I forgot to check on Julie and talk to her. But one thing I couldn't even get was how did she come to the party? I saw her when Liara and I ended our kiss. The spotlight didn't allow the clear vision, but I was confident I saw her.

As soon as I saw Charles, I asked him the same, and he was surprised as well. When I saw Liara chatting with her family, I slipped into the crowd searching for her.

Guilt eating me from inside as I did it again. I left without informing or talking to her. I should have told her about this marriage contract. But I didn't want to mess with my work and this jumbled contract.

I sighed as it did not limit to work now. It emotionally attached her to me. I already felt a shit load of guilt when her brother tortured her so much because of me and now she had to find it this way that I was married. Contract or not, she didn't know that.

"Argh." I slammed into the nearby tree, frustrated with the situation. She went through so much and this news must have broken her even further. I wanted to hold her and calm her down.

All the negative thoughts clouded my emotions, but not later, I found her towards the end of the Mansion's garden. "Julie, I- "I took slow and steady steps towards her and she looked at me when she heard me.

"You lied to me." She muttered. I didn't know what the hell she was talking about.

"You said you'd always be there for me." She reminded me of my words. I recalled it as I said that to her.

"I did not lie to you."

"You are married." She screamed, and I had to close her mouth to avoid any scene.

"You... You. You knew I love you. You did not even stop whatever happened yesterday. I love you, Zearo." She sobbed continuously. Her body trembled, and I grabbed her towards me and hugged her tightly till she would sober up and let me explain.

"Shush. Calm down. I'm not going anywhere." As words left my mouth, I heard shufflings behind me. I froze, praying that it shouldn't be Dima or any guest. "Zearo?" Oh, fuck! I could feel my heart stopped for a second when I heard Liara's voice.

I felt Julie stir, and I turned around. My gaze landed on Liara's retreating figure, who held her gown in both her hands. I knew she couldn't see me as there was no lighting where I stood. I called out to her, "Liara?" She took a minute but turned around, confused.

Abruptly, I found her looking at my hands. Following her line of sight, I saw Julie had her hands around mine. I loosened the grip, uncomfortable with the situation. It was not like I got caught for cheating or something. But I didn't like how they both met.

I stared at Liara, judging her every move but she didn't bother looking at me, instead, pointed her finger towards Julie and said, "You are... Ms. Julie Jones, sister of Mr. Logan Jones.". Surprised, I looked at Charles and our eyes met. How could she know Julie's brother?

She was too drunk to even handle herself as she staggered two steps back and twisted her ankle. I strode towards her but froze when I saw Charles caught her. They had a weird way of communicating with each other and that pinched me like a needle.

Julie started misbehaving with Liara and I knew I was the reason for this mess. I did not want Julie to face Liara's wrath, but they both kept bickering with each other. I knew what Liara was capable of. Not that I feared her, but I wanted Julie to be safe.

I whispered into Julie's ears, "if you want to talk to me, go home. I will be back after I settle her down." She was unsure about it, but I didn't give her a chance to argue. "I mean it, Julie." I didn't waste even a minute and lifted my drunken wife off her feet and strode in the other direction. But before retreating, I asked Charles to look after Julie. He was grumpier than usual.

Up to her room, Liara kept on murmuring about Aladdin and his flying carpet. I didn't even know who the hell was that man. On my way, I met Dima and told her that Liara had too much to drink and that they alone have to take care of the guests. She agreed happily, and I smiled.

********†*****†******†**†***

I placed her gently on her bed and took her tiara off her head and removed the pins on her hair so that she could sleep easily. I knew calling anyone to change her dress would lead to so many questions. Not bothering to look at her, I removed her heels and unzipped her gown. She stirred in her sleep and I was glad that she wore a mini maxi that covered her enough to not kill me for undressing her.

Slowly, I placed her gown on the nearby chair and covered her with the duvet. Her face held a small smile, and red tint because of the adrenaline rush after drinking. "You gotta live a little," I whispered, and touched her plump cheeks.

Switching off the light, I got out of the room, thankful that she did not wake up when I locked the room. My headache never subduing. I wondered what mess did I just end up in? I chuckled, remembering the way Liara behaved in her drunken state.

"Oh, look, where do you think you are going?" Keryl came inside the house and crashed into me.

"I have urgent work. And I need to go." I said, keeping the conversation short as I always felt an unexplainable uncomfortable when conversing with her.

"Don't you have your wife to take care of?" She pointed at the bedroom. I knew I was going to snap at her if I stayed a little longer.

