Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Justin kept turning and tossing on his bed. Unable to catch sleep, he stood up and walked out of the
balcony. He took deep several breaths. Today’s events got out of his control. Who would have thought
that his brother will barge into his office and reveal their relationship to Serene?
He pinched his glabella, then let out a sneer. And what the fuck is up with his brother-in-law? Why does
he seem to want to get close to his ex-girlfriend again?
He hated the way he called her. “Shen…” he imitated the familiar way Bryan addressed Serene. It’s like
a code name that they share. The insinuated intimacy added fuel to his irritation.
Then he recalled the mocking comment Serene made when Chester addressed Bryan.
“Dear? Really? Can’t you be more original?”
Is that what they called each other? The more he thought about the previous day's events, the tighter
his chest became.
“Fuck,” he loudly cursed. He took his phone and dialed a number. “Where are you?” he immediately
asked, not even bothering to say a greeting. “Got it, wait for me.”
He quickly changed his clothes and drove to the address he received.
It was one of the Hyacinth City’s high-end bars. He got out of his car and gave his key to the valet. With
confident steps he walked in the bar, giving no care to the ogling eyes of those he passed by. After a
short while, he found the person he’s looking for.
“Justin,” a tall Japanese looking man waved at him.
“Dylan,” Justin nodded at him unsmiling.
After a quick pat on each other’s back, Dylan ordered drinks for him. “So, what brings you here?” Dylan
asked, his lips stretching to a naughty smile. He just gave him a side-way look, took the drink from the
server and drank it in a single gulp.
“Let me guess,” Dylan teased, unperturbed by his narrowed eyes. Stroking his chin, he studied Justin
then blurted, “Girl problem?” His brows hitched a little. His naughty smile did not leave his lips even
when he lifted his glass of scotch to his lips.
Justin did not answer and just turned his back from him and leaned forward to the railings. With his
forearms resting on the railings, he’s able to see the happenings on the dance floor.
He signaled the server to refill his glass. Meanwhile, Dylan looked at him amusedly. “Man, are you not
gonna speak? You’ll not look for me if you did not want to talk about something. After all, that’s what I,
your handsome best friend, am here for, right?”
As he was about to open his mouth to snap something at Dylan, his eyes narrowed further when they
caught something from the floor below them.
She was wearing a midnight blue dress that tightly fit her body. It clung on her, highlighting her curves.
Her hair tied up in a bun, exposing her long neck. On her ears swung two golden tassels. They swayed
with her every move.
She made a left turn and approached a long table composed of a group of young men and women.
Because she changed directions, her back was now directly in his view. His face suddenly turned cold
when he saw that her dress' design had her whole back exposed.
“Ahem…” Dylan playfully cleared his throat as he followed Justin’s sharp eyes. “Serene Ellis,” he
blurted, which made Justin suddenly straighten his back and looked at him squarely in the eyes. “Hey,
hey, hey don’t look at me like that.” His hands in front of him as if signalling Justin to back off.
“I used to model in college, remember? She’s quite popular back then. She would sometimes host
these shows. I remember working with her once or twice,” he quickly explained. Dylan moved closer to
Justin and surveyed the table of people Serene was with. “Too bad I don’t know anybody from that
group, do you want to come down? I’ll introduce you two.”
“No,” Justin said flatly, but his eyes never left her.
She was laughing so freely. She looked so much more beautiful when she relaxed. They are probably
ten in that group, four are men. One seemed to be too familiar with her since he was so close to her
and would say something to her ear from time to time. He wanted to go down and just choke this man
to death. How dare he be that close to her?
“She just disappeared from the spotlight suddenly,” Dylan cut off his murderous thoughts. “Come on,
let’s go down”.
He did not wait for Justin to acquiescence and just walked towards the private spiral stairs. Justin
followed him from a distance.
“Shen, Baby!” Dylan said in a loud voice competing with the music being played, his arms stretched out
asking for an embrace.
“Dylan!” Serene looked at the person who called her. She excitedly rose from her seat and half ran to
meet him halfway and return his embrace.
They give each other a friendly peck on the cheeks as people in the circle they used to belong to would
do to greet each other. Serene surveyed him and smilingly said, “Still gorgeous!”
Dylan gave a shy smile and replied “Ditto”.
Remembering that he had somebody tailing him, he looked back to find Justin watching them from the
bar, his hands in his pocket. “Let me introduce you to my best friend,” he whispered in her ears.
Justin’s hands balled in a fist as he watched Dyan and Serene. From where he stood, the two seemed
to be very intimate. Dylan’s arm was on her waist while his lips were dangerously close to her ears,
obviously whispering something. Not to mention the quick embrace and the peck on each other’s
cheeks they gave each other. “I’ll punch this man black and blue later,” he muttered.
Holding Serene’s hand, Dylan approached Justin, oblivious to the murderous thoughts his best friend Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
had for him. When they stopped, Serene looked at the man in front of her and her brows couldn't help
but knit together. Why does it have to be him again?
“Shen, this is my best friend Justin” Dylan gestured to Justin and looked at Serene with a toothy smile.
Justin snorted inwardly to the way Dylan addressed her.
“I know him,” Serene spoke in Dylan’s ears. He looked at her, surprised. “He was my boss.” Her
explanation was short but precise. Justin’s brows raised a little, noticing the tense she used to describe
their relationship.
“Oh,” Dylan was a bit surprised. He did not know that the two already knew each other, but also quickly
recovered and shrugged his shoulder.