I Got Revenge When They Drew The Same Room Key Chapter 02

I Got Revenge When They Drew The Same Room Key Chapter 02

Chloe caught herself a second too late, her hand flying to her mouth.

“Hazel, I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I only said it because I care about you.”

Her voice cracked, and the tears came right on cue.

Julian stepped in front of her.

“Enough.”

The way he looked at me, I barely recognized him.

“Hazel, apologize.”

For a second, I thought I’d misheard him.

“What did you say?”

He said it again, slower this time, like I was the problem.

“Apologize to Chloe.”

“She was only trying to look out for you, and this is how you treat her?”

Something inside me finally went numb. I smiled.

“Okay.”

Julian’s face relaxed. He thought he’d won.

But I wasn’t looking at him. I turned to Chloe.

“Chloe.”

“Tonight, he’s all yours. Take good care of him for me.”

Her whole face froze.

I looked at Julian again.

“And that apology?”

“We can talk about that after we get our marriage license tomorrow-if we even make it there.”

Julian’s expression darkened.

“Hazel, what do you mean?”

I waved the keycard.

“A deal’s a deal, right?”

“I should go find my room.”

I turned and walked out.

Behind me, Julian shot to his feet.

“Hazel!”

“If you walk out that door to go find Nathaniel, don’t bother showing up at the courthouse tomorrow.”

I stopped.

Something sharp flickered through my chest.

But it was gone just as fast, leaving me completely numb.

I turned around and smiled at him.

“Perfect.”

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to anyway.”

I hadn’t made it three steps past the door before the laughter started up again.

Someone dropped their voice, but not nearly enough.

“Julian, you’ve really gotta do something about that girl’s attitude.”

“You’re getting married tomorrow and she’s threatening to call it off? Please.”

“Relax. She’s not going anywhere. Everyone knows the Sterlings are struggling. What choice does she have?”

The whole room laughed.

Julian didn’t come after me.

I stood at the end of the hallway, Nathaniel’s keycard digging into my palm, and memories I’d buried for years started flooding back.

Julian wasn’t always like this.

The year my family went bankrupt, he took me to my first dinner party with his high-society circle.

Someone placed me far away from everyone else.

Halfway through dinner, someone smiled and said:

“The Sterlings are going through hard times, and she still shows up to events like this?”

Everyone at the table laughed.

I gripped the hem of my skirt, my face burning.

Julian set his glass down so hard the table shook.

“Wherever Hazel sits, that’s where she belongs.”

Then he got up from the head of the table and sat down next to me.

That night, he draped his jacket over my shoulders, shielding me from every mocking stare in the room.

I fell for it completely. For him, for the way he loved me.

I believed he’d always love me. That he’d always keep me safe.

I was the one who brought Chloe into that world.

Her first time at the Westwood Country Club, her hands were shaking with nerves.

She clung to my arm and whispered:

“Hazel, everyone here is so intimidating.”

“What if I embarrass you?”

I smiled and straightened her dress.

“Don’t be silly.”

“You’re with me.”

“No one will dare look down on you.”

The dress she wore that night was mine.

I was the one who brought her to that auction.

I introduced her to everyone I knew.

Julian warned me once.

“Hazel, these people aren’t as nice as you think.”

“Don’t be so quick to trust people.”

I thought he was looking out for me.

“Chloe isn’t just anyone.”

“She’s my best friend.”

He didn’t say anything after that.

But somewhere along the way, everything shifted.

The way he looked at Chloe had changed.