267 Old Wounds (16)

"Gale!" Veronica shouted out, running after them. She dashed in front of him with tears in her eyes.

The fact that he left her party in disgust would mar her reputation for years to come. It was a power he executed with caution, since he could easily make plenty of enemies, but he wasn't going to tolerate such blatant dismissal of his ability to choose.

The fact that he played their games did not mean he would let them lord over him. They had grown too arrogant, daring to mock his date. It was time to teach them a lesson.

"You don't need, not because of me," Elise whispered to him, trying to pull her hand out, but he shook his head at her, not letting her go.

"I do need to," he said to her, then turned to the half-dressed woman before him. She took a step forward to grab his hand, but he avoided it. "Next time, use your brains a little. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find a place to actually have fun."

There was a loud murmur among the crowd, and Gale turned around. He saw pitying glances aimed at him and fury and disgust filled ones at Elise. Everyone was certain that he had been bought.

Truth wasn't absent from that idea, but those people didn't know what was good for them. He'd honored them by showing up at their nobody party, and that was how they were going to repay him? By mocking his date and starting rumors about him being bought out?

Fools, what absolute fools. One shouldn't pull on a sleeping tiger's whiskers.

"Never show yourselves before me again," he told the whole crowd. "If I catch a glimpse of you, you'll wish you were dead."

The next moment, he pulled on Elise's hand and took her outside. Ignoring Veronica's pleas to change his mind, he went out, opened the door to his sport's car for Elise, then sat down himself and drove away.

"That was too much," she said with her head turned to face him. "I didn't need your protection."

He shrugged. "It's not about you needing anything, but them overstepping themselves."

"My brother did bribe you to take me out," she stated the obvious. Her voice was strong, without any embarrassment.

"So?" He spared her half a glance.

"There was no need for you to antagonize all those people. We're probably never going to talk after this, so what's the point? I could have just left."

What kind of logic was that?

Gale turned into the parking lot of a restaurant he owned, then shifted in his seat upon stopping the car. Their eyes met. "I don't care for what reason you were with me. The fact is I took you out, and so it is my responsibility to make sure you have fun. And those idiots were getting in the way."

"That's… Why does everyone keep acting like I can't stand up for myself? Mark, Iris, you. I have lived with this for years, it's fine."

"You're in the position of a victim," Gale said with a shrug. He stopped the car, but didn't get out. It was already dark outside, and the car park was lit with only a few lights, making it seem like they were in their own little world.

Elise huffed, turning away from him. He could understand her somewhat, in theory. Unlike him, she was always being coddled, protected from anything that might cause her the smallest danger. It sounded pretty nice to him, but based on her current mood, it wasn't as great as it looked from the outside.

"This is not another party," Elise said after a moment. There was nothing but an old house ahead of them. It was well-lit and ornamented, but there were no people milling around it.

"Would you have went to one?" Gale finally opened his door and stepped out, walking around to help Elise. She shook her head in answer to his question when he came around. "Thought so."

The place he'd chosen was an old hotel changed into a private restaurant. There were a couple tables in the main building, but the real attraction were the garden arbors. In the evenings, they would be lit with yellow lanterns, creating a warm atmosphere for the diners as various flower bushes bloomed around, their scent unmistakable, but not overpowering.

It was a popular choice among couples, but Gale usually came alone. It was a relaxing place and helped him forget himself for a time.

Under normal circumstances, he would have never brought Elise with him, but he'd made a mistake, a miscalculation. He didn't want to risk it again by taking her to another party or some public diner. There was no telling if another rabid girlfriend-wannabe wouldn't jump out and destroy any good atmosphere he might have started to cultivate.

Upon coming out, Elise looked around again, then turned to him. "You're more observant than I gave you credit for. Where are we then? You should have just brought me home."

"I'll treat you to dinner in apology, since I should have brought to my usual crowd. They would have had the good sense to at least fake politeness."

Elise looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Faked politeness is better?"

"Oh yes. They would have hidden their distaste and hostility so deep you'd have never noticed and simply had a good night out. I overestimated the capabilities of those morons we saw earlier."

"Do you ever refer to people in non derogatory terms?" she asked, shaking her head with an amused smile. There was no way she could disagree with his evaluation of those dimwits they'd met earlier.

He grinned as he led her into the secluded restaurant. "Only when it's Kyro," he admitted. After a few steps, he added, "Or Iris. Can't go around insulting my friend's girlfriend if I want to keep my pretty face."

Elise snorted at his righteous words, then hid her face behind her hand to pretend that the unladylike sound hadn't come from her. Once again in a good mood, Gale showed her to his table and pushed the menu toward his companion of the night.