Chapter 3
Dustin softly stroked my hair at my temple. "I hope you'll come. After all, we'll be running into them a lot in the future, so it's important to get along with them."
"Okay," I replied.
That day, I showed up dressed to the nines.
Dustin had handpicked the perfect outfit for me.
He personally directed the makeup artist, treating me like his own delicate doll.
Pleased with the result, he took my hand and confidently led me into the banquet hall.
"Caroline, don't be afraid. I'm here," he said softly.
His eyes were full of tender affection, and his broad shoulders looked so strong that I felt like nothing in the world could ever hurt me as long as he was by my side.
I nodded.
"I trust you," I whispered.
A flicker of something unreadable crossed Dustin's eyes, and he squeezed my hand a little tighter.
In that instant, it was like he'd made up his mind about something.
"Caroline, I won't ever let you get hurt again..." he said softly, his voice filled with determination.
I'd been to plenty of these parties with Dustin before, and every single time, it was just them trying to embarrass me, openly putting me down, and making fun of me.
For Dustin's sake, I always swallowed my pride and endured it. I thought he'd only gotten on their bad side because of me, so I figured whatever I had to go through was worth it for him.
But now...
Before Dustin could finish his words, out of nowhere, a bucket of ice water came crashing down over me.
I was drenched from head to toe, while he stood there, completely dry and untouched.
As water dripped down my face, I managed a smile toward him.
Something in that smile hit Dustin hard, and all at once, a hot surge of anger flared up inside him.
"Who the hell did this?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
A wave of menacing energy surged out of him, making the whole room feel tense and suffocating.
For the first time, he actually lost his temper over one of their pranks.
The rich kids who'd been laughing at me all froze, their faces draining of color. Some of them even instinctively took a step back.
Dustin wanted to keep up the act, but I'd had enough. I didn't want to watch anymore.
I fussed with my drenched clothes. "If this is what it'll take for you all to leave Dustin alone, I'll accept it."
It was just like every other time they'd pulled one of their cruel pranks.
In my eyes, there was no anger or resentment—just a tenderness that hadn't burned out yet.
Some of the others almost burst out laughing, struggling to hold back.
But I just looked at Dustin, the only person I cared about.
His face turned dark as he quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around me.
I could feel his hand trembling softly as he held mine.
Noticing it himself, he balled his hand into a fist and stuffed it in his pocket.
Was he feeling even a little regret?
I couldn't tell, and frankly, I didn't care.
"Don't be mad, Dustin! It's just water under the bridge now!" Emily piped up, trying to smooth things over while motioning for someone to help me get changed.
"Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to dump ice water on her with this weather?" Dustin said, displeased.
Emily stuck out her tongue. "We were just trying to make it look real! It's the last three times, and everybody's watching."
Dustin's face was stormy, and he didn't say a word.
After I changed, I heard Emily and Dustin talking.
I gave a small smile and followed the person Emily had sent to another room.
He said Dustin was waiting for me there.
I should've figured Dustin wouldn't be around—just a bunch of other people waiting for me.
Honestly, for this prank number ninety-eight, I couldn't help but wonder what they'd got up their sleeve this time.
And as for Dustin, just how much would he let them push it this time?
I glanced around the room and noticed a tiny red indicator light blinking in the shadows.
So was that what today's prank stream was really about?
I recognized all three of them—they were Emily's usual fanboys.
"Want us to leave Dustin alone? Fine, but you've got to join our little game first," one of them smirked.
I only had one question.
"Does Dustin know about this?" I asked.
The three of them exchanged glances, and all of them started chuckling.
"What difference does it make if he knows or not?" one of them sneered.
"So that's how it is..." I murmured.
I knew exactly what this was. They just wanted to see me break down, to humiliate me all over again.
But before any of them got the chance, I calmly began slipping off my dress myself.
The room went dead silent, and nobody dared to move an inch.
The guys exchanged uneasy glances, utterly thrown off by my reaction.
Shouldn't I be sobbing and begging them to let me go? That was what they'd expected—certainly not this.
Pulling pranks was one thing, but actually going through with it? None of them had the balls to mess with Dustin's girl for real.
I just stripped myself down, leaving them completely blindsided, not knowing what to do.
Right as the three of them froze in confusion, the door burst open with a heavy kick.
Dustin stormed in.
"You bastards!" Dustin roared, his voice raw with rage.
His eyes flashed red as he barreled forward, fists flying in a wild fury.
"Wait, Dustin. It wasn't us! She did it herself. I swear..." one of them stammered, desperate to explain.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
First punch, second, third...
Each punch landed with a heavy thud, raw and real.
Dustin's fists shut down every attempt at an excuse.
I could hear bones snapping, and that was vicious.
I just stood there in silence, watching him fight.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Emily snapped, shooting me a deadly glare.
The whole group just wanted to watch me crash and burn, but until Dustin really gave up on me, nobody had the guts to touch me. All they dared to do was throw out insulting comments and continue the humiliation.
Emily was so mad that she could barely breathe. She scrambled to break things up before Dustin completely lost control and things went totally off the rails.
Dustin, still fuming, grabbed my hand and pulled me out of all that drama.