"I took care of her and she is asleep now. I have a job and I'm needed there." I said through gritted teeth, trying not to sound rude to her. The way she was involved in the party, one thing was sure that she must be an important person in Liara's life.

"You work in the Shimmers Night? The bar?" She asked. Her face had an amusing smile and her hands folded below her chest.

"I do," I said and took a step away from her, but then again, she stopped me as her next question irritated me. "Why don't you leave your job? Liara earns enough for the entire family to live happily. And to be honest, it hampers her reputation." She said as a matter of fact. Why do people have to poke me when I'm in a terrible mood?!

"Because he doesn't need my money to pay for the living. He is independent and I don't have any problem if he's working in a bar or any other place for that matter." If I'd say that, I started seeing the good side of Liara was an understatement. She asked me the exact words Keryl said but understood me and now supported me.

It affected her reputation, but she did not make a fuss about it. Keryl and I whipped our head towards Liara who took slow and steady steps towards us. To be honest, if she wanted me to then also I wouldn't have stopped working.

"I wanted to know his thought about it, Liara." Keryl didn't back off and I realized what she wanted to do.

"Ms. Keryl, don't worry. I am not a gold digger. I live in this house because that's the only thing my wife asked of me. She didn't want to be parted from her family." I paused and looked at Liara. She wore the same small maxi dress I left her in her room with. Her hair a mess but she looked so hot in the outfit.

"So, you didn't marry her because of her money?." she asked and I saw Liara scowled at her.

"I never even considered her money as one of her traits. She has so many traits that made me crazy about her." I winked at Liara and she just shook her head.

"I guess you are getting late." Liara chimed in, making me aware of the fact that she knew where I was headed.

"Oh yeah, I should get going." I took an audible breath and excused myself, as Julie must be waiting. I hurt her, and I had to explain it to her.

***************

"Julie?" I entered my apartment. The door was ajar, and the apartment was a mess. My one-bedroom apartment looked like a zombie apocalypse part two took place here. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I kicked the scattered things on the floor.

I limited things in my apartment, despite that, it was a decent one. The living room had a sofa, even if it was tiny. The table was not in its position. The dining table was a mess. When I looked at the kitchen, the cabinet had flour all over it, ketchup bottle broken down into tiny pieces. The fridge was open and all the things lied down on the floor.

"What a disaster." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed when I saw Julie's figure inside my room and Charles stood at the farther end of the room.

"What even is this mess?" My voice rose, a little irritated. I didn't expect her to behave like a child. "My life is a mess and you think your house is a mess?!" Julie marched towards me and Charles followed suit.

"And for god's sake, tell this guy to back off. He's been tailing me for hours." She pointed at Charles and then glared at me. I could see empty beer bottles lying on the floor.

"She's been a pain in the ass," Charles murmured and walked out of my apartment, not even glancing at me. Why do I end up with drunk women?

"I think you need to sleep," I said to Julie, catching her attention. Her lips quivering and her eyes were blood red. I didn't know how to console a woman. "What a wonderful day it was," I said to myself. The entire day was so stressful. Only when I and Liara danced was the stress-free moment for me.

"I guarantee you I will answer all your questions when you are sober enough to hear me out, alright?" I tried assuring her. She took small steps towards me and hugged me tightly, suffocating me.

"I can never live without you, Zearo." She murmured and I couldn't help but sigh. I needed to figure out how to explain to her I liked her, but I could never love her. I could love nobody!

"Shush now, let me take you to bed." I ushered her away from all the mess. ''I'm so sorry about the mess. I wanted to cook something for you but I had too much to drink and couldn't find a thing." She said, pointing at the mess in the kitchen.

"It's alright. I'm not hungry. But wait, are you?" I asked, tracing her hand through my fingers, intersecting them. A habit I adopted after getting close to Julie. "I'm I'm not hungry. Charles fed me something I don't recall what." Her eyelids shutting down. I chuckled at her childishness and carried her towards my bed.

Placing her safely on the bed, I kissed her forehead. "I've been a dick to you. I'm not sure how to make it up to you." I whispered, touching the scar on her hand that reminded me of the day I found her all beaten up.

"I gotta clean up the mess!" I sighed, looking at the horrible condition of my apartment. As I walked towards the living room, my phone vibrated inside my pocket.

"Drake?" It was past midnight and if he called me, then it must be urgent.

"I'm in New York. I had something really important to inform you, Master." His crisp voice the same was as it was when he helped me fly me out of Florida.

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What could possibly be that important? Have any guesses? Let me know! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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