Chapter 331: Chapter 331: NYPC (7)

    [Edward POV]

    "Let''s not tell anyone about this for now," Haley said as she changed into the casual clothes she had worn earlier. Her green sequin dress was ruined during our escapades and she had already tossed it in the trash.

    Lying shirtless on the bed, I watched her fix her hair and makeup in front of the large mirror. "Why?" I asked, curious about her desire to keep our relationship a secret.

    Haley walked slowly back toward me, jumped onto the bed, and kissed me on the lips. "I don''t want anyone to know because they''ll try to get involved, and I''d rather not deal with that. There''s not much time left, and I want the rest of it to be just for us. Do you get what I''m saying?"

    I nodded slightly. "I get it." I leaned in and kissed her again. "It''s just too bad. Having a hot boyfriend and not being able to show off."

    Haley raised an eyebrow, surprised, and pinched me playfully, tickling me in the process. "Shouldn''t it be having a hot girlfriend? I''m the one who needs to show off!?"

    I laughed, rolling away from her on the bed and quickly standing up in just my boxers. "I mean, you''re cute and all, but I''m definitely cuter."

    "Come here!" She chased me in mock anger until her phone rang. "Oh, damn, they''re already in the car," she muttered, pouting. I grabbed her hand, pulled her close, and gave her one long kiss.

    As we separated, I looked into her eyes and smirked. "Once I''m done with the party, I''ll sneak into your room. So don''t go to sleep until I''m there." I whispered.

    "No, I''m going to sleep," Haley said with a mischievous smile. "I already got what I wanted. Your body doesn''t have value anymore."

    "Oh really?" I asked, laughing. She giggled and replied teasingly, "Yeah, for real pal. I''ll leave you some money on the nightstand and sneak out before you wake up. You''ll never see me again."

    "So I''m a prostitute now?" I laughed. She eyed me up and down. "You definitely have the makings of a male gigolo."

    "You don''t have to add ''male.'' That term is exclusively for men," I said before sighing at the goodbye. I want to spend more time with her, but now, it seems that time is our greatest challenge.

    She whispered coyly, "I''ll come to your house tomorrow."

    "And I''ll wait for you," I whispered back. She gave me a goodbye kiss before heading off to meet her parents.

    "I should say goodbye to them," I muttered as I put on a solid brown sweatshirt and comfy pants. It was the third outfit change for me that night, and the last.

    I walked to the car park where the entire extended family was gathered, minus Lily, who stayed home with the babysitter.

    Haley looked flabbergasted when she saw me there and quickly turned her face away, wanting to get into the car, which made her parents misunderstand the situation.

    I laughed wryly and said to the family, "Thank you all for coming to the party. I hope you had a nice time."

    Luke smiled mischievously. "I definitely did."

    Manny sighed. "I missed the entire party because Luke wanted to get the top score in Space Invaders."

    "Hey, you played it too," Luke retorted.

    "Are there any other games there?" I asked Luke.

    "There''s a lot. Even a punching machine. I got 300 on the score."

    "I got 302," Manny added with a teasing smirk. Luke grimaced. "No one asked you about it."

    Gloria rushed over and hugged me. "Ay! Edward! Don''t be sad." She pressed my face into her chest dramatically, saying, "There''s still a chance."

    "???"

    Confused at first, I responded calmly, "I''m not... sad."

    "He''ll get over it. He''s tough," Phil said with teary eyes before giving me a hug too. He looked at me seriously. "I still have one more daughter—"

    "DAD!" Alex interrupted, pulling him away.

    "So, everyone knows, huh?" I finally understood the situation and smiled slightly. To them, it looked like I was forcing myself to smile.

    I glanced at Haley, who subtly shook her head, mouthing, ''Not me'' to clarify she hadn''t told them anything, but I could''ve guessed that one of them overheard me asking Haley out if they were reacting like this.

    Claire was silent for a moment, her eyes filled with complicated thoughts. Finally, she hugged me and said, "Cheer up, Edward! You''ll be on stage after this. We wish we could stay, but I think we need to leave."

    I guessed Claire felt Haley wanted to leave the party, so she brought her family back with her to make things less awkward.

    Cam said, "Yeah, Lily must''ve been anxious. It''s the first time we''ve left her for this long."

    Mitchell added, "Yes, we''re leaving because of Lily. Nothing else."

