Chapter 130 Picking the Wrong Team

Chapter 130 Picking the Wrong Team
"Still, Alexander is better! All these years of brotherhood..." Jackson began, his voice tinged with hope.

"That big pair of bunny ears, don't forget to put them on him." Before Jackson could finish, Alexander cut him off, his voice coolly amused.

"All these years of brotherhood, has finally grown thin." Nick held back his laughter, looking up at Jackson while solemnly completing his unfinished sentence.

To avoid becoming collateral damage themselves, Nick and Bill didn't waste a second. They immediately started removing items from the box, dressing Jackson in everything that could possibly be worn. Soon, Jackson was dangling from the clothes rack with an expression of utter despair.

Gabriel turned to look at Jasmine, who was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. "Suddenly, Jasmine seems so gentle and sweet," he commented thoughtfully.

I shot him a sideways glance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Gabriel gave a nervous laugh, quickly covering his tracks. "Sorry, I was just distracted by Jasmine sleeping. What's happening over here?"

The hotel room door was knocked on again. Megan stumbled in, still slightly tipsy from the wedding reception. When she wandered onto the balcony and saw Jackson hanging there, her eyes instantly widened.

"HAHAHAHA!!!" she burst into hysterical laughter. "I thought those photos in the group chat were Photoshopped!"

She wiped tears from her eyes. "Jackson, looks like the stuff you personally selected ended up on you after all! Talk about karma!"

Jackson looked at her with a mixture of betrayal and resignation. "Megan... whose side are you on?"

"I'd like to be on your side, but you brought this on yourself!" Megan replied, then turned to me. "Emma, I need to report something. He insisted on buying all this stuff and tried to pin it on me and Jasmine!"

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. "Why would he do that?"

"He said if it was credited to me and Jasmine, he wouldn't get beaten up!" Megan blurted out.

Jackson looked like he wanted to die right then and there.

"Jackson, you're quite considerate," Nick chimed in with a smirk. "I noticed there are more men's items than women's in there. Were you preparing this for Alexander?"

In the next moment, Jackson felt Alexander's eyes drilling into him.

Eventually, Gabriel stepped in to plead for Jackson's mercy, and I finally relented. When the clothes rack was lowered and Jackson's feet touched the ground again, he sighed with relief.

"Even ballet dancers don't stay on their toes as long as I just did," he complained.

"Keep talking and Emma might make you perform Swan Lake next," Nick warned him helpfully.

I searched around the room. "Where's the key?"

"Wasn't it just in your hand?" Alexander reminded me.

I sat down in a chair, trying to remember what I'd done with it. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't recall where I'd put the key.

Jackson, still handcuffed to the clothes rack, looked close to a breakdown. "How did you open it earlier?"

Alexander and I both turned to look at Gabriel simultaneously.

Gabriel approached with a wire to help Jackson open the handcuffs, but discovered he couldn't insert it into the lock.

"Oh right, I added some super glue to the keyhole earlier," I said casually, holding up the small bottle for everyone to see.

The entire balcony fell silent.

So silent that we could hear Jasmine turning over in her sleep in the bedroom.



"Jackson Parker?" The firefighter's voice was professional but couldn't completely hide his curiosity as he looked at the man handcuffed, wearing bunny ears, a leather harness, and what appeared to be several other unmentionable items.

We'd all hidden in the adjacent room—Alexander, Nick, Bill, Gabriel, and even Jasmine, whom Gabriel had carried out while she was still asleep. None of us wanted to witness the humiliation up close, but the walls were thin enough that we could hear everything.

"Yes, that's me," Jackson replied, his voice muffled by the face mask he'd insisted on wearing when we called the fire department.

"New York Fire Department. We're here to help you with those handcuffs."

Jackson's voice dropped to a whisper. "Um... how do you know my name?"

"The caller provided that information," the firefighter explained matter-of-factly. "They said you were handcuffed to a hotel balcony clothes rack with pink fuzzy handcuffs and needed assistance."

"They... they were that specific?" Jackson's voice cracked.

"Yes, sir. Now please hold still while we work on these cuffs. The lock appears to be... glued?"

We heard the sound of tools working, and about five minutes later, the firefighter spoke again.

"There you go, Mr. Parker. Be more careful with keys in the future."

After the firefighters left, we waited a full fifteen minutes before casually returning to Jackson's room. He was sitting on the couch, silently smoking a cigarette.

"Emma," he said in a wounded tone, "do we have some kind of blood feud from a past life? You called the fire department and gave them my..."

Jasmine, now awake, tried to hold back her laughter. "You've got it wrong."

"What?" Jackson looked confused.

"I'm the one who told the firefighters about you," Jasmine admitted. "I woke up to find a circle of people standing in the room. They explained what happened, and when the fire department called Emma's phone to confirm, I grabbed it and answered, and then..."

Jackson fell into complete silence, staring into space.

Nick nudged him. "Jackson, why would you think teaming up with these two against Emma was a good idea? What made you think Megan and Jasmine would take your side?"

Jackson's face showed the dawning realization of his strategic error.



It was past one in the morning by the time Alexander and I returned home. I flopped onto our bed, still in my dress.

Alexander emerged from the bathroom. He wore only pajama pants, his chest bare as he approached the bed and promptly positioned himself on top of me.

I placed my hand against his chest to hold him back. "Mr. Sterling... you still have energy for this?"

He leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear. "All the wedding gift money is yours."

I pushed Alexander away and sat up, only to suddenly straddle him a second later.

"I will properly take care of you tonight!"

My hands immediately began working to undo his pajama pants. I'd seen it with my own eyes—Bill and the security team had brought in eleven boxes of cash. Even if I didn't need money, I certainly didn't have anything against it either.

Alexander grabbed my wrists, stopping me. "How exactly do you plan to 'take care' of me?" His eyes darkened with interest.

"I..." I sat on top of him, suddenly drawing a blank. Then Jackson's smirking face flashed through my mind. "Wait right here!"

Alexander's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he watched me jump off the bed and run barefoot out of the room.