Chapter13 Celebrating at the Bar
Seeing no one dared speak up anymore, Castillo finally exited the group chat with satisfaction and opened her private message to Miranda.
"Come out for drinks! Let's celebrate you escaping hell and starting fresh!"
Miranda had just finished the business dinner when she saw Castillo's message.
She replied "okay," asked for the address, and drove straight there.
MUSE, the city's most elite playground.
Deafening music and swirling laser lights wove together into a massive web, enveloping the desires and indulgences of urban men and women.
Miranda immediately spotted the figure at the bar in a red slip dress, radiant and bold.
"Miranda! Over here!" Castillo waved at her vigorously.
Miranda walked over. Castillo immediately pushed a prepared "Liberation Angel" cocktail in front of her.
"Here," Castillo raised her glass, eyes sparkling. "To dumping that scumbag and getting your freedom back!"
Miranda smiled and clinked glasses with her.
With a crisp clink, they both downed their drinks.
In a booth not far away, Harrison watched in Miranda's direction.
Ariana and a few other friends beside him were laughing about something, but he couldn't hear a word.
What was she doing here?
And dressed like that!
The black silk V neck blouse made Miranda's skin look delicate and enticing, her collarbones exquisitely defined. In the hazy lights, her profile as she tilted her head back to drink had a fatal allure.
Harrison's heart tightened for no reason. An indescribable irritation surged up.
Just then, a slick looking man holding a drink walked straight up to Miranda.
"Hey beautiful, here alone? How about a drink?"
Castillo was about to explode, but Miranda gently held her back, politely and distantly refusing. "Sorry, I'm here with a friend."
But the man persisted, his gaze glued to her, filled with undisguised desire. "More friends makes it livelier. Come on, just one drink. Give me some face."
He even reached out to grab Miranda's wrist!
Harrison's pupils contracted. He almost instinctively started to stand up.
"Harrison," Ariana followed his gaze and naturally saw Miranda too.
"How can she be at a place like this getting all touchy with strange men? She used to hate these kinds of places."
Those words were like cold water, instantly dousing whatever inexplicable impulse Harrison had felt.
Right. She used to hate bars, but now she was having such a good time.
Did the divorce make her this happy?
The man's hand was about to touch Miranda. Her eyes turned cold and she was about to act when another hand intercepted her wrist.
"Get lost."
Miranda froze and looked up to see Harrison's dark expression.
The slick man, seeing Harrison appear, not only didn't leave but became even more aggressive.
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
Harrison positioned himself between the man and Miranda, forcefully grabbing at her.
Miranda shook off Harrison, her tone icy. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Harrison's face was ugly. "Miranda, look at yourself! Out this late, a woman alone at a bar drinking, getting tangled up with sketchy men!"
Miranda laughed with anger. She stepped forward, looking directly into his eyes, enunciating each word.
"Harrison, we're divorced."
"What I look like, where I am, who I drink with, none of it has anything to do with you!"
"What gives you the right to stand here and lecture me?"
Even without Harrison, she could have handled this guy hitting on her. Why was he butting in?
On the second floor, on a VIP lounge terrace.
A young man in a floral shirt leaned against the railing and whistled. "Yo, isn't that the Whitmore kid? What's he arguing about with his ex wife downstairs? This is entertaining."
Beside him, a man in a wheelchair looked up faintly.
It was Clifton Prescott.
Following his friend's gaze down, he immediately spotted Miranda at the center of the swirling lights.
Like a thorny black rose, though surrounded by noise, she radiated a cold, defiant aura. Breathtakingly beautiful.
Clifton's deep gaze rested on the woman's stubborn face. His long fingers tapped twice on the wheelchair armrest.
Then he turned the wheelchair and glided toward the elevator.
Downstairs, Harrison's face had turned ashen from Miranda's retort. He was about to explode when commotion erupted behind him.
The man who'd been hitting on Miranda was now staring in terror at someone emerging from the elevator, stammering.
"Mr. Prescott?"
The man's signature silver mask was recognized throughout high society.
Clifton's wheelchair silently glided to their side.
The man immediately put on a fawning expression, bowing and scraping as he approached. "Mr. Prescott! It really is you! I'm from Hongyuan Tech. I saw you from afar at a reception last time! I have a project I'd love to discuss with you..."
Clifton's gaze swept lightly over several unopened bottles of hard liquor on a nearby table.
Without looking at the man, his voice was flat and emotionless.
"If you want to talk business, you need to show me your sincerity."
The man froze, then immediately understood!
Without a word, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table, twisted off the cap, and started chugging straight from the bottle!
The harsh liquor ran down his chin. Everyone around stared in shock.
One bottle gone, he grabbed the second... then the third...
By the time all the bottles on the table were empty, the man swayed drunkenly, hiccupping as he asked, "Mr. Prescott, did you... see my sincerity? Can we... talk business now?"
Clifton finally looked up at him, his tone still indifferent.
"I saw your sincerity."
"But I don't feel like talking now."
With that, he turned his wheelchair to leave.
The entire place fell silent.
Everyone looked at the now plastered man like he was an idiot.
Playing someone so blatantly, yet no one dared say a word against it.
Clifton's wheelchair had just turned when it caught on an empty glass that had rolled onto the floor, stopping him.
His gaze then fell on Miranda.
Their eyes met.
Miranda read a questioning look in those unfathomable eyes.
Understanding, she ventured tentatively. "Mr. Prescott, should I push you out?"
"That would be helpful." Clifton nodded.
Harrison watched helplessly as Miranda walked behind Clifton and placed her hands on the cold wheelchair handles. The nameless fire inside him exploded.
He reached out to grab Miranda. "Miranda! Do you even know who he is! You..."
"Hey, Harrison!" Castillo flashed in front of him, blocking his path. "You're divorced! As her ex husband, stop hovering around Miranda. Bad luck!"