Chapter 71: The Wrong Kind of Party

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Wrong Kind of Party

~Reynold’s POV~

I locked my screen and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Just as I did, the front door clicked open, and Julian walked in.

The moment he spotted me near the living room, a genuine smile spread across his face. "Oh, you’re here! When did you arrive?"

"A few minutes ago," I replied.

He dropped the bag he was carrying onto the counter before turning back to his friends and clapping his hands once.

"Alright, guys. Now that my friend is here, let’s get started on our assignment. Could you give us some space for a while?" He pointed toward the three unfamiliar guys. "Hey, clear the table for us. We need to work on our assignment."

The three guys grumbled good-naturedly as they gathered their drinks and moved to the other side of the room.

Julian, Theron, and I gathered our laptops and papers around the coffee table and got straight to work.

We worked quietly for several hours. At one point, Julian offered me a drink and some snacks, but I shook my head.

"I’m good. Let’s just finish this so we can be done."

The three of us kept our heads down and focused on the remaining sections. A few hours later, we had finished most of the assignment, with only a small portion left to review.

I glanced down at my watch. It was already 9:46 p.m., but if we finished the last part now, I could still pack my things and drive back home to sleep in my own bed.

Julian noticed the movement and caught the look on my face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," I started hesitantly. "It’s just... since our assignment is almost done, I think I’ll head home once we finish this last part."

Julian’s expression immediately changed. "Why?"

"Because..." I hesitated, trying to choose my words carefully. "My man would prefer me to be home instead of spending the night somewhere else."

Julian’s face darkened, his jaw tightening as he let out a short, bitter laugh. "Before you met this man who was ’always there for you,’ who was always there for you?"

"It was you," I answered quietly, surprised by the sudden change in his tone.

"Right. So now you suddenly can’t even spend one night at my house?" Julian snapped, his voice rising. "Is that how it is?"

Panic flared inside me. I didn’t want this turning into a huge argument, especially when I was already trying to keep everything from falling apart.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry—I’ll stay," I quickly backtracked, trying to calm him down. Then I glanced around the room, searching for something else to talk about. "It’s just... who are these guys? I’ve never seen them here before."

Julian crossed his arms, his expression still cold. "You don’t need to worry about them. They’re here because of the party we’re going to tonight."

I blinked, confused. "What party?"

"The orgy party," Julian said flatly, a provocative edge creeping into his voice.

My stomach dropped. "Wait. Didn’t you insist that I stay here tonight? Why ask me to stay if you’re just going to leave for a party?"

A slow smile spread across Julian’s face. "Because I want you to come with us."

"No," I said immediately, shaking my head. "I can’t do that. I don’t want to get involved in any of that, and I definitely don’t want to sleep with anyone else. It would ruin... everything for me."

Theron chimed in, rolling his eyes. "Reynold, why are you acting like such a child? Nobody’s going to force you to have sex if you don’t want to. Just say no. You can go there just to watch. You don’t have to sleep with anyone."

"Still," I insisted, my voice tight with panic. "I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to go anywhere near that."

Julian’s expression turned ice-cold, his patience finally snapping. "Then leave. Go on. You act like you’re better than us just because your rich sugar daddy bought you a nice house and a car. If you’re too good for us, then just leave."

"No, that’s not what I mean—!" I stammered, hating how trapped I felt.

Julian waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever. Let’s just finish this stupid assignment, and you can get out of here."

Guilt and anxiety gnawed at me. I didn’t want Julian to think I was choosing Frederick over him or abandoning our friendship just because I had someone else in my life. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to give in.

"No... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Look, if I can just sit and watch without having to do anything, then... I’ll come with you guys."

Theron nodded approvingly. "See? Good. Problem solved."

Julian’s lips curved into a smug, victorious smile. "Fine. Let’s finish the last of this paper, then."

We focused on the rest of the assignment, my mind racing as I prayed Frederick would call me before we had to leave the house. But his call never came. When the clock passed 10:30 p.m., I started to panic and reached for my phone, thinking about calling him myself. I stopped, worried that I might not be able to focus properly if anyone was watching me and that my nervousness would make me sound suspicious. So, I decided to wait until we were done with the assignment before calling him.

Once we finally finished the assignment, we went through everything together to double-check our work. When we were done, I turned to Julian.

"I need to use your restroom."

"Go ahead," Julian said, gesturing toward the hallway.

I left the living room and quietly slipped into Julian’s bedroom. I sat on the edge of his bed before lying back against the pillows. I quickly took a picture of myself lying on the bed and sent it to Frederick with a message.

I’m about to sleep, Mr. Corvin.

The moment the message went through, my phone started ringing.

It was a video call from Frederick.

I answered immediately and propped my phone against a pillow.

Frederick’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the background. "Who is sleeping beside you?"

"I’m alone." I quickly turned the phone around and showed him the room. "I’ll be sleeping alone," I lied smoothly, keeping my voice steady. "My friends are still busy talking and hanging out in the living room, so I left them there and came in here to sleep first."

"Alright," Frederick said, his expression relaxing slightly. He paused for a moment before asking, "Are you done with the assignment?"

"No, we’re not quite done yet," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "We should have everything finished before tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright," Frederick replied. "I’ll be around tomorrow evening."

"Okay," I murmured.

We talked for a few more seconds, exchanging a few quiet words before he finally said, "Goodnight, little pet."

"Goodnight, Mr. Corvin," I replied.

The call ended, and I let out a quiet, tense breath. I slipped my phone into my pocket, stood up from the bed, and walked back into the living room.

Julian looked at me as I approached. "Are you done?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Alright. Let me go inside and change so we can head out."

"Alright."

He turned and walked into his bedroom.

A few minutes later, Julian came back out, fully dressed and ready to leave. He glanced around the living room at everyone before clapping his hands together.

"Alright, everyone. Let’s go."

We gathered our things and headed toward the front door. Once we stepped outside, the cool night air brushed against my face. As we walked toward the cars, Julian casually slipped an arm around my neck and pulled me closer to his side.

"Reynold, don’t worry," he said with a teasing smile. "You’re going to love it there."

I looked at him, confused by his words. "What do you mean?"