The man’s eyes gleamed with confidence, and his tone grew bold.
“As long as I get a taste, that’s enough. Married or not, who cares?” He casually slung an arm around Yvonne’s shoulders, his voice light and teasing. “Don’t play with me. You’ll only break my heart. If you were really married, why would you even come to—”
He didn’t get to finish.
A vice-like grip clamped onto his wrist.
A sharp, agonizing pain shot up his arm, and he cried out, “Ow—!”
Startled, he looked up—and froze.
The man towering over him had eyes like dark steel, and they were filled with a murderous chill. If looks could kill, he would’ve been torn to pieces where he stood.
The pain intensified. The man’s voice trembled as he gasped, “Who the hell are you?! Let me go!”
Yvonne snapped back to herself at the commotion and looked up—only to see Lucas standing protectively between her and the stranger. He had appeared silently, but his presence was impossible to ignore.
“Hubby?” she exclaimed in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
The stranger’s face paled.
“You’re… really married?” he stammered, stunned.
Yvonne gave a helpless little shrug and rubbed her nose awkwardly. “Didn’t I already show you my ring?”
Lucas’s gaze didn’t waver. He was still glaring at the man, his grip unrelenting.
Sensing the tension, Yvonne quickly stepped closer. “It’s fine, hubby. He didn’t do anything to me…”
“Didn’t do anything?” Lucas’s voice was icy. “Where exactly was his hand just now?”
“Oh, come on, it was just a casual touch. Nothing to make a scene over—”
“That’s exactly why I never want you coming to places like this,” he cut her off, voice low and cold, each word like a shard of glass.
Yvonne sucked in a breath.
This wasn’t the time to argue. The last thing she wanted was to cause a bigger scene. So she lowered her voice and softened her expression. “Alright, I get it. I won’t let something like this happen again. Please, just let him go?”
The man’s face was bright red from the pain, sweat beading on his forehead.
Lucas’s jaw tensed. He gave the man’s wrist one final squeeze, enough to drive the warning home, before finally releasing him.
“Scram,” he said with deadly calm.
The man stumbled away without another word, disappearing into the crowd.
Lucas turned his focus back to Yvonne.
His expression was dark, unreadable, but his silence was louder than any outburst. Yvonne’s heart tightened. She could sense what was coming.
Still, she stepped forward and reached for his sleeve.
“I’m sorry, hubby…” she whispered.
Lucas coldly pulled away.
“Don’t call me that.”
The rejection cut deep, and Yvonne instinctively moved to block his path, her eyes full of urgency. “Please listen to me. I only came here to bring Ella out for some fun. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. I really didn’t.”
Lucas didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes drifted toward the stage—and his expression grew more grim.
Yvonne followed his line of sight.
Her stomach dropped.
Weston was there.
He stood on the opposite side of the piano, his posture rigid, his eyes locked onto the woman at the instrument.
Yvonne turned quickly to look at Stella, who was still lost in the music, unaware of the storm that had gathered around her.
A sense of foreboding crawled up Yvonne’s spine.
The melody finally drew to an end. Stella remained immersed in the lingering notes, her fingers resting gently on the keys. She had no idea how mesmerizing she looked in that moment, the music transforming her into someone ethereal.
The man beside her had noticed—and wasn’t hiding his admiration.
Then came the applause.
It was sudden and sharp, snapping her out of her reverie.
Startled, Stella turned toward the sound—and saw Weston.
He was standing a few steps away, his expression unreadable, eyes fixed on her like a storm about to break.
Her heart lurched.
She stood up abruptly, the color draining from her face.
“What’s wrong?” the man beside her asked, concerned by her sudden change.
Stella shook her head quickly. “Excuse me,” she said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “I have something to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”
Without waiting for a response, she stepped away from the piano, her thoughts spinning.
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