Chapter 3

Since he was already at the hospital with Adelina Bishop, he thought he might as well remember me and drop off some medicine along the way, right? If I hadn't overheard the truth a few days earlier, if I hadn't just seen them together... I might have believed Xander Ross was genuinely concerned about me despite his busy schedule and made excuses for him, just as I had done every time he ignored me over the past four years.

I mocked myself, "No worries, Uber Eats delivers pretty quickly these days."

That evening, the gathering was organized by some old friends who claimed they wanted to introduce us to a few industry big shots. I hadn't expected Xander to be there, with Adelina on his arm. As they walked in, the room seemed to hold its breath, and everyone instinctively glanced at me. Everyone knew Xander was my boyfriend.

Xander seemed to sense it too, as he subtly pulled his arm away from Adelina’s grasp. Adelina, however, gave a knowing smile, picked up a glass of wine, and made her way directly toward me.

"This must be Ariah," she said with a coy laugh, covering her mouth. "Indeed, just as they described…"

She flashed Xander a strange look. "A woman as captivating as Ariah, who could resist?"

Her words seemed complimentary yet brought back memories of things Xander's friends used to say. Clearly, she'd heard the gossip—that Xander was with me just for my looks. The people around us started snickering softly.

"I'm flattered," I replied evenly. "From what I recall, Miss Bishop, you’re a year older than me, right? You could easily pass for a teenager."

Adelina's smile vanished instantly, and she bit her lip, looking as if she were about to cry. "I'm sorry, I call Xander ‘big brother,’ so I wanted to show you the same respect. I didn’t mean to offend…"

Xander approached, his face stormy with anger, "Ariah Gibson, do you realize what today is? Enough with the dramatics! Apologize to Adelina right now!"

Apologize to her?

I nearly laughed in disbelief, fiddling with the nuts on the table, ignoring him.

Adelina pushed her wine glass towards me. "Xander, don't be upset with Ariah. It's my fault. Ariah, how about this drink? If you drink it, you'll forgive me, won't you?"

"I don't drink," I stated.

Everyone who knew me was aware that I had a stomach condition and never touched alcohol, always opting for soft drinks at parties. Xander, of course, knew this too.

Friends began to cast curious glances at us.

"Just a sip," Adelina insisted, glancing at Xander for support.

Xander bore into me with his gaze, "You'll have just a sip."

“Adelina isn’t good with alcohol; let me drink on her behalf,” someone offered to defuse the situation.

Adelina, however, remained insistent, pressing the glass towards me.

"I want her to drink it," Xander said, his expression dark and displeased as he watched me. "Would a little sip kill you? Ariah Gibson, there's an end to this nonsense! Since last night until today, haven't you had your fill?"

In my mind, I could faintly hear Xander's past promise from when I was twenty-two, "Ariah, the doctor said you can't drink anymore! Don’t worry; I'll ensure you never have to drink a drop you don’t want to!"

Four years had gone by, and he probably didn’t even remember why I couldn’t drink. A deep sense of hurt and resentment welled up inside me, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

I met his gaze unwaveringly and slowly said, "I just took antibiotics, and I can't drink alcohol."

At this, many began urging him to let it go. But driven by some unfathomable anger, Xander grabbed the wine from Adelina, seized my chin with one hand, and poured the entire glass of red wine down my throat.

The crowd gasped in shock.

I choked and coughed violently, collapsing helplessly onto the floor.