Chapter 346: house party XVI

Chapter 346: Chapter 346: house party XVI

William looked around the table.

"Well."

He glanced at the empty glasses.

"I’m beginning to think this game is going to become dangerous."

Scott laughed.

"You’re the one who suggested it."

"I know."

William smiled.

"That’s why I’m enjoying it."

He looked at the empty glasses again.

Then he pushed his chair back.

"Okay."

Everyone looked at him.

"Time for a refill."

He stood and began pouring.

One by one, the glasses were filled again.

He sat back down.

Then he lifted his own glass.

"Good."

William looked around the table.

"Who’s next?"

There was a pause.

Then Leo lifted his glass.

"I have one."

William nodded.

"Go ahead."

Leo leaned back.

He looked around the table.

Then his eyes settled on everyone one by one.

A mischievous smile appeared.

"Never have I ever..."

He paused.

The smile widened.

"...had sex with someone in this room."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Nobody moved.

For a second, it felt as though the entire room had stopped breathing.

Vivienne stared at her glass.

Her fingers tightened around it.

She knew exactly what her answer to that statement was.

She had slept with Damian.

And she had slept with Christopher.

But she had no idea who else at the table might have done the same.

There were fourteen people sitting around it.

It wasn’t necessarily only her.

Maybe there were other people here who had slept together.

She glanced around, trying not to look nervous.

Whatever.

She didn’t need to overthink it.

Vivienne lifted her glass.

And took a drink.

She lowered it quickly.

Then she looked at Christopher.

He was already looking at her.

An amused smile appeared on his lips.

Vivienne returned it, though hers felt more nervous than amused.

Christopher lifted his own glass.

He took a drink.

A few people around the table noticed.

Their eyes moved between them.

Christopher and Vivienne were together, so it was not surprising.

Vivienne lowered her glass.

She could feel the attention beginning to gather around them.

Damian had been watching.

And suddenly, he understood.

Christopher had slept with her.

Of course he had.

They were together now.

But Damian had been with Vivienne just yesterday.

He had had her for four consecutive days.

And now...

She had slept with Christopher.

So quickly.

Almost immediately after Damian had those four days with her.

The thought hit him harder than he expected.

Damian gave a quiet snort.

Almost a laugh.

Except there was nothing amused about it.

Then he lifted his glass.

Slowly.

He drank.

Vivienne noticed.

Her eyes moved toward him.

Her stomach tightened.

Christopher noticed too.

A small realization appeared in his eyes.

His gaze moved across the table.

Anthony.

Anthony hadn’t touched his drink.

Christopher looked back at Damian.

Damian didn’t look at Vivienne.

Not even once.

Instead, he slowly lowered his glass.

Then he looked directly at Christopher.

Their eyes met.

And Damian held his gaze.

There was something in his expression.

Something Christopher couldn’t mistake.

Yes.

I did.

I slept with her.

And if you slept with her too...

Then you know.

You know she wasn’t a virgin.

You know someone had her before you.

And that someone was me.

Damian didn’t smile.

He didn’t look embarrassed.

He didn’t look away.

He simply held Christopher’s eyes.

Almost as if challenging him.

Well?

What are you going to do about it?

Christopher stared back.

For a moment, neither man moved.

Then Christopher understood.

Not just that Damian had slept with Vivienne.

But that Damian had probably been the man she had been with before him.

The man who had been with her first.

The realization was unexpected.

He had assumed it was Anthony.

After all, Anthony had been her fiancé.

But Anthony hadn’t drunk.

Damian had.

Christopher looked at Damian for another moment.

Then he looked at Vivienne.

She was already looking at him.

And suddenly, Vivienne felt like she wanted the ground to open beneath her.

Oh God.

He knew.

He knew now.

He knew she had slept with Damian.

And if he put the pieces together...

He probably knew Damian had been her first.

Her face grew hot.

She looked down.

She couldn’t even look at Christopher anymore.

She wanted to disappear.

But Christopher didn’t pull away.

Instead, he reached for her hand.

His fingers slipped gently around hers.

Vivienne looked up.

Christopher was looking at her.

There was no disgust in his eyes.

No rejection.

But there was something else.

His expression was more controlled now, his jaw slightly tense.

He gave her hand a small squeeze.

As if to say—

I’m not angry with you.

Vivienne’s chest tightened.

She squeezed his hand back.

Christopher’s eyes moved toward Damian again.

The warmth disappeared from his expression.

So it was Damian.

Christopher still didn’t know how long ago it had happened.

But the way Damian had looked at him made one thing clear.

He had wanted Christopher to know.

And Christopher didn’t particularly like that.

He turned back to Vivienne.

His hand remained around hers.

Whatever questions he had, they could wait until they were alone.

Beside them, Damian saw it.

The hand Christopher was still holding.

The quiet reassurance.

The fact that Christopher wasn’t pulling away from her.

Something in Damian’s expression hardened.

Christopher noticed.

Their eyes met again.

For a moment, neither man looked away.

Then something shifted in Damian’s expression.

He realized what he had just done.

He had wanted Christopher to know.

He had wanted him to understand.

And now Christopher did.

But Christopher hadn’t reacted the way Damian had imagined.

He hadn’t become angry.

He hadn’t pulled away from Vivienne.

He hadn’t looked threatened.

He had simply taken her hand.

Damian’s jaw tightened.

He realized that he had just exposed his jealousy for no real gain.

He must have looked bitter.

There was nothing he could say without revealing even more.

So Damian looked away.

--

Across the table, Anthony had gone very still.

He didn’t know what to think about this.

He had been Vivienne’s fiancé.

And since they had agreed to break their engagement, it had only been a little over a month.

And somehow, during that time, she had slept not only with Christopher, but also with his own cousin.

Anthony’s eyes moved slowly toward Damian.

Then back to Vivienne.

The pieces were beginning to connect.

Eleanor noticed the silence.

She looked at Vivienne.

Then Christopher.

Then Damian.

She understood enough to know that everyone was staring at the same three people.

Oh, to hell with it.

She lifted her glass.

And took a drink.

Everyone looked at her.

Eleanor shrugged.

"What?"

Claire understood immediately.

She picked up her glass.

And drank too.

William blinked.

"Well."

He looked around the table.

"That certainly made things less obvious."

Eleanor gave him a wry smile.

A few people laughed.

Claire simply took another sip.

But the damage was already done.

The people who needed to know had already seen it.

Vivienne.

Christopher.

Damian.

And Anthony.

They didn’t need anyone else to confirm it.

Vivienne still couldn’t quite bring herself to look at Damian.

Christopher’s hand remained around hers.

The game continued.

But the atmosphere around that part of the table had changed completely.

–

To be continued