Chapter 370/Nothing More Than Friends
Chapter 367:
Stella’s POV
Julie turned toward me with an eerie, absolute calmness. Not a single trace of the panic or catching-her-off-guard shock I had been so desperately starving to see registered on her features. Instead, she answered me in her usual cold, steady, and dangerously level cadence.
"Yes, I actually accepted his invitation. Mike is a dear, sweet, and respectable friend. I don’t see any reason or awkwardness in grabbing dinner with him tomorrow night."
The living room fell into a dead, suffocating silence for a few heavy beats. It was a dark, toxic silence, thick with gunpowder and terrifyingly soft the exact kind of quiet that precedes a devastating storm.
I didn’t even need to whip my head around to look at Jake to know what his reaction looked like. The sudden change in his breath faster, deeper, a ragged, suffocating wheeze tearing through his chest was more than enough to expose the burning fury and sick, twisted jealousy violently eating him alive inside.
He slammed his thumb down onto the buttons of the TV remote with a brutal, iron-like force. The sharp, violent snap of cracking plastic echoed through the silent room, sounding exactly like a bone snapping in half.
I tilted my head slightly toward Julie, a wicked, manic gleam burning in my eyes. I locked my gaze onto her features, drilling into her with a sharp, calculated glare as I poured more gasoline onto the fire.
"That is wonderful, sweetie," I purred, my voice dripping with pure venom. "Mike was smiling so damn wide and was incredibly excited for this date. Honestly, speaking as his sister... I have never seen him smile like that over a girl in his entire life. It really looks like you have a special, seductive little magic over him, Julie."
That was the absolute breaking point for that psycho bastard. Jake violently hurled the remote onto the coffee table with a vicious, explosive force that