Chapter 3
Julian tried to calm Iris, who ignored me with her usual arrogant look.
In the end, Julian forced me to tag along and join their discussion.
As we entered the private room, Julian's friends made playful jokes.
"Everyone said Mr. Hawthorne was chasing a young girl. Didn't believe it until he brought her to today's meeting," one laughed.
One guy walked over grinning.
"No kidding. Julian would do anything for her," he teased.
Iris clearly didn't buy it.
"Seriously?" she scoffed.
The guy who tried to set me up with Julian raised an eyebrow.
"Just name it, and it's yours," he said.
Iris pointed at a man and said, "Hand him your black card."
Julian quickly pulled his black card and handed it over.
Iris shouted for a watch, a house, and more; Julian agreed to all.
One guy waved his watch and joked, "Iris, why only ask for us? Don't you want anything for yourself?"
"Yeah, if you just agreed to be Julian's girl, all this would be yours," another chimed in.
Iris's expression froze, and she suddenly stood up.
"I'm here to learn, not entertain. I won't be his girl!" she snapped.
"Come on, we're just joking, even here. Don't take it seriously!" one said.
These meetings are always serious and business-focused.
But Julian played silly games with his friends here to make her happy.
The last time he acted like this was to make me smile.
I saw it was time to take my Ibuprofen, took a few pills, and swallowed them with the warm water from the waiter.
Julian suddenly handed me a glass of red wine.
"Iris lost at truth or dare and had to drink wine. Neither of us can, so could you do it for her?" he asked.
I pushed the glass back and said, "I can't drink; I just took medicine."
Iris locked eyes with me.
"Ms. Raines doesn't want to? Fine. Suit yourself. I'll drink it," she said.
She reached for the glass, but Julian pulled it away.
"I'm not letting you have a sip," he said firmly.
Julian leaned in, gently coaxing me while holding my chin.
"Nova, help her this once. I remember you could drink anyone under the table," he teased.
As soon as I drank the wine, I coughed violently.
My heart suddenly squeezed, sharp pains shooting through my chest.
The side effects of mixing meds and alcohol hit almost instantly.
But Julian ignored my reaction.
He just said amid his friends' teasing, "We made a deal—if Nova drank the wine, you'd do one thing. Now, keep your word."
He cupped Iris's head and kissed her.
"Help me…" I choked out, my voice barely audible.
I staggered forward, gripping his shirt desperately.
"Take me to the hospital…" I begged, barely able to speak.
Julian was so focused on kissing Iris he pushed me aside.
"Don't act up," he said coldly.
He pressed Iris against the wall and kissed her harder.
While they kissed, everything spun and I could barely see.
"Julian..." I whispered, unable to resist.
I couldn't help but call out to him again.
Julian was so lost in the kiss that he didn't notice until I blacked out and fell, then a scream rang out.
"Julian, Nova just passed out!" someone yelled.
I woke up in a hospital bed with my right foot throbbing worse than before.
I heard Iris crying outside.
She sobbed, "I didn't expect this..."
Julian murmured to calm her.
"It's not your fault. She fainted because she didn't tell us she'd taken medicine," he reassured her.
"If you won't say it, I will."
I couldn't follow their talk until Julian entered, holding Iris's hand, and stared at me.
"Nova, Iris's dad has severe leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant," Julian said.
"We searched everywhere; you're the only match."
Right after he finished, Iris fell to her knees in front of me.