Chapter 1

Everyone knew Julie Somers was Zayn Peyton's most faithful lapdog. No matter how often Zayn humiliated her, she'd still come running with her tail wagging every time he called. Everyone mocked her for shamelessly sucking up to him despite knowing full well he had no feelings for her. One of Zayn's friends joked, "Zayn, seeing how much Julie loves you, when are you going to marry her?" Zayn replied lazily, "A whore like her? As if." Julie happened to be standing outside the private room door right then, her hand still on the handle. She looked down. A whore, huh? "But Zayn, you're not one to talk," she silently said. Julie pushed the door open, and the rowdy room quickly fell silent as everyone's attention turned to her. They were waiting to see what would happen next. Just half an hour ago, Zayn had given her a call and ordered her to the bar even though they were still in the middle of giving each other the cold shoulder. Every person in the room had bet she wouldn't show up. After all, the two had just fought last night after Zayn made Julie deliver condoms to him at a hotel. Unexpectedly, she still showed up, proving just how smitten she was with him. Ignoring the scornful stares around her, Julie kept her expression blank as she walked straight toward Zayn. He sat on a couch, flanked by two scantily dressed ladies. The anger in her chest lessened as she stared at his face, her gaze softening. Turning to the woman on his right, she asked calmly, "Could you move?" The woman shot her a disdainful glance. "And who are you?" Julie didn't respond and just stood there quietly. The woman leaned over, wrapped her arm around Zayn's, and cooed, "Zayn, is she the lapdog you guys were talking about? She's so scary!" Zayn glanced at Julie and tightened his hold around the woman's waist. "Aww, did she upset you?" The woman quickly nodded, a pitiful look on her face. Zayn softly coaxed, "How about I tell her to apologize to you?" The woman's eyes lit up when she heard this. "Sure!" Zayn finally turned his attention to Julie. "Apologize." Julie stood firm, not saying a word. Seeing this, he frowned in annoyance. "Are you fucking deaf? I told you to apologize." Julie looked at him, her expression faltering slightly. "Don't be mad," she said hurriedly. He looked even less similar when he was upset. Zayn smirked smugly, harrumphing. "Then apologize." Right as he finished giving the order, Julie coolly said, "Sorry." Zayn ignored her and turned to the woman next to him. "Happy?" The woman grew bolder the moment she realized how indifferent Zayn was toward Julie. Shaking her head, she coyly said, "She wasn't even being sincere." Zayn gently asked, "Then what do you want?" The woman glanced around before her eyes landed on the bottle of champagne on the table. Pointing to it, she said, "She should finish everything on the table if she really means it." The room immediately fell silent. The only drinks on the table were bottles of hard liquor. Even a man would struggle with just one bottle, let alone a woman. Julie said nothing and just stared at Zayn. A faint smile played on his lips as he held the woman's waist. He glanced up, and their eyes met. Julie broke the silence first. "Are you sure you want me to drink all of it?" Zayn hesitated, knowing she already wasn't in good shape after drinking on his behalf for years. He eventually stopped forcing her to drink when she got alcohol poisoning and had to get the alcohol flushed out of her body. But he couldn't help feeling pissed when he saw how confident she was. He sneered, "Don't you think you owe my lady here a sincere apology?" Julie gazed at his face unblinkingly, her eyes filled with unmistakable affection. Still, her eyes slowly reddened. They weren't the same person, after all. Her lips curled into a bitter smile. "That won't be enough. Let's add some spice." She grabbed a handful of spicy jalapenos from one of the snack plates and began stuffing her face and washing the jalapenos down with alcohol. Zayn's expression darkened instantly. He watched her without saying anything. But when she reached for her fourth bottle, he cursed under his breath. Kicking the table, he barked, "That's enough, Julie Somers!" Julie paused, her hand holding the bottle mid-air. Her throat was burning, and her insides felt like they were on fire. Still, she desperately held herself together. Staring at him, she asked, "Is this sincere enough yet?" "Get out!" he snarled. Julie didn't move. She just stood there, watching him silently. Agitated, Zayn hurled the bottle he was holding at her. She didn't dodge, and the glass bottle struck her forehead hard. Instantly, blood started trickling down her head. Zayn's expression grew even darker, but he said nothing and merely stared at her coldly. Taken aback by the sudden turn of events, everyone stared at Julie. Noticing the blood dripping from her forehead, someone hesitatingly spoke up. "Julie, Zayn had too much to drink. Don't–" "Zip it." Zayn cut the person off harshly. Turning his attention to Julie, he snorted. "This is really starting to get annoying now." Julie wiped at the blood near her eyes and croaked, "So, are you breaking up with me?" Zayn's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Breaking up? What did you think we were?" His tone was laced with disdain. Julie stared at him intently, but his silhouette remained blurry. She couldn't tell if it was the alcohol making her dizzy. Nodding faintly, she said, "Got it." Zayn grew angrier at her calm demeanor. "In that case, scram!" She staggered out of the room without looking back. "Zayn, Julie's hurt. Aren't you going to check on her? What if she ignores you after this?" someone asked. "Forget it." Zayn got up, poured himself another drink, and downed it in one shot. Many people agreed with his decision. "Whatever for? It's not like we don't know how clingy she is. I bet she'll come crawling back in less than two days." "Exactly. Zayn made her deliver condoms to a hotel last night, yet she was still fussing over his health." "Geez, how did you manage to make her so loyal to you?" "I'm going to have to learn some tricks from you." Suddenly, Hans York, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, spoke up, "Mind letting me have her if you're bored of her, Zayn? I think she'd give me a great time." Zayn's eyes shot toward him, icy and sharp. Realizing his mistake, Hans immediately tried to apologize but was stopped by Zayn's lazy voice.