HIS STRIPPER, HIS WIFE novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Jul 23

Chapter 81

Bianca

10 vouchers

“We were just talking.” I replied, my thumb hovering over the screen for a second before I hit send. I closed the message and was about to slide the phone back into my bag when another notification lit up the screen almost immediately, the little buzz against my palm making me shake slightly.

“Talking about what?”

I stared at those three words for longer than I probably should have, turning the phone over in my hand like the answer would somehow appear if I looked at it from a different angle.

Part of me wanted to just tell him, to type out everything Julian had said, the card, the whole flirty conversation, just to see, what he would do with that information. But a bigger part of me, the stubborn part that didn’t like being questioned like a child who had done something wrong, decided against it.

“Sorry, I think that is a personal topic.” I typed slowly, reading it back once before sending it, already bracing myself for whatever came next.

I didn’t have to wait long, “Bianca!?” came his reply, the exclamation and question mark stacked together in a way that somehow managed to carry his entire tone through the screen, he couldn’t believe that I would even try that with him.

“Okay sir.” I replied and set the phone face down on the table beside my empty dessert cup. I knew it probably came across as childish, maybe even a little petty, but I didn’t care.

It was a private conversation, whatever Julian had meant by all of it or not and I also felt strongly that there were far better ways for someone to ask me a question like that if I was even owed an answer at all. Adrian didn’t get to own every single thing that happened to me the moment he wasn’t standing right beside me.

The final bell rang not long after, a soft chime echoing gently through the ballroom speakers, signaling the official end of the auction for the night. Around us, people began rising slowly from their seats, gathering wraps and clutches, some already drifting toward the exit in twos and threes.

I would have taken that chime as my own cue to head home too, my feet already half turned toward the door, but Amanda grabbed my wrist before I could get far.

“We are staying for the light dinner,” she said. “I am not cooking anything when I get home, Bianca, not tonight.”

So we stayed. We found ourselves a small round table near the edge of the room, tucked slightly away from the thinning. crowd, and settled in for what turned out to be one of the sweetest, lightest meals I’ve had in a long time.

C

Small plates arrived one after the other, grilled vegetables drizzled with something citrusy, thin slices of glazed chicken that practically melted the moment they hit my tongue, and finally a small dessert cup layered with berries and cream that Amanda and I both agreed disappeared far too quickly for how good it tasted. It was simple food, nothing extravagant compared to everything else the night had thrown at us.

Amanda, true to form, spent most of dinner turning down nearly every man who dared to wander close enough to our table with some opening line ready on his lips. One after another she waved them off with the same polite smile, barely even pausing her fork between bites, and I couldn’t stop laughing every single time it happened.

“For someone who talks to another person concerning men, you run from men too much.” I said, finally catching my breath, scraping the last bit of cream from my cup.

‘I don’t want my face on TV?” she said almost immediately, completely deadpan, like the logic was obvious and I was slow for not catching it sooner.

“But you don’t mind seeing mine?” I shot back, raising an eyebrow at her.

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Chapter 81

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“Well well…” her voice trailed off dramatically, and the two of us broke into laughter loud enough that the couple seated at the table beside us glanced over, smiling faintly at whatever inside joke they assumed we were sharing.

I was still wiping the corner of my mouth with my napkin when I noticed movement approaching from the side, and I looked up to find Julian walking past our table, the woman in red walking just slightly ahead of him, her arm loosely linked with someone else’s now, though her eyes still found their way to me for a brief second, cold and unreadable as ever, before she looked away and kept moving toward the exit like I wasn’t even worth a second glance.

Julian, on the other hand, slowed his steps the moment he got close enough, and before I could fully register it, he had stopped right beside our table. hands tucked into the pockets of his suit jacket, that same easy smile from earlier still siding comfortably on his face.

“Leaving already?” I asked, mostly just to say something, my eyes flicking briefly toward the woman in red who was now waiting near the doors, her back turned to us.

“Duty calls.” he said, tilting his head slightly. “I’m heading out now, but I’ll see you next time.” His voice dropped a little as he said it.

Amanda the audience had gone completely silent across the table, watching the exchange with poorly hidden interest, her spoon paused halfway between her cup and her mouth.

Julian leaned in slightly then, just enough that his voice dipped lower, meant only for me this time. “Don’t forget to save my number.” he said, his eyes holding mine for a beat longer than necessary.

I nodded, forcing a small smile onto my face. “I won’t forget.” I said quietly.

He straightened back up, gave Amanda a polite little nod that she returned with far too much enthusiasm, and then turned to catch up with the woman in red already waiting by the door, the two of them disappearing out into the night together.

The second he was out of earshot, Amanda dropped her spoon entirely.

“Okay what was that.” she said, leaning forward across the table, her eyes practically glowing with the need for details.

“Nothing.” I said quickly, reaching for my water glass just to have something to do with my hands.

“Bianca.” she said, drawing my name out slowly, clearly not buying a single word of it.

My phone buzzed again against the table. I glanced down and felt my stomach dip slightly at the name on the screen.

“We are going together Bianca.” I read it twice, shaking my head slowly at the screen before typing my reply with more force than necessary. “I came here with my friend and I’m going with her.” I sent, setting the phone down like we were done but

we weren’t.

“Don’t be stubborn.” The reply came in almost instantly, followed seconds later by another message that made my whole mood change.

“I already arranged for how your sister will be taken care of.”

“Oh my God.” I said out loud without meaning to, the words slipping out before I could catch them, and Amanda’s head snapped up from her plate immediately, her fork frozen halfway to her mouth.

“What is wrong Bianca?” she asked, already reaching across the table for my phone before I even offered it to her.

She read through the messages quickly, her eyes scanning left to right, and then, infuriatingly, she just said, “Okay.”

Amanda, what do you mean by okay?” I asked, my voice a little higher than I intended, “My baby sister was at home, probably already asleep, and this man was out here rearranging her night without so much as asking me first.”

Do you want me to stay with your sister instead of him sending people?” she asked, tilting her head at me, her tone

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hu, Jul 23

Chapter 81

suddenly serious, without all the teasing from a moment ago.

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