Ditched the Cheater, Pregnant by Mr. Righ novel Chapter 177

Chapter 177 The Setup

Finished

“Hey, Lucy… I’m sorry.” Quinn said, her tone soft and a little uneasy. “Anything else, I’m in. But if it has to do with Julian…”

“I know, I know,” Lucy cut in with a light laugh, waving it off. “Don’t overthink it. Nobody’s going to mess with me. I’ll just swing by, drop the jewelry off with Julian, and call it a night.”

What Lucy hadn’t counted on was this, people might not go after her openly, but the kind of subtle, underhanded moves they pulled behind the scenes could still make her miserable.

That night, she showed up at the club without an invite.

The moment she stepped inside, she realized Julian wasn’t there yet.

Zeke was.

She walked straight over and slid into the seat next to him. “Where’s Julian?”

Zeke flicked her forehead without warning. “Wow, okay. No hello? No manners? What am I, part of the furniture?”

“Zeke!” Lucy covered her forehead, wincing. “That actually hurt!”

“Hold on, I’ll fix it,” he said, leaning closer.

Lucy immediately leaned back to avoid him. “Nope. Don’t even try. Just tell me, where is he? Is he coming

or not?”

“He’s coming,” Zeke said casually. “He put this whole thing together. You think he’d ghost his own party?”

Lucy blinked. “Wait, Julian planned this? For what, someone’s birthday or something?”

Zeke shook his head. “No clue. But when he called me earlier, he sounded like he was ready to throw hands with the entire world. I’m not kidding, it was intense.”

“When was that?”

“Earlier today, around noon,” Zeke said, then raised a hand and nodded toward someone across the room. “Hey, what’s up?”

Lucy froze for a second.

Noon… that was right after he met Quinn.

That expression on his face back then… it wasn’t just bad. It was the kind of mood where you stay out of his way unless you had a death wish.

For a brief moment, Lucy actually considered leaving.

She had always been a little intimidated by Julian.

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Chapter 177 The Setup

Finished

But then Clara’s smug smile flashed through her mind, the way she had subtly shown off earlier, and Lucy felt that irritation rise right back up.

She turned to Zeke. “Hey, you and Julian are close, right? You’d know… is he actually planning to marry Clara?”

Zeke raised an eyebrow. “First of all, my name is not ‘hey.”

“Okay, okay, Zeke.” Lucy said, completely unfazed. “So? Is he?”

“How would I know?” Zeke shrugged. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “If I could ask him, why would I be asking you? Aren’t you supposed to be his best friend? And you don’t even know this?”

Zeke smirked. “You seem awfully invested in who he marries. What, you’ll be heartbroken if it’s Clara?”

Lucy puffed her cheeks slightly. “Like I have any say in it. I just don’t like her, alright?”

Before she could say anything else, a ripple of noise spread from the entrance.

A few voices called out, “Seven!”

Lucy looked up instantly.

There he was.

Julian walked in, tall and composed, the kind of presence that made people automatically shift their

attention.

And right next to him… Clara.

Lucy’s expression tightened. Did they come together? Did they just run into each other, or have they been together this whole time?

She stood up quickly. “Seven!”

Julian’s gaze locked onto her from across the room, and without hesitation, he walked straight over.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing around briefly. “You came alone?”

“Yeah,” Lucy said, then flicked her eyes toward Clara behind him. “Where were you just now?”

“The office.”

His expression still looked off, tense in a way that hadn’t eased at all.

Lucy felt a flicker of unease and didn’t push further.

Clara stepped forward and stood beside him, smiling warmly. “Lucy, fancy seeing you here again. Your friend didn’t come with you?”

Lucy had zero interest in entertaining her, but with Julian right there, she had to keep it somewhat civil.

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Chapter 177 The Setup

Finished

She replied flatly. “She didn’t. Got a problem with that?”

Even that earned her a frown from Julian. “Watch your tone.”

Of course. He’s already taking her side, and they’re not even married yet. What happens if they actually do get married?

Clara let out a soft laugh. “It’s fine. Lucy and I get along just fine, right, Lucy?”

Yeah, in your dreams.

Lucy bit back the urge to roll her eyes and stayed quiet. Right then, Julian’s phone rang, and he stepped aside to take the call.

The second he was gone, Lucy turned to Clara. “Why did you come with him?”

“I rode with him,” Clara said calmly. “Why?”

Lucy stared at her, getting visibly worked up. “You… you two…”

Clara gently pulled her down into a seat. “Lucy, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever done anything to offend you. So why do you seem to have such a problem with me?”

There wasn’t a clean answer for that.

Sometimes, you just knew when you didn’t like someone. Lucy shifted away from her and moved closer to Zeke.

Clara smiled faintly, then turned to him. “Zeke, what were you two talking about?”

Zeke, ever easygoing, replied, “Nothing serious, just random stuff. What do you want to drink? I’ll have them bring it over.”

Before Clara could answer, Lucy cut in, suddenly energized. “I’m drinking tonight.”

She felt awful, and when she felt awful, she drank.

Zeke’s place didn’t have a bunch of rules anyway.

By the time Julian returned from his call, Lucy had already downed a full glass of red wine.

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