Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"My friends are having a get-together tonight. Do you want to come along?"

His friends?

Luke's face instantly flashed in my mind.

"Yes."

When Seth led me into the private lounge, the smell of expensive liquor hit us immediately. The room was packed with people laughing and drinking.

Luke was sitting right in the center, and right next to him sat a familiar face―his first love, Lexi.

They were passionately kissing while everyone else cheered them on.

When we walked in, they finally pulled apart.

I didn't miss the smug, provocative glare Lexi threw my way.

"You're here."

Luke leaned against Lexi's shoulder and offered me a lazy smirk.

"Everyone, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Lexi."

He planted a kiss on Lexi's cheek, acting like an eager, lovesick schoolboy.

"Hi, I'm Lexi."

Lexi reached out her hand toward me with a sweet smile.

It was almost enough to make me think her earlier glare had been my imagination.

"Hello."

I kept my expression perfectly polite, as if I had never seen her before.

In reality, I had seen her countless times.

She lived in Luke's photo gallery, in his old journals, and in his drunken confessions.

I sat down next to Seth, who smoothly deflected the drinks being pushed toward me. Nobody said a word.

Instead, they all watched the four of us with amused, mocking eyes.

In the past, I was always the butt of the joke in this circle.

Yet tonight, sitting beside Seth, no one dared to mock me.

I glanced sideways at Seth.

He was already looking at me, his eyes full of warmth.

Seeing the silent connection between us, Luke, who had been cuddling with Lexi, suddenly looked irritated.

He glared suspiciously at Seth, his tone dripping with bitterness.

"Looks like you two are getting along great. There are so many friends in the room, but you only have eyes for your fiancé."

His words were laced with jealousy, carrying the petty annoyance of a man who felt cuckolded.

He seemed to forget that he was the one who pushed me into Seth's arms in the first place.

I found the whole scene ridiculous.

"Of course," I chimed in smoothly.

"We're engaged, after all. It's only natural that we're deeply in love."

Silence fell over the room. No one dared to reply.

The atmosphere turned instantly awkward.

"Alright, alright! Let's drop the serious talk and play a game!" someone called out, breaking the heavy tension.

Luke shot Seth a sharp look before pulling Lexi down to sit.

"Let's play King's Cup with dares," someone suggested.

"Whoever draws the King gets to pick two numbers and give them any dare."

The idea immediately got everyone excited.

In the first round, Luke and Lexi drew the matching cards.

Following the dare, they french-kissed for two full minutes in front of everyone and posted the video to social media.

While kissing, Lexi kept sneaking glances to check my reaction.

Seeing that I remained completely unfazed, she turned back and deepened the kiss with Luke.

When they finished, Luke glanced at me with a flicker of guilt.

Seeing me calmly sipping my mocktail, he let out a subtle sigh of relief.

In the second round, the cards picked me and Luke.

The dare required Luke to bridal-carry me and do five deep squats.

Seeing everyone's suggestive smirks, I let a calm smile spread across my face.

Luke glanced at Lexi's sour expression, then loosened his collar with an irritated scoff, acting as if doing the dare with me was a massive burden.

"Can we swap? I have a girlfriend, you know."

I looked up at his arrogant face and let out a light laugh.

"Sure."