The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 188

He could vaguely hear people whispering that Halcyon was upset, that the wine was meant for whoever brought the toys.

A sense of unease crept over Yancey. Without waiting for anyone beside him to go in first, he pushed through the door on his own.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he caught Halcyon’s words, and saw Wisteria being forced to drink. Without thinking, he intervened.

Wisteria choked, sputtering the wine out in a single cough, straight onto Yancey.

His expensive shirt was instantly ruined, but Yancey didn’t flinch. Instead, he braced Wisteria’s body from behind with his arm, steadying her.

“Why are you drinking? You’re allergic to alcohol. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Cough… Yancey… why are you butting in?”

As Wisteria looked up and recognized him, she instinctively tried to pull away, but Yancey didn’t let go. His expression turned cold and severe as he glanced sharply at Halcyon.

Halcyon was flustered for a split second, but quickly regained her composure.

“Yancey, what are you doing? Am I invisible to you, your fiancée?”

“Why are you treating her like this? I’ve explained it before, there’s nothing between me and Wisteria. She has nothing to do with me anymore, and she hasn’t bothered anyone tonight. We talked it all out, so why are you pulling this behind my back?”

Yancey’s voice was low and restrained, but there was no hiding the anger simmering beneath his words.

Wisteria shot him a surprised look.

Seeing how Yancey stood up for Wisteria, Halcyon let out a bitter laugh.

“Nothing between you? I’m your fiancée, but here you are, at my birthday party, in front of all my friends, defending her and taking her side?”

“Nothing between you? Yet right now, you’re holding her, comforting her, and criticizing me for her?”

Yancey’s Adam’s apple bobbed as if Halcyon’s words had struck a nerve. The veins at his temple stood out, and he looked pale—a sign Wisteria knew all too well.

She understood Yancey. When he was furious but didn’t want to lash out, he’d become just like this: tense, silent, unable even to fight back.

Yancey was raised with impeccable manners, always polite to everyone—the complete opposite of her. If it were her, reason or not, she’d argue to win. If someone rubbed her the wrong way, she’d make a scene, justified or not.

As a kid, Yancey was always the one people took advantage of, the one who got bullied. That’s why, when they first met, the look in his eyes as he gazed at her was almost worshipful, like she was his savior.

“Yancey, drop the act. You don’t have to play the nice guy around me,” Wisteria snapped.

Still unable to break free, she swallowed back the lingering burn in her throat and shot a cold glare. “This is between me and Ms. Loring.”

Yancey half-dragged, half-led Wisteria out of the Loring house. When he opened the car door and tried to usher her inside, she shoved him away.

“Yancey, what the hell is wrong with you? You can’t stand me, so why are you meddling in my business? Don’t you realize Halcyon’s going to file a complaint against me? We’re basically strangers now. Let’s stop dragging each other down, okay?”

She turned to go back, but Yancey yanked off his tie in frustration, strode over, and with barely contained impatience, picked her up and put her in the car. He buckled her seatbelt, locked the doors, and ignored her struggles.

“Yancey, when did you become like this?”

“What, you think going back in there will make her forgive you? Since when did you, Wisteria, tolerate being humiliated like this? Or is this about some guy, and you’re just looking to get hurt again?”

Yancey gripped the steering wheel, his face impassive. This was the first time he’d ever forced someone to do anything, and even he could feel the anger burning inside him. He had no idea what had gotten into him.

“…Yancey, I hate you.”

His words stung Wisteria. Every time she’d gotten her heart broken, Yancey had been the one to help her through it—he’d seen her at her lowest, her messiest.

But it wasn’t because of those men… She never imagined Yancey saw her that way.

Did he really think she was both hopelessly lovesick and completely heartless? How could anyone be both at once?