Chapter b136 /b

    Amber’s POV

    As hard as I could, I shoved Chase away from me. He stumbled back, his lips still parted like how he kissed me. Covering my mouth with my hands, I backed up a few steps, looking at him with a sort of betrayal in my eyes, before I turned away.

    “Amber,” Chase said. “Wait.”

    Other than saying those words, he did not try to stop me. I wasn’t going to be stopped anyway. I had to get

    away. I couldn’t stand to be near anyone right now.

    Chase had started to be a sort of friend. Why would he ruin everything by kissing me?

    When I get to the car, Anna and Alice were already there, with Anna trying to coax Alice into the backseat. Alice was seemingly upset with me, ring at me as she finally entered the backseat.

    I wasn’t sure what I did to garner her anger, but at the moment, I didn’t really have time to figure it out. Instead, I resolved to sit down with her once we were away from this restaurant and this situation, and I had time to deal with this hint of betrayal I was feeling from Chase’s unweed kiss.

    Without even needing to negotiate, Anna took the keys and stepped behind the wheel of the car. As she backed the car out of the parking space, I dared a nce back over to the front of the restaurant. There, I

    saw Julian, watching me.

    Our eyes met through the car window, my heart sinking low.

    In that moment, I knew without a doubt that Julian had seen Chase kiss me. Surely he didn’t think I had

    reciprocated…?

    But why would it matter if he did…?

    Julian was far too busy handling his drama with Olivia to give any thought to what was going on with ollime. /li/ol

    From the backseat, Alice rolled down her window. I half turned, ready to scold her if she started to

    scream something out to Julian or Chase. Instead, she took the plush animal that Chase had won for her

    from the w machine and chucked it straight out of the window.

    “Alice,” I gasped. She seemed to love that bearb, /bclutching it closely all throughout dinner, pretty much since Chase gave it to her.

    Her eyes were sad and her frown heavy as she rolled up the window again.

    “Alice,” I said again, softer. She didn’t reply to me. She just lowered her gaze and didn’t say a word.

    When we would get back to the house, I’d make sure we had a chance to sit down and talk about this. But,

    for now, I simply turned myself forward in the seat and watched the road as Anna drove.

    Was the ride home always this long?

    Chase’s POV

    Seeing Alice throw the plush animal he had won her out the window, Chase rushed forward toward it.

    Protectively, he snatched it off of the asphalt before another car coulde or it could be too damaged

    by the gunk of the parking lot. Gently, when he held it, walking off the main of the road, he brushed some

    of the small rocks and dirt away from the teddy bear’s face.

    What he had hoped would be a pleasant evening, a chance for Amber and him to grow closer, as better friends if not an actual romantic couple yet, had taken a turn for the absolute worst.

    Not only had the entire office actually showed up for this outing, not only had that included Julian, but

    then Olivia herself had also made an appearance. Yes, Chase had jokingly agreed to a hangout with the

    entire office, but he didn’t think they’d all actuallye. And he hadn’t meant to include Julian.

    He definitely hadn’t meant to include Olivia. How had she even known to show up? Chase didn’t tell her

    about this at all.

    Unless she was following Julian…

    Knowing her, she probably had some kind of tracker installed on his phone. The poor sod likely didn’t

    even know about it.

    Haltingly, Chase made a mental note to check out his own pher. Julian was Olivia’s nned

    endgame, but that didn’t mean someone as conniving as her wouldn’t want to keep track of all of her

    pieces on the chessboard.

    And Chase was a pretty important piece.

    Regardless of all else though, Chase really thought Amber would be more receptive to his kiss. Yes, he had tried sooner than he would have liked, spurred on by Olivia and the way she lorded money over

    Chase’s head.

    But Chase had never truly been rejected like this before.

    He was charming and handsome, he’d wooed his way into the bedrooms of several prominent and otherwise frigid members of high society – even a few married ones.

    How was Amber immune?

    In fact, Amber had been so against his kiss, that a sh of betrayal had even crossed her face for his

    attempting to have done so. This made him feel like the worst kind of wretch.

    He shouldn’t have even attempted it, and he wouldn’t have maybe, if Olivia hadn’t pressed him to seduce

    her more quickly.

    Looking at the plush bear, at its ever–smiling face, Chase’s own emotions sunk down into misery and self- loathing.

    Was this truly what he had allowed his life to be? Doing whatever Olivia wanted so that he could continue to have ess to her money?

    He wasn’t opposed to being a kept man, especially if it meant keeping up his lifestyle of decadence and luxury, but typically that involved sex with the patron, or being her escort, ever at the ready to be on her

    arm.

    This was something much different.

    He’d actually hurt Amber. They weren’t friends yet but they were on the way to being something like that.

    He felt as if he had totally betrayed that friendship before it had even been given chance to blossom.

    “Who are you?” he asked the bear, but he meant it of himself.

    Doing these things…

    He didn’t recognize himself anymore.

    Julian’s POV

    I stood outside the restaurant, entirely lost in my own thoughts. My jealousy and my rage was burning

    inside of me, but just as I had seen Chase try to kiss Amber, I had seen her shove him away.

    Any need I had felt to punch Chase’s face in was slowly dissipating inside of me. Amber had taken care of it on her own, seemingly hurting him more than a punch ever could.

    Right now, Chase stood in the parking lot, looking at that bear Alice tossed like it held all the answers. He

    seemed more lost than even I did.

    As he was, Chase was too pathetic to fight, which meant I had to sit with my own anger, letting it simmer

    with no outlet.

    I had to do something, but what? If I tried to hit Chase right now, he’d probably let me. There was no dignity beating someone who wanted to feel pain.

    Olivia stepped beside me then, her high heels clicking on the asphalt.

    “I suppose we just witnessed a lovers‘ spat,” Olivia said.

    A lovers‘ spat implied that they were already sleeping together. And that kisses weremon between

    them.

    I had trouble believing that, but with my own jealousy and rage festering, I turned to her for exnation.