30

Chris's Perspective:

"Brianna Caron."

The name made me choke on my drink. That despicable Mr. Caron had indeed managed to use his daughter as collateral for financial assistance. When we declined to help him, the spineless man approached Adam. Judging by the way Raven and Dave kept glaring at him, I could tell he was undoubtedly a problematic person.

Adam didn't bother paying attention to Brianna; instead, his eyes were busy scanning over Raven. A sudden urge to protect Raven surged in the pit of my stomach. I didn't like him looking at Raven—why, you ask? I don't know. Though Raven King was the last person who needed someone else to protect her. People needed protection from her in case they angered her.

Adam then eyed another girl sipping a drink who winked at him. That simple gesture was enough for the idiot to completely forget about his fiancée and rush to her like a dog. I now understood why Dave was so irritated with his presence; the guy was a womanizer.

"How are you friends?" Brianna asked Raven and Dave, looking pointedly at them.

Raven looked furious at the suggestion that they were friends. She took a step forward, likely to intimidate the girl, but I held her hand and pulled her back to me.

Brianna clearly noticed Raven's angry glare and added, "I meant you people are so nice, and he is a baboon. How is that possible?"

Dave grinned in approval; it was evident that Brianna didn't like Adam. But she was forced into this; the poor girl has to endure him for the rest of her life.

"I take it you don't like him," Dave asked carefully, tipping his head towards Adam, who was shamelessly flirting with another girl.

"I hate him, the bloody pig thinks he owns the world. The bastard took advantage of my greedy father and made me his fiancée without my permission. I don't have a choice; otherwise, I would have happily pushed him off a cliff. It would have saved the world from seeing his face," Brianna darkly added.

Never underestimate a person's hatred towards you. If they hate you enough, they will destroy you.

Raven grinned, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought it was an innocent smile. But now, I recognized the dangerous look in her calculating blue eyes. She did look amazing today. The blue dress flared up to her knees, her hair was curled, and makeup was not lathered onto her face. It was a correct balance that made her look classy yet stylish.

"Oh God, here he comes back. Nice to meet you guys. I can't be seen with him; it will ruin my social life," Brianna said, hiding behind Dave, leaving Adam to search for her.

One moment she was by the bar; the next, she was near the exit. How that girl managed to run in heels, don't ask me. Raven and Dave laughed as Adam looked in the opposite direction while Brianna escaped his clutches.

"Her father approached me a few days ago, wanted financial help in exchange for his daughter. My brother and I declined. Looks like Adam took up the offer," I explained to them.

Dave cursed under his breath, while Raven pulled the sleeves of her dress up and marched forward, no doubt to introduce her pumps to his face. Dave and I pulled her back in time. She huffed loudly and crossed her arms like a little child. She did look adorable with cheeks puffed out.

"Excuse me, I need to meet someone there." I excused myself, leaving Dave to teach the virtues of non-violence to Raven. I doubt she will remember them, but hey, the poor guy's trying.

I was exhausted; it was almost the end of the party. All the people were leaving, some drunk, so they had to be carried out by their dates. I was thinking about going home and sleeping when I saw a figure loitering around the exit. Some more inspection told me it was Raven.

Huh, this must be interesting. Raven was tugging on the bonnet of the car, quite vigorously. God knows what she was trying to do. She yelled and kicked the car, undoubtedly hurting her foot. She howled in pain and sat on the floor, rubbing her foot.

"Watcha doing?" I asked, making my presence known. She was startled. I bit back a smile, seeing her glare at me with those intense blue eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were squinted, and her steps wobbly—it meant only one thing. She was drunk.

"Chris, I can't open the door of this stupid car," she complained.

"That's because you're pulling at the bonnet," I told her gently. I had to coax a plan to get her home or to Dave.

"Bonna what?" she asked.

I bit back a groan; the girl was completely wasted. She went back to cursing the car. I laughed at some of the words she used. I thought she was innocent; judging by the curses, I thought wrong.

"How much did you drink?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"Three," she replied, holding up five fingers.

I resisted the urge to bang my head against the nearest wall. Did she drink three or five? Why are girls this complicated?

"Chris, you look so handsome in the tux," she said, jolting me out of my thoughts.

Wait, did she just... this must be good. "How good?" I asked, boosting my ego. Hey, a gorgeous girl is telling me about my looks, which guy will have the foolishness to stop her.

"You look as good as him," she whispered. What, I was okay till the 'you look good' part, whom did she compare me to? Does she have a boyfriend? Do I remind her of him? I suddenly didn't like the conversation anymore.

She compared my looks to someone else. I resisted the urge to throw a tantrum like a small kid. I didn't like the fact that she looked at someone else. She thought someone else was good looking. That was supposed to be me, right?

"Who is him?" I asked. She squinted her eyes as though not recognizing me, then gave me a goofy grin and held my hands, trying to stand up. She wobbled a bit and stood up shakily.

"You want his name?"

"Yes," I answered grumpily.

She giggled, causing me to stop in my tracks. I never thought Raven King would giggle.

"Name is him," she said, sighing dreamily.

"Come on, stand still. Where is Dave?" I asked her.

"Dave left an hour ago. He told me to go home. But I can't open this car. I'm not walking because my house is so far," she said, stretching her hands widely to emphasize how far. I laughed at her gestures; drunk Raven was cute.

"Come on, I'll drive you home," I said, carefully bundling her into my car and instructing my driver to follow the address she incoherently muttered.

"Will you let me eat candy? Dave doesn't let me eat candy. He says I'll have a toothache," she complained like a kid.

"I'll buy you the whole candy shop," I reassured her, causing her eyes to light up in happiness. She squealed like a school girl and hugged me tightly. I awkwardly wrapped my hands around her and lightly patted her back.

"If I eat too much candy, I'll become fat," she pouted.

"That's right. You want to make me fat, so you can laugh at me."

"You look beautiful even if you gain weight," I told her truthfully.

Being fat will not reduce her beauty; in fact, being chubby will make her even more cute. Raven was satisfied with my answer; she nodded and proceeded to look out of the window.

"You won't hate me, right?" she asked out of the blue. I turned to her puzzled; why in heaven would I hate her? Even if she did something bad, it doesn't mean she cannot have a second chance.

"I'll never hate you," I told her firmly.

"That's what Dad used to say, and then he left me," she said sadly, resting her head on my shoulder. Is her father dead? What must have happened for her to have such a fear in her heart?

"If you want to talk about something, I'm here, but for now, you're drunk. I don't want you to regret telling me first thing in the morning. So let's talk when you are sober," I told her.

She gave a tiny smile and fell asleep. I adjusted her head so her neck would not hurt. It felt right having her in my arms. We reached the address; I gathered her bridal style and knocked on the door.

A lady opened the door and was relieved to see Raven sleeping peacefully in my arms. She showed me a room to put her. I tucked Raven in bed, kissed her forehead, and went home trying to connect the dots.