CHAPTER 41: THE WINK AND THE ULTIMATUM

The bass from the party thumped low in my chest, but it wasn’t the music making me uncomfortable—it was the fact that I’d been parked in a velvet booth for the last forty minutes, half-watching the human zoo that was Celestia’s social circle.

The music here was the kind that wasn’t loud enough to justify shouting, but still loud enough to make conversation feel like work.

I sat at a table far too polished for my taste, pretending to care about the architectural crown molding overhead because it was easier than pretending I fit in.

Celestia leaned in toward me, her perfume soft and expensive, her silver dress catching the chandelier light like she’d been dipped in moonlight.

Her lips were close enough to my ear that her words tickled.

"It’s disgusting, you know," she murmured.

"What is?"

She tipped her head toward a group across the room— suits, sparkling gowns, glasses of wine they didn’t even pretend to sip. "Them. Rich people."

I blinked at her. "You’re a rich people."

She didn’t even blink. "I know, right?" She grinned, sipping her champagne. "The self-awareness is what makes me different."

"Uh..."

She rested her chin on her hand, eyes still roaming the crowd. "You can just... smell it on them. That mix of arrogance and inherited money. They think the world owes them something because it always has."

I raised an eyebrow. "Says the girl who probably has a chandelier in her bathroom."

She waved me off. "That’s different. Mine’s cute. Their money is pretentious."

"Right. Of course."

I almost smiled. Almost.

But the second son of the Sinclair family — tonight’s birthday boy — had been glancing at her all night like he’d ordered her in advance. His name, I’d learned earlier, was Bradley. Of course it was. He had the kind of face you wanted to punch and the kind of confidence that said he’d never actually been punched.

He caught my eye across the room and winked.

I looked away, jaw tightening. It worked — I hated that it worked — but it worked.

Celestia noticed, of course. She noticed everything about me even when I wished she wouldn’t. "You’re tense," she said.

"I’m fine."

"Mhm. That’s why your shoulders are practically in your ears." She nudged me lightly. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure."

"I’ll get it." She slid out of the booth, straightening to her full height. "You’d probably die of secondhand awkwardness if you had to walk past half these people."

"That’s not—"

"Mhm." She was already moving, her dress catching the light like liquid metal. Heads turned as she passed. Of course they did.

The second she was gone, I exhaled and slouched against the plush seatback. That’s when a voice cut through the noise.

"Kai?"

I turned, and my eyebrows went up. Marina.

Not hoodie-and-sneakers Marina from our usual study sessions. Not coffee-breath, hair-in-a-messy-bun Marina. Tonight, she looked... different. A black satin dress, subtle makeup, hair down in soft curls. She looked like she’d stepped straight out of a lifestyle magazine, and it threw me for a second.

"Marina?" I asked, unsure whether I was more surprised to see her here or to see her like this.

She walked over, eyebrows raised. "What are you doing here?"

"Val invited me," I said.

Her brows lifted slightly. "Val... as in Celestia Valentina Moreau?"

"Do you know another Val?"

Something flickered in her eyes at the nickname. She slid into the booth across from me, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp. "I didn’t think you liked these kinds of things."

She smiled faintly, leaning her elbows on the table. "Figures. So... how’s it going? You look like you’d rather be anywhere else."

I gave her a flat look. "Sometimes I forget you’re rich."

That made her laugh—an actual, genuine laugh. "Guilty. But you’ve gotta admit, I hide it better than most of them here." She glanced around at the glittering crowd with mild disdain.

We fell into the kind of easy small talk we’d always had—classes, mutual nerd jokes, half-whispered observations about the absurdity of the party. I almost forgot where I was until a voice broke in.

We traded a few quiet lines about the absurdity of the party, the way the waiters looked like they were hired for their bone structure, the fact that the birthday cake probably cost more than my entire apartment. And for a minute, it was easy — like old times.

Then Celestia came back.

Her eyes flicked from me to Marina and back again. Her expression wasn’t icy, not exactly. But it wasn’t warm either. "Wow," she said flatly.

"Hi," Marina said, tone neutral.

"Hi," Celestia returned, her voice sugar-coated in a way that didn’t feel sweet at all. She set my drink down a little harder than necessary before sitting next to me.

There was a long, quiet second where no one spoke. The air tightened.

Marina broke it. Kai doesn’t like parties. You know that, right?"

Celestia didn’t flinch. "He’s my boyfriend. I can bring him wherever I want."

Marina’s voice was still soft, but there was steel under it. "It’s not about where you can bring him. It’s about whether he actually wants to be here."

"I’m pretty sure he can speak for himself."

"Can he?" Marina glanced at me. "Because I think he’s feeling insecure right now, but he won’t say anything because you’re here."