    Jay, still drunk, blurted out, "I thought we were leaving because he got rejected—"

    "AY JAY! You''ve lost your mind from drinking too much! Vamos, we need to go home so you can sleep it off!" Gloria pulled Jay''s hand and placed him inside the car. Then she returned to hug me, saying, "Great New Year party, Edward! We''ll see you again, yes?"

    "Probably," I replied vaguely, just to mess with her. Gloria widened her eyes in shock, mumbling, "Probably as if we don''t know what will happen tomorrow. Not that he''s never coming to us again."

    As everyone got into the car and drove off, I waved goodbye. The Dunphy''s car was the last to leave the estate driveway. Haley waved at me with a mischievous smirk before pretending to be forlorn, staring at the trees with depressed eyes, which made her mother even more uncomfortable.

    I chuckled softly as I imagined Phil and Claire''s reaction. I knew for sure they would want to talk to Haley about it when they returned home tonight.

    My friends also left around the same time, so I walked over to say goodbye, promising to hang out at Jenna''s place on Monday before returning to the party.

    "Edward! I want to stay!" Enid whined as she hugged me. Jenna turned to her mother and said, "I thought you were cool! Why do we have to leave early?"

    Mrs. Karlsen smiled wearily and replied, "I''m just too tired, hun. Besides, we need to drop off Elsa."

    "If I leave, you leave," Elsa said, putting her arm around Jenna''s shoulder and teasing her.

    Billie''s eyes sparkled as I told her about the visit to the set of The Office. "When should we go?" she asked excitedly.

    "Let''s go on Monday. Maybe we can meet Rain," I said with a smile. Billie loved the character Dwight, played by Rainn Wilson, even more than John Krasinski''s Jim Halpert. I didn''t know if they would be filming that day, but since John invited me, I held onto some hope.

    Finneas and Jacob were quite dissatisfied that only Billie received the invitation from me. They were fans of the show too, but Billie was a die-hard fan. If I could bring more people with me, I wouldn''t hesitate to ask them to come.

    Tara furrowed her brows as she scrutinized my face while the others got into their cars. Left alone with me, she asked, "Did something happen between you and Haley?"

    "Edward''s cat. She just ran off," Vanessa explained.

    Max complained, "Vader is usually more docile. What even happened?"

    Taylor suddenly said, "It''s a period of activeness for a feline—" She stopped abruptly, catching the ''is it really the time?'' looks from Max and Vanessa, and coughed twice.

    "Edward has that tracker on Vader''s collar. Just check that," Taylor suggested.

    "Maybe she went to find Edward. I''ll go check the stage," Vanessa said before hurrying off. Her guess was correct; Vader had gone backstage after sensing something was amiss.

    Rewind a few minutes: as Edward reached backstage, he saw a short, stubby man wearing thick glasses sitting beside Britney. The pop star was still visibly drunk, but the man said, "You need to take your medicine."

    "Are you her doctor?" Edward asked casually, even though two bodyguards were blocking him from getting close to Britney.

    "None of your business, kid," the man replied condescendingly, trying to shove the lithium into her mouth. Britney resisted, albeit drunkenly, which made Edward raise an eyebrow.

    "If you force her to take the pills while she has alcohol in her system, there will be side effects," Edward warned, already aware of the pills the man was holding.

    Edward had a lot of questions. One, why were they backstage when they had already been kicked out after Britney was found drunk? Two, had Britney drunk until she blacked out to avoid taking the pills? Three, who was this guy? He certainly didn''t look like a doctor.

    "I''m her manager. I know what to do," the man said, waving at the bodyguards to chase Edward away.

    "Please leave us," one of the bodyguards, the same one who had previously scuffled with Abed and Mickey, said as he reached for Edward.

    Edward smirked. "Where do you think you are?" He grabbed the man''s hand and twisted it. "Ow—" the bodyguard squealed in pain as Edward shot a warning glare at the other guy to remain still.

    "This is my party. This is my stage. How brazen are you? Especially since I witnessed you drugging an inebriated girl. I have no choice but to intervene." Edward twisted the bodyguard''s arm further, forcing him into an awkward position as the pain became unbearable.

    The other man hesitated, realizing Edward''s identity. Sarah, Chuck, Mickey, and Edward''s other security members soon arrived, standing behind him, which made the so-called manager back off from Britney.

    "What are your fingers made of, metal?!" the twisted-arm bodyguard yelled in pain, desperately trying to pry Edward''s grip off with his other hand.

