Valery had been Leila's rival in love for a decade now. Valery was arranged to be married to Zac, and she flaunted her engagement to him like a badge of honor. Now, Valery had her claws so deeply sunk in every aspect of Zac's life that he could never cleanly sever ties with her. That was the reason why Zac was forced to leave Dragon City: to escape her clutches.
"Let's talk about it later," Zac said in a cold tone, evidently reluctant to discuss the other woman. Leila dared not ask any more, but she guessed that he knew nothing about the situation, or he would have gone back long before then.
Marci took a glance at her nephew and inwardly sighed, keeping silent.
She had always said that Zac and Valery's relationship was a toxic one.
At the bar counter...
As soon as she returned from the restroom, Essie asked for another glass of Bloody Mary. She studied Zac over the rim of her drink as she took a sip.
He and Leila seemed to be enjoying their conversation. In general, Zac was indifferent to women, but he was close to Leila. Evidently, Leila occupied a very special place in his heart. To Zac, she was probably unforgettable. Maybe their relationship was in the past, but nothing was stopping them from getting back together any time now.
Essie suddenly felt a weird sensation in her chest. Was the cocktail too sour? She did not want to dwell on the feeling, so she finished her drink silently.
She stepped away from her seat and did not come back for some time. On his way to the men's room, Zac passed by the bar counter and saw her.
Zac approached her, saying with some amusement, "Did you really think that I wouldn't allow you to drink, so that you had to hide here and knock back your wine in secret?"
"Yes. Do you have any problem with that?" she sniped back at Zac, her nose wrinkled in anger. 'Go back to sweet-talking your ex-girlfriend and leave me alone!' She really did not know why she was in such a strange, horrible mood. Eventually, she decided to attribute it to the two thousand dollars that just went down the drain.
How humiliating!
Zac leaned against the counter beside her. "You can drink as much as you want. I'll accompany you." He lightly ruffled her hair and ordered a glass of zero degree cocktail. It looked like he had no intention of letting her nurse her drink alone.
She was slightly confused at his action. Her heavy eyelashes flashing, she asked him, "Will you be going home tonight?"
He lowered his head to smile at her and answered slowly and carefully, as if talking to a drunk person or a child, "If I don't go home, where will I sleep?"
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