♡ Chapter 1.7 ♡

The game continued, the atmosphere growing livelier with each turn.

The bottle spun again, gliding across the floor before finally stopping on a guy named Mark.

"Ohhh, Mark!" Gina cheered, clapping her hands.

Mark groaned, shaking his head. "Why do I feel like I'm about to regret this?"

Danny, grinning like a devil, leaned forward. "Truth or dare?"

Mark sighed. "Dare."

The group erupted into laughter and cheers.

Danny smirked, rubbing his hands together. "Alright, since you chose dare… I dare you to go to the bar outside, find the most serious-looking stranger, and tell them they're the love of your life."

More laughter followed as Mark groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You're evil."

"Go on!" Gina teased. "No backing out now!"

Mark stood up dramatically, pointing a finger at Danny. "If I get kicked out, you're paying my bill."

Danny only cackled. "Deal."

As Mark stepped out of the private room, the group continued chatting, drinking, and reminiscing about old times.

Charlotte, sitting next to Jade, leaned in with a teasing smile. "See? This is fun, right?"

Jade nodded, forcing a soft chuckle. "Yeah… it is."

And for a moment, she almost believed it.

But then, the bottle was spun again.

And this time… it stopped on Damien.

The air shifted instantly.

Charlotte gasped playfully. "Finally! Damien, you're up!"

Jade's fingers clenched slightly around her drink. She kept her face neutral.

Danny, never one to miss a moment of chaos, grinned. "Truth or dare?"

Damien sat back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, completely unbothered. His dark eyes flickered toward the spinning bottle, then back at Danny.

"Dare."

The group cheered.

Danny leaned forward, his smirk widening. "Alright then… I dare you to kiss someone in this room."

The room erupted into whistles and playful shouts.

Jade felt her heart stop.

Jade kept her face composed, sipping her drink as if she wasn't affected. As if her heart wasn't pounding in her chest.

She refused to look at him.

She refused to care.

But then Damien moved.

Slowly.

Jade felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.

Her heart pounded so hard against her chest, it hurt.

"Damn! Danny, you gave him an easy dare! You forgot he has a fiancée!" one of their classmates teased, laughter rippling through the room.

Jade's fingers tightened around her drink, her knuckles turning white.

And then… he moved.

Damien stood up from his seat, his tall figure casting a shadow over the dimly lit room.

Jade stopped breathing.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She watched paralyzed as he walked forward. Every step he took felt heavy, like it was pulling her deeper into something she wasn't ready to face.

Her breath hitched.

For a fleeting second, she thought… he was walking towards her.

Her hands trembled slightly, her body tensed.

But just as she lowered her head, pretending to be indifferent—

He walked past her.

Jade froze.

She didn't turn. She didn't look. She didn't need to.

Because she already knew where he was going.

She heard the soft rustle of movement.

And then he kissed Charlotte.

Right in front of her.

He cupped Charlotte's face, his fingers tilting her chin upward, deepening the kiss like no one else was in the room.

The entire group erupted into cheers and whistles.

Someone clapped. Someone hooted.

And Jade's mind went blank.

Her vision blurred.

She couldn't control it.

She tried. God, she tried.

Tried to steady her breathing.

Tried to pretend it didn't affect her.

Tried to swallow the ache clawing its way through her chest.

But her hands were shaking.

Her fingers curled into her lap, gripping the fabric of her dress so tightly it might tear.

Because it hurt.

It hurt more than she thought it would.

And worst of all he knew.

Damien knew exactly what he was doing.

And he did it anyway.

"Alright! Let's move the game along! That was way too easy for him." Danny groaned, shaking his head.

Laughter filled the private room as Damien returned to his seat, a smug look barely concealed behind his unreadable expression.

Jade, however, sat still. Her hands curled around her glass, her breathing slow and controlled. She wouldn't let herself break. Not here. Not now.

The bottle spun again, landing on different people, each round filled with ridiculous dares and embarrassing truths. Laughter, teasing, playful shouts—it was all background noise to her.

And then, the bottle spun again.

And this time… it stopped in front of her.

Jade's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, finally!!!" Charlotte shouted excitedly, clapping her hands.

Jade forced a small smile, masking the storm brewing inside her. She had a bad feeling about this.

Charlotte leaned toward her with playful eagerness. "Tell us, Jade baby! Truth or dare?"

Jade hesitated.

She could feel multiple sets of eyes on her. The energy in the room shifted slightly, everyone curious, waiting for her answer.

If she picked dare, she wasn't sure what she would be forced to do.

If she picked truth… she had no idea what kind of question they would throw at her.

She inhaled slowly, keeping her voice steady. "Truth."

"Oooooh!" Gina and Danny whistled in unison.

Charlotte grinned. "Alright! Tell us… have you ever had a crush? Or been in love? Because we've never seen you with any guy!"

Jade froze.

The smile on her lips didn't fade, but internally—her chest tightened like a fist had wrapped around her heart.

Charlotte's words felt like a knife twisting inside her, deeper than anyone in this room could ever understand.

Love?

She had been in love.

So deeply, so stupidly in love.

With a man who only used her.

With the man who was now sitting across from her, pretending like she had never mattered.

She could still feel his lips on Charlotte, the way he had kissed her so effortlessly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

She couldn't answer this.

She refused to.

So, without hesitation, Jade grabbed the shot glass in front of her, tilted her head back, and downed the drink in one go.

The burn of alcohol trailed down her throat, but it was nothing compared to the fire inside her chest.

"Ah, come on!" Danny groaned. "Jade is so secretive about her love life. This isn't fair!"

"You're hiding something, Jade! Spill!" Gina added, nudging her playfully.

But Jade just smiled.

A soft, unreadable smile.

The kind of smile that kept everyone at a distance. The kind that hid a thousand emotions underneath.

And even as the conversation moved forward, even as laughter filled the air again, she felt it.

A deep, burning gaze.

Watching her.

Damien.

She could feel his eyes on her, intense, sharp, heavy.

But she didn't look back.

Because if she did… she wasn't sure what she would see in them.