    How could he? With the genin-level chakra he''d acquired, Edward had practiced his chakra control, currently strengthening his grip.

    He threw the bodyguard to the ground and casually passed the other one, who stood frozen in fear—not because of Edward, but because he noticed a red dot on his chest. Casey had aimed his sniper rifle at that guy, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

    "Sarah, if they do anything funny, beat them up," Edward said as he walked toward Britney. Sarah drew her knives, pressing one against the kneeling bodyguard''s neck. "Sure thing, boss."

    ''Who the fuck did I provoke today?'' the bodyguard thought alarmingly, feeling the cold metal against his skin.

    "This is lithium, isn''t it? Are you fucking dumb? You want her to eat this?" Edward snatched the pill from the manager''s hand. "You— You don''t have any right to interfere with our business—"

    "Like I said before, I do have that right. It''s a responsibility. I don''t know who the fuck you are, but I know you''re doing something stupid. I can get you arrested right here and now. So speak another word. I dare you."

    The man fell silent under Edward''s threat and backed off. Edward checked on Britney before telling Mickey, "Bring her back to the house. Keep them away from her until she''s sober and can confirm their identities. Detain the rest of them."

    "I— I''m calling my lawyer—" As the man reached for his phone, Edward snatched it away and crushed it in his grip. The man was speechless as Edward destroyed his lifeline.

    "Oops— Sorry. I didn''t know your phone was so fragile. Invest in a better one next time," Edward said with a devilish smirk.

    Sarah had followed Edward''s lead, confiscating the bodyguards'' phones as well.

    "Meow?"

    Edward suddenly heard a familiar sound from the floor. The manager jolted as he spotted Vader, shouting, "Where the fuck did the cat come from!? Shoo! I fucking hate cats!"

    He swung his leg quickly, almost kicking Vader''s stomach, but the cat was too quick, dodging the attack.

    BOOOOM!

    The man was sent flying by a punch, his nose breaking, glasses shattering, and front teeth splintering. His eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites as he fainted instantly.

    Everyone stood wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events. One moment, the man was right in front of them; the next, he was flung three meters away, crashing onto some boxes.

    Edward retracted his fist and scooped up Vader from the floor. "You fucking dare!?" he snarled, checking on Vader before handing her to Mickey. He then strode toward the unconscious man, a storm of fury brewing inside him.

    "You dare try to hurt my family!?" Edward''s voice dripped with menace, his anger clouding his rationality. "Shit!" Mickey cursed, rushing to grab Edward and slow him down, his eyes wide with concern.

    "Calm down, Newgate!" Chuck joined in, gripping Edward''s arm as he yanked the unconscious man by the collar, lifting him slightly off the ground.

    Edward''s eyes were bloodshot, a magatama almost forming in that moment, instilling a deep-seated fear in those around him. Most froze in place, paralyzed by the palpable tension.

    From a distance, Maggie and Vanessa witnessed the unfolding chaos.

    "Edward!" Ted finally arrived on the scene, his voice cutting through the turmoil.

    The sound snapped Edward out of his rage-fueled haze. He glared at Ted for a moment before his fury began to dissipate. The magatama flickered but eventually faded as he calmed himself.

    "Oh shit." Realizing his surroundings, Edward relaxed his grip and dropped the manager back onto the floor, prompting sighs of relief from Mickey and Chuck, who quickly released him.

    Yet, Edward felt no regret. "Bring him to the hospital or something. I don''t think he''s dead yet," he instructed, glancing at the man, who groaned weakly in response.

    "What happened?!" Ted asked urgently as he approached Edward.

    Edward sighed. "He tried to kick Vader. I lost control—"

    Before he could finish, Ted seized the manager by the collar, raising his fist to deliver a punch, rage burning in his eyes. Mickey and Chuck immediately intervened, shouting, "Oh come on!"

    "Um, Frankie—" Maggie called out to Frankie with a shaky voice.

    Frankie, already attuned to the situation, replied calmly, "I noticed Jessie is set to sing another song. Edward can take his time to calm down. If necessary, we can end the performance right here."

    "No-No. That won''t be necessary. I can close the concert. I have already calmed down now." Edward said as he put on his earpiece. He heard what Frankie said and was thankful for her quick response.

    "Are you sure?" Frankie asked.

    "Yeah, I''m sure." Edward replied casually as he rubbed his sore forehead. "Fucking sharingan and their mood swings." He grumbled.