Chapter 6

"I know, right? Meanwhile, Miss Sterling in the VIP room next door, who only has a few scrapes, Mr. Thorne has been by her side constantly. I heard he canceled several multi-billion dollar projects just to be with her…"

"Such different fates!"

These words were like tiny needles, pricking my heart relentlessly.

But I was already numb. I just closed my eyes, turned my head towards the window, and pretended not to hear anything.

On the day of my discharge, the sky was overcast.

After completing the procedures, as I stepped out of the hospital entrance, my childhood friends were waiting in a car.

"Elara! Over here!"

Seeing the familiar smiling faces of my friends, my frozen heart finally felt a flicker of warmth.

That evening, they took me to a bar we frequented, saying they wanted to celebrate my "escaping a sea of suffering and regaining my freedom."

"Good riddance! Julian Thorne doesn't deserve you at all!"

"Exactly! Our Elara is beautiful, stunning, and from a good family. Without Julian Thorne, the line of people wanting to date you would stretch from here to France!"

"Yeah! Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to some hot young guys, guaranteed to be a hundred times better than Julian's ice-cold face!"

My friends joked around and teased, trying hard to cheer me up.

I sipped my drink, and a long-absent smile finally returned to my face.

Yes, why should I degrade myself for a man who didn't love me?

Midway, I got up to go to the restroom.

When I returned, I found the booth empty, my friends gone.

"Excuse me, where are my friends?" I asked a passing bartender.

The bartender looked uncomfortable, pointing to a luxurious private room at the end of the corridor: "Earlier… a drunk lady insisted on ordering male escorts, and she wasn't satisfied with anyone she saw. When she saw your friends… she just had her bodyguards drag them into that private room… There were a lot of bodyguards, we couldn't stop them…"

My heart sank instantly!

My friends were well-known and respected in our social circles; ordinary people wouldn't dare mess with them.

Unless…

A sense of dread instantly gripped me! I rushed forward and violently pushed open the private room door!

Sure enough!

Inside the private room, Chloe, completely drunk, was pulling one of my friends' hands, trying to rub it against herself!

My friend's face was livid, but he was trying his best to hold back, as she was a woman.

"Chloe Sterling! Let go of my friend!" I sharply commanded, stepping forward to pull her away.

Just then, with a *bang*, the private room door was violently kicked open from the outside!

Julian Thorne stormed in, his face frigid, and grabbed Chloe's wrist, his voice laced with suppressed fury: "Chloe! What are you doing in a place like this?!"

Chloe immediately shook off his hand, her eyes blurry with intoxication, pointed at my friends, her tone haughty: "I came to order male escorts! Can't you see?! These guys are good; I want them to keep me company!"

"Nonsense! Absolutely not!" Julian's face darkened further, and he reached out to pull her away.

But Chloe violently pushed him away and started crying pitifully: "You can mess around, so why can't I?! You can smile at other women! And spend hours alone in your office with that female client! Why can't I come out and order male escorts!"

His assistant quickly stepped forward to explain: "Miss Sterling, you've misunderstood! Mr. Thorne was in a very important business deal; there was absolutely nothing between him and the client…"

"I don't care!" Chloe wouldn't listen, throwing a drunken fit, she reached out to grab my friend's hand again, "Anyway, if you can be intimate with other women, so can I!"

"Enough!" I couldn't take it anymore. I stood in front of my friends: "Your flirting and bickering are your business! Don't involve and harass my friends!"

Julian's icy gaze finally fell on me, then swept over the group of handsome, distinguished men behind me, his face instantly darkening horribly: "Elara Vance, I warned you, don't harbor any ill intentions towards Chloe. What, isn't it enough that *you* won't back off, now you're having your friends try to seduce her?"

I couldn't believe my ears!

Seduce?!

"Julian Thorne, are you blind?! Chloe is clearly the one harassing my friends!"

Julian was about to say something else, but Chloe, seeing that he didn't instantly soothe her, stomped her foot in anger and ran out!

"Chloe!" Julian immediately chased after her, his voice instantly turning anxious and doting: "Alright, alright, don't be mad. It's my fault. I'll never have a private meeting with any other woman again, okay? Hmm?"

He even looked back, and coldly ordered his bodyguards: "For these men, whoever touched Miss Sterling, break their hand."

With that, he ran after Chloe without a backward glance.

The bodyguards immediately stepped forward, ready to strike.

I couldn't believe it. I lunged in front of my friends, my voice sharp and furious: "How dare you! Open your eyes and see clearly! Were *they* the ones who started it?! Chloe was harassing them first! They are my friends, well-known and respected in our social circles. Try to lay a hand on them, I dare you!"

The lead bodyguard said expressionlessly: "Miss Vance, please don't make this difficult for us. Your friends may have good family backgrounds, but in Mr. Thorne's eyes, they're nothing. It would be effortless for Mr. Thorne to bankrupt their families with a single word. I have to answer to Mr. Thorne."

My entire body went cold. Anger and powerlessness almost drowned me.