Maybe the man who once, for my sake, picked up a knife and slashed open her collarbone after she called me a whore was gone.
I gripped my glass so tightly I heard it crack.
As Gideon thought I had let it go, he told the waiter to clear the table and bring in new dishes. He even handed Arabella a fresh plate and cutlery.
She arched a brow, all casual, and asked, “Weren’t we sharing the craziest things we’ve done? I already shared mine. Who’s next?”
While people glanced at each other awkwardly, I spoke up softly. “My turn.”
Everyone exhaled, relieved, thinking the matter was finally over.
Until they saw me stand, slap her hard across the face, then pour a full glass of red wine over her head.
She froze for a second before her eyes widened and she shrieked, “Marianne! How dare you?!”
Gideon instinctively grabbed my wrist, but I tore free with a sharp jerk.
I smiled faintly and spoke over her hysteria. “This… is the craziest thing I’ve done today.”
Then I raised my phone, snapped her humiliating state, and posted it instantly.
Everyone at the table saw that her face darkened in that instant.
She clenched her teeth and screamed, “Gideon! Whatever’s between us, it’s our business. But now your wife picked the fight herself. What are you going to do about it?!”
Marianne's POV
Everyone in the city knew that Gideon and Arabella were sworn enemies. Whenever they crossed paths, it always ended in a fight.
Back in school, their battles were the stuff of legend. She once tried to poison his lunch, and he hired people to throw a sack over her head in return.
Eventually, they struck a truce that as long as neither crossed the line, they’d leave each other alone.
And yet, facing a woman like that, someone he hated so deeply, he still turned on me tonight.
“Marianne,” his voice was cold, his face stormy, “this time you went too far. Arabella was just joking. Don’t make people think we can’t take a joke. Apologize.”
A laugh bubbled up in my chest, bitter and sharp.
With a trembling voice, I said, “You forgot everything she’s done to you?”
He shot back without hesitation. “I already broke her collarbone for you. That scar is still there. What more do you want?”
His words stunned me, and for a moment, I forgot why I had once risked my life for him.