Chapter 429/You’re a Pathetic Bastard!!

Chapter 429

Carlos’s POV

We climbed the staircase in heavy silence, Robert’s storming steps leading the way with suspicious resolve, sparks consuming his dark eyes.

The second we stepped into his main office and the door clicked shut behind us, he spun around with blinding speed, his massive palm slamming onto my arm with a grip that nearly crushed my bones.

Locking his steel eyes into mine, he hissed out a sharp, lethal warning:

"You forget everything about me agreeing to sell Julie to you... Do you hear me?!"

I yanked my arm from his grip with full force, brushing off my sleeve with calm disdain before staring him down:

"Robert... I’m not a little boy to fall for such a cheap, pathetic trick."

A harsh, emotionless smile touched his thin lips. He took a step back, shaking his head with cold detachment.

"Very well."

He bypassed me with heavy, echoing strides, rounding his massive desk to drop into his wide leather chair. Leaning his head back, he jammed his hands between the buttons of his open vest.

I walked toward the wooden chair opposite him, taking my time to sit down and relaxing my back as my eyes probed the rigid, stone-cold face before me.

"Listen, Robert..." I began in a quiet, grounded tone, heavy with suppressed grief. "...You can’t hurt Julie in this hideous way."

He knitted his brows with blatant impatience, tilting his head with smooth mockery:

"Are you going to start giving me your ethics lectures now?"

I laced my fingers over my knee, my gaze locking onto his with unyielding warning:

"I’m just reminding you... With this damned pride of yours, you’re doing everything in your power to lose the only girl who genuinely loved you."

He exhaled a toxic breath, snatching his golden lighter off the desk to flip it between his fingers with engineered coldness, before stating in a merciless tone:

"Maybe I’ll give you the chance to take her yourself."

A broken smile touched my lips one filled with enough nobility and sorrow to split the cold air between us. I shook my head slowly, looking down at my clasped hands before snapping my gaze back to his icy eyes:

"If I haven’t taken Julie by now, Robert... it’s not because I can’t afford her price. It’s because I know damn well she doesn’t love me."

Robert let out a muffled, bitter laugh that cut through the heavy room. He slammed the golden lighter onto the wooden surface with a sharp crack, leaning forward to fix a lethal glare onto my face:

"And does she love me?! Julie loves no one but herself!"

I shook my head in quiet dismay, leaning in slightly until my eyes aligned with his freezing gaze, every word dropping with absolute weight:

"She loves you... But with this blind pride of yours, you’re going to lose her very soon."

Robert’s face hardened instantly, his jaw clenching so tight the muscle twitched as if the words struck a raw nerve. He straightened up, his voice turning rough:

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

I rose from my seat deliberately, adjusting the collar of my jacket with the quiet calm before a storm. Looking down at him with a resolve he had never seen in my eyes before, I stated:

"Julie might not love me... That’s true. But I will never stand by and let you hurt her again."

His eyebrows shot up in sharp outrage. He slammed his open palm onto the leather armrest, a roar shaking the corners of the room:

"She’s my fucking girl! I do whatever the hell I want with her!"

I planted my feet firmly on the marble floor, squaring my shoulders with solid resolve as I shot back in a firm hiss:

"Not anymore... And if I see you continue to hurt her with this savagery, keep it framed in your head that I will save her from your hell, no matter the cost!"

Sparks flew from his dark eyes. His entire body locked up, his knuckles turning bone-white as he slammed both fists onto the desk, grating out a promise of death:

"Are you threatening me, Carlos?!"

I cast a final look at him, filled with defiance and pride, stating with cold indifference:

"Take it however you want... But I warned you."

I turned on my heel with decisive steps, unbuttoning my jacket to draw air. Stepping out of the office, I pulled the door shut behind me, abandoning him to his raging storm.

I descended the heavy staircase with ragged breaths. When I reached the corridor, my feet slowed down against my will... stopping for a second before her locked door.

My hand extended instinctively toward the brass handle. I wanted so badly to push it open, to step inside and see her, to comfort her and wrap her shattered soul in my arms once more... But my hand froze mid-air.

I slowly pulled my hand back, closing my eyes. My heart had endured more heartbreak and disappointment today than it could handle. I couldn’t be her sanctuary while her soul burned for another man.

Turning around, I dragged my exhausted steps out through the club’s doors into the crisp night air. I took a deep breath that scorched my lungs, yet even the fresh air couldn’t purge her ghost from my mind... Julie with her tears, her heartbreak, and her reckless defiance remained the only thing controlling my thoughts, occupying my entire existence.

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Robert’s POV

I slammed my fist into the corridor wall so hard the skin over my knuckles tore open, hot blood dripping down as my heart hammered violently against my ribs.

I dragged my feet into my private suite in total disarray. How could that little girl, with her tears and filthy defiance, twist my entire world like this?! How did she dare use her body as leverage in front of Carlos to light this open fire in my chest?!

Axel came bounding toward me with excitement, his paws thumping against the floor as his tail wagged wildly around my legs.

I shoved him off gently with the tip of my shoe, my voice raspy with exhaustion and rage:

"I’m in no mood for your games right now, Axel... Get out of my face."

I ripped off my jacket and shirt, tossing them carelessly onto the floor.

Stepping into the bathroom, I twisted the cold water tap full blast, letting the icy torrent pour down over my head and broad shoulders. I closed my eyes, gripping both edges of the sink to extinguish the blaze consuming my chest.

Wrapping a towel around my waist, I wiped the water droplets from my skin. Suddenly... the faint screech of the suite’s front door opening sliced through the quiet!

My muscles locked up instantly, my back tightening. No one ever opens the door to my suite with such audacity... Someone in this club clearly decided to end their own life tonight!

I snatched the gun resting on the glass shelf with blinding speed, my bare feet treading silently toward the wooden door separating the bathroom from the main room.

The moment I threw the door open, weapon leveled at the intruder’s chest, my hand froze in mid-air...

It was Julie!

She was swaying in the middle of the room, her wet hair clinging to her neck and shoulders, the overwhelming stench of strong alcohol filling the space.

Her weak legs buckled, dumping her onto her knees over the carpet, right in front of Axel, who sat staring at her in sheer confusion.

Julie raised a trembling finger toward Axel’s face in a tragically hilarious gesture, slurring out in a thick, broken voice heavy with intoxication:

"Listen to me, Robert... You’re a pathetic bastard... And you look... You look hideous tonight! How the hell did I ever think you were handsome?!"