Caden could feel the oppressive aura that Lirian radiated, and it filled him with an unsettling mix of fear and anger.
“You can’t do this,” Caden muttered, his voice hoarse, but there was no real defiance in his words, only a desperate plea.
The fear was evident now, his earlier arrogance crumbling as Lirian’s men moved closer, pushing him into a chair.
Lirian’s gaze didn’t shift from Caden, but his eyes darkened slightly.
“You think I care about your opinion, Caden?” His voice was calm, almost too calm. “You will drink, and you will learn what it feels like to be humiliated.”
His words cut through the room like a sharp blade, and Caden's defiance withered before it could even take root.
He knew better than to challenge Lirian now.
His body tensed, but he didn’t resist as one of the subordinates poured the first glass of clear liquor, the liquid sloshing in the tumbler as the man handed it over with a cold, empty smile.
The same people who had mocked and tormented me earlier were now forced to follow suit.
Their faces twisted in bitterness, but there was no escape for them.
Each glass was poured, and they had no choice but to drink.
I watched them, silently amused by the irony of it all.
The mocking laughter from earlier had been replaced with grim silence as they gulped down the alcohol, their faces turning green as the liquor burned its way down their throats.
It didn’t take long before the room began to resemble a battlefield.
One by one, people started to falter, their ability to hold their liquor failing them.
Some of them began swaying on their feet, while others slumped heavily in their chairs.
The sound of retching echoed through the room as the effects of the alcohol took hold, and I couldn’t help but find the scene laughable.
I sat on the sofa, watching the unfolding chaos.
But despite the twisted satisfaction I should have felt, I didn’t experience the joy I expected.
I only felt a strange emptiness.
Seeing Caden, the one who had once been so dominant, now reduced to a drunken heap, was not as satisfying as I had imagined.
It was almost pitiful.
“Look at them,” I muttered under my breath, my gaze lingering on the others who were either on the floor or sprawled across chairs, helpless in their intoxication. “They thought they were invincible.” I looked back at Caden.
He had his head lowered, his hand clutching the edge of the table for support. His usual cocky demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Last night, it had been him looking down on everyone, laughing at their misfortune.
Now, the roles had reversed, and it felt oddly fitting that he was the one suffering.
The minutes dragged on, and the room descended into even more chaos.
Vomit splattered on the floor, mixing with the sour stench of alcohol.
“Take him,” he ordered, his voice like steel. “Make sure he doesn’t die before he learns his lesson.”
I didn’t watch them leave.
Instead, I turned to Lirian, who seemed unaffected by the chaos he had just orchestrated.
But I could see the exhaustion in his posture.
The weight of the day had clearly taken its toll on him.
Lirian looked at me ‘Let’s go home together “..
When we got home, the familiar comfort of our space welcomed us, but there was no immediate sense of relief in the air.
I noticed Lirian’s tired eyes, his posture slumped as though the day had been far too long for him.
He wore his usual black fingerless gloves, and his heavy combat boots clattered against the floor as he moved.
But when I reached for his jacket to help him remove it, I saw something that made my heart sink—a bandage wrapped tightly around his arm.
I couldn’t hide my concern.
“Lirian, what happened?” I asked, gently touching the bandage.
The words were barely out of my mouth before he shrugged them off with a dismissive motion.
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