William immediately put down his drink and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Is it because you haven’t been resting well these past couple of days?”
Rachel rubbed her nose, still feeling the effects of the smoke lingering in the air. The office had been dusty too, and she had been feeling off for a while now. She coughed a couple times, trying to clear her throat.
Seeing her struggle, William turned toward the group, who were all smoking.
His expression turned serious as he frowned and said, “Rachel’s allergic to smoke. Put those out, now.”
“Yeah, come on, quit it already,” someone else chimed in.
“Who started smoking in the first place?” another person asked.
“Well, I’ll be, look at that. For his wife, the guy’s even quitting smoking. How sweet,” one of the guys teased.
“Who said he’s quit? I saw him smoking just the other day,” someone else retorted.
Caleb gave Zane Nolan a subtle signal, and the latter shrugged nonchalantly.
“What’s the big deal? She can’t hear us anyway. Every time she comes, everyone gets all stiff. Where’s the fun in that?” Zane muttered.
Samuel Lane joined in with a complaint of his own: “Exactly. Only William treats her like she’s made of gold. You can’t even talk to her normally. Every time you speak, you have to use sign language. So much work!”
Caleb couldn’t take it anymore and stepped in to defend Rachel. “Zane, have some respect–for William, if not for Rachel.”
Zane and Samuel both scoffed, but didn’t say anything else.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit gloomy because of Rachel.
Her expression remained cold as she put down the grape she was holding before standing up. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m not feeling well. You all stay and enjoy yourselves. William will stay and keep you company.”
She turned and headed toward the private room’s door. William quickly followed her, and as she opened the door, he grabbed her wrist and signed to her.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
Rachel glanced at the people inside, then calmly brushed off William’s hand that was holding her wrist.
“It’s okay. Today is Caleb’s birthday. You should stay and have fun with them. I’ll just take a taxi home.” She walked over and handed him the carefully wrapped gift. “Happy birthday, Caleb.”
Caleb stared at the beautifully wrapped box, his expression filled with mixed emotions. He raised his hand and signed as he said, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay and hang out a little longer? I’m only here for a short time. I’m leaving in a couple of days.”
Rachel smiled gently. “It’s fine. Who knows, we might run into each other again someday. Enjoy yourself.”
Caleb had always been kind to her, and Rachel appreciated him for it. Out of all of William’s friends, he was the one she felt the least pressure from.
William turned to Zane and the others. “I’ll go see her off. You guys carry on.”
Even though Rachel had already told him to stay and enjoy the evening with his friends, William insisted on accompanying her out. He also called her a taxi himself.
“No, I need to see you get in the car safely. And text me when you get home so I know you’re okay,” he said, his voice filled with
care.
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Rachel just nodded. “Okay.”
She got into the taxi, and as it pulled away, she suddenly felt like she might have left too suddenly. After all, it was Calety’s birthday. Maybe she should send a quick message to explain. But as she reached into her bag to grab her phone, the realized it wasn’t there.
She gasped, realizing she must have left it on the sofa back in the private room.
“Sir, can you turn around?” she asked quickly.
She had the driver head back toward the bar. When she arrived, she was about to enter the private room when she saw through the crack in the door that William was sitting with Samantha.
Her heart sank in an instant, feeling as though it had dropped into an endless void.
So, he had personally seen her off just to prevent her from turning back, and then gone to pick up Samantha
Inside, the group was laughing, clearly caught up in some game.
“He got it! He got it! Only William could pull that off,” someone cheered.
Rachel’s eyes locked onto the scene inside, her chest tightening with every passing second. Samantha had a card stuck to her lips, and William leaned in to bite it off. The way they looked at each other, the closeness–it seemed like a kiss from where Rachel stood.
Her heart twisted painfully. Every breath felt like a stab in her chest. The card slipped between the two of them and fell, signaling the end of the game. It seemed like William’s team had lost.
Zane raised his glass and teased, “You guys lost, time for a penalty! Three shots each!”
Samantha’s face flushed bright red, her eyes full of embarrassment, the kind of look that made people want to protect her. She reached for the glass, but William gently stopped her.
“She’s allergic to alcohol. I’ll take her share,” he said without hesitation.
With a quiet confidence, William downed all six shots that had been set aside for them. Samantha’s face was full of worry as she reached for him, pulling on his sleeve.
“Zane, don’t make it hard on him. I can drink,” she said.
Zane clicked his tongue. “What, it’s only a few drinks, and you’re already worried ab
him?”
William smiled at Samantha, his voice gentle. “It’s fine. If I get drunk, you can take care of me.”
His words made Samantha blush even more.
At the door, Rachel stood frozen, her fingers clenching tightly, then slowly loosening. Every second felt like it was tearing her
apart.
The scene before Rachel felt strangely familiar. It reminded her of the night after graduation, when everyone in the class was facing their futures, unsure of where they were all headed. It was the last time they would be gathered together before stepping out into the world.
That night, everyone released the pressure they had been holding in. Some confessed their hidden feelings to people they liked, while others made their final farewell to their school days.
The classmates toasted each other, commemorating the days of their campus life that had passed. Since Rachel was the class president, many of her classmates clinked glasses with her. Her alcohol tolerance had never been great, and after two drinks, she was already unsteady on her feet. However, she didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere of the once–in–a–lifetime moment. At that time, William took every drink that came her way. He drank with ease, his face reddening and his stomach clearly protesting, but he still managed a smile and reassured her. Back then, he had his arm around Rachel, just like he did with Samantha now, his breath warm with the scent of alcohol as he whispered in her ear.
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“I’ll be counting on you to get me home safe if I drink too much, Ms. Class President,” he had said, his voice playful.
The back of Rachel’s hand felt warm and wet as her tears dripped onto it, snapping her out of her thoughts. She took a deep breath, raising her hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
William was nothing but a scumbag now. If Samantha wanted him she could have him. Rachel was done.
She turned to leave but suddenly collided with a wall of muscle, followed by a mocking male voice.
“Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Lewis. It’s pretty normal for men to be out partying, you know? You’ll get used to it.”
Then, as if realizing something, he added, “Oh, I forgot you can’t hear. My bad. I don’t know sign language.”
Rachel’s face hardened, the faintest trace of disgust flashing across her features.
“Move,” she said coldly.
But Howard Ziegler didn’t. Instead, he gripped her delicate wrist, his words dripping with spite.
“Back in college, I chased after you like crazy, but you never even glanced my way. And for what? For William. You were ready to throw your life away for him. Now that you see him with another woman, it must be driving you insane.”
His grip tightened as he leaned in. “Might as well give me a chance At least with me, you could get your revenge. How satisfying would that be?”