The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 169

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Chapter 169

JUTTAN’S POV

I spent the entire next day pacing around my empty, quiet house, doing everything in my power to keep myself from completely losing my mind.

The toxic, raging jealousy from Blake’s phone call was still burning a hole in my stomach, but I forced myself to step away from the liquor bottles.

I couldn’t afford to show up at my family’s manor looking like a total vagrant. I even ordered a new phone and then checked my emails. Chloe had already left a message reminding me of the wedding.

I knew I couldn’t fuck this up for her. I also had to get her a gift. So instead of drinking myself into a stupor, I sat on the edge of my bed for hours, staring blankly at the old pictures of Aria saved on my laptop.

Looking at her bright, beautiful smile was the only thing that kept me grounded, the only thing that kept me sane. I traced the screen with my thumb, whispering her name into the empty room like a prayer.

I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t. I even ordered the wedding gift for my cousin so I wouldn’t forget.

When the day of the wedding finally arrived, I woke up feeling exhausted but sober. I threw on a tailored black suit, fixed my tie, and hit the road. True to my usual style, I arrived late. Very typical of me.

By the time I quietly slipped through the heavy wooden doors of the grand church, the ceremony was already well underway.

It was an intimate, high-class family event, filled with elegant floral arrangements and soft classical music playing in the background. I stood near the back row, keeping a low profile so my mother wouldn’t spot me and start lecturing me in front of our relatives.

I scanned the altar, looking for Chloe to see how beautiful she looked in her white wedding gown. But the moment my eyes swept past the groom, my entire body completely froze.

My breath caught in my throat, and the blood in my veins turned to pure fire. Standing right there, dressed in a sharp, expensive tuxedo as the groom’s best man, was Brandon.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Of all the people in the world, what the hell was he doing at my cousin’s wedding? And to make things a hundred times worse, the drama wasn’t just on the altar.

I noticed the maid of honor standing directly across from him. She kept leaning in close, whispering things to him, and giggling behind her bouquet of flowers.

She was openly, shamelessly flirting with him right in the middle of the ceremony. I narrowed my eyes, studying her face.

I recognized the lady instantly. She was an employee at my father’s corporate company.

As if sensing my burning gaze, Brandon slowly turned his head toward the back of the church.

Our eyes locked across the crowded room. Instead of looking shocked or uncomfortable about being caught, a slow, cold expression washed over his face.

Brandon flashed me a victorious, mocking smirk, as if silently telling me that he had already won everything. My knuckles turned white as I balled my hands into tight fists.

The sheer hypocrisy of the man made me want to vomit. He was supposedly playing the perfect, devoted boyfriend to Aria, sending her massive bouquets of roses, yet here he was, soaking up the attention of another woman at a family wedding. The moment the ceremony ended and the guests began to stream out of the main hall toward the reception garden, l moved fast. I didn’t care about making a scene.

I intercepted Brandon in a quiet, secluded hallway right on his way out, stepping directly into his path to block him..”Get out of my way, Julian,” Brandon said, his voice dropping into that low, arrogant tone I despised so much.

“You are completely shameless, Brandon,” I growled, stepping closer until our chests were practically touching.

“You are a total fraud. Flirting with the bridesmaid at a wedding while you’re supposedly leading Aria on back home? How much of an ungrateful jerk can you actually be?”

Brandon didn’t even flinch. He let out a low, mocking laugh, looking down at me as if I were nothing but an annoying bug on his shoe. “You really don’t know anything, do you?” Brandon sneered, fixing his cuffs with total calmness.

“She is an old friend from my college days. We lost contact some time ago and just happened to reconnect here. There is nothing going on between us.”

“I don’t care about your pathetic excuses!” I snapped, my voice echoing slightly against the stone walls of the hallway.

Chapter 169

“You’re playing games with Ario, and I’m not going to let

you

ruin her life.”

Brandon’s eyes went completely dark, the small smile vanishing from his lips. He stepped even closer, his presence turning eold and intimidating.

“You need to stop sulking around like a pathetic kid, Julian,”

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