’ll pretend I didn’t see you, so you better leave while I’m still asking nicely."
Lily hissed, glaring daggers at him. The sight of this pathetic cheater sobered her up quickly. What a night, indeed. She didn’t want to ruin it for herself or her friends, so she turned to leave, but Aiden grabbed her arm again.
"Lily." Aiden squeezed her arm tighter, making Lily’s face twisted with anger. "Let’s talk, babe. I know I messed up, but we only broke up recently. How can you do this?"
"Do what?" she scoffed. "Go out with my friends? Hah! Yes, we broke up recently, so what? You expect me to cry myself to sleep?"
A spark of clarity flashed in Lily’s eyes. "Aiden, let go of me. Don’t make me ask again."
They stared at each other, but Aiden didn’t release her. If anything, his grip tightened.
"No," he said. "We’re going to talk tonight, and we’re going to fix this."
"No!" Lily yelled, trying to pull her arm free, but he didn’t budge. "I said, let me go!"
"Hey!" Ginnie jumped in, grabbing Aiden’s arm. "What the hell is wrong with you? My friend said let her go! Even human trash like you should understand basic human language!"
Aiden glared at Ginnie. "Who the hell are you?"
"Ginnie, stay out of it," Lily shouted, before turning her fury back on Aiden. "Aiden, I’m warning you. Let me go, or you’ll regret it."
"I’m not letting you go until we talk."
"No! I don’t want to talk!" Lily screamed, struggling harder to break free. Even though she was more sober now, Aiden was still stronger.
Grace, who had been watching the situation, rose from her stool and tapped Penny on the shoulder. "I’ll try to calm things down," she said softly. "Stay here, don’t get involved, and keep an eye on Nina."
Penny opened her mouth to argue, but Grace was already walking toward the confrontation. Penny bit her lip in frustration, glancing at Nina, who seemed to have fallen asleep on her shoulder.
"Nina, don’t fall asleep yet," Penny muttered, shifting to keep Nina from slipping off the stool.
"Penny... you’re so soft... you used to be such a cutie... I wanted to pinch your cheeks back then..." Nina mumbled, her weight leaning heavily on Penny.
"Ah, Nina!" Penny clenched her teeth, repositioning herself to prevent Nina from falling.
Meanwhile, Lily continued to yell, swinging her arm in a futile attempt to free herself. Ginnie tugged at Aiden’s arm, trying to help.
"What’s wrong with you?!" Ginnie shouted. "She said to let her go! Don’t you know what respect is?"
"If she wants respect, she shouldn’t be here dressed like that!" Aiden retorted, his logic so twisted it left both Lily and Ginnie momentarily speechless.
"What did you just say?" Lily gasped in disbelief. "Oh, my god! I can’t believe I thought I was going to marry you. Thank goodness I found out who you really are."
"Don’t you dare call me that!" Lily screamed, her eyes blazing. "Why won’t you listen to me? All I want is for you to let me go! Help! This guy is harassing me!"
Aiden clenched his teeth, glaring at the gathering crowd. "She’s delusional and causing trouble. I’m just trying to take her home. Please don’t listen to her."
"Are you insane?!" Lily yelled, her voice growing louder. "Let me go!"
"Let her go!" Ginnie echoed, pulling harder at Aiden’s arm.
Grace finally reached the group, navigating through the crowd that had gathered around them. She straightened up, forcing herself to sober up quickly.
"Even if she were delusional and a troublemaker," Grace said coolly, "when someone asks you to let them go, you let them go." She placed a hand on Ginnie’s shoulder. "Ginnie, ease up."
"I’m not letting him go until he lets her go," Ginnie replied, unbending in her stance.
Grace nodded in understanding. She turned to Aiden. "Mister, don’t worry about Lily. I’m her friend, and I’m also her lawyer. I’ll make sure she gets home safe."
Lily raised her chin, glaring at Aiden defiantly. Ginnie nodded in agreement with Grace’s calm approach. It was clear Aiden had been twisting the truth, and the crowd had been hesitant to intervene. But now, with Grace’s professional demeanor, Aiden had no more excuses.
"Ginnie," Grace called, and this time Ginnie released Aiden’s arm. Grace reached out to help free Lily. However, just as her hand closed in, Aiden suddenly released Lily and flung his arm back, knocking Grace off balance.
Aiden’s swing hit Grace’s shoulder, sending both her and Ginnie stumbling to the floor. He quickly grabbed Lily again, glaring at the two women, whom he believed were poisoning Lily’s mind.
"Lawyer?" he scoffed. "I know my wife’s lawyer, and they all gave up on her. But I’m taking my fiancée home tonight!"
With that, Aiden began dragging Lily away as she screamed and struggled to break free.