Celestia’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "You think you know him better than I do?"

"I know he doesn’t like this kind of attention," Marina said simply.

"I think you’re projecting."

} "And I think you’re making him into someone he’s not."

"Marina—" I tried to get a word in, but it was like trying to interrupt a thunderstorm.

Celestia’s chin lifted. "You don’t get to decide who he is. Or what’s good for him."

"And neither do you," Marina replied, still calm. "But girls like you can get any guy they want. Just... make sure you’re not using him to pass the time."

That landed. I saw it land.

Celestia’s smile dropped. "You’re done?"

Marina glanced at me once, something unreadable in her eyes, before standing. "Think about it," she said — to me, not to her — and walked away.

Celestia didn’t say anything for a full five seconds. Then she turned to me. "We’re going home."

"Cel—"

She was already standing. "You coming?"

I followed, the silence between us heavier than the bass still pounding behind us.

---

We didn’t speak on the drive back. The streetlights painted her face in alternating gold and shadow, and every time the light hit, I could see her jaw tighten just a little more.

She was angled toward the window, one elbow braced on the door. I gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary, telling myself I’d wait until we got home to talk. Safer that way. Neutral ground.

Except I couldn’t take the silence anymore.

"Val—"

"Don’t."

Her voice was quiet, but it landed like a slap.

I glanced at her, but she didn’t look back. "You’re really not gonna talk to me?"

"About what? How your little study buddy decided to give me a TED Talk on How to Boyfriend in the middle of a party?"

I sighed. "She wasn’t—"

"She was." Her tone sharpened. "And you let her."

I bit back a retort. "What was I supposed to do? Start a screaming match in front of half the city’s elite?"

"You could’ve defended me."

"I was trying to keep the peace."

She finally turned, eyes locking on me like searchlights. "Peace for who? Me? Or her?"

The question lodged in my throat. "Val, come on—"

Her laugh was soft and dangerous. "You know, it’s cute. You can act like I’m overreacting, but I saw you Kai, just before I sat down. When she smiled, you did that thing—"

"What thing?"

"That little... half-smile. Like you’re in on some private joke."

I tightened my grip on the wheel. "You’re imagining things."

"I don’t imagine," she said flatly. "I notice."

I wanted to tell her it was nothing. That Marina and I were just friends, that the easy banter didn’t mean anything. But her voice had that edge — the one that told me if I said the wrong thing, the wrong word, I’d regret it.

Instead, I said, "You know you’re the only one I’m with."

Her eyes narrowed. "That’s not the same as saying I’m the only one you want to be with."

The words hit harder than I expected. I swallowed. "You’re reading into this way too much."

She tilted her head, lips curving in a humorless smile. "Funny. That’s what guys always say before it turns out they weren’t ’reading enough’ into something."

The rest of the ride passed in taut silence.

---

Inside my place, she kicked off her heels like they’d personally offended her and tossed her clutch on the couch. I closed the door and leaned against it, trying to plan the safest route through the minefield.

"Val—"

She was already pulling pins from her hair, shaking it loose. "Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?"

"I wasn’t trying to embarrass you."

"But you didn’t stop her. You let her stand there and imply that I’m... what? Using you? Playing with you?"

"That’s not what she meant."

"That’s exactly what she meant." She turned to face me, hair spilling over one shoulder. "And you didn’t even flinch."

"I didn’t want to make a scene."

She laughed, but it wasn’t amused. "Kai, you’re dating me. We are the scene."

I opened my mouth, but she cut me off, stepping closer. "Do you think she cares about you more than I do?"

"No—"

"Then why didn’t you shut her down?"

"I didn’t agree with her—"

"You didn’t disagree either."

Her eyes searched mine, sharp and unblinking. I felt like I was being dissected. "You know what the worst part is? You looked comfortable with her. Like you belonged there with her. And with me? You looked like you were just... tolerating it."

"That’s not true."

"Then tell me it’s not."

"I just did."

Her lips pressed into a thin line, like she was holding something back. And then she let it out. "Choose."

I froze. "Uh?"

Her voice was calm, but her eyes were anything but. "Me or her?"

I froze, my brain scrambling for the manual on What the Hell to Say When Your Girlfriend Drops a Landmine Question Out of Nowhere. Unfortunately, mine was missing. "Val, I—"

Something flickered in her eyes—hurt. She gave a short, humorless laugh. "Wow."

That single word felt heavier than the silence had.

She grabbed her bag, snatched up her car keys from the table, and headed for the door. The slam when it shut behind her rattled the picture frame on the wall.

I stood there for a few seconds, still trying to catch up to what just happened.

And right there I realized... I might have just lost my girlfriend without even understanding how.

---

To be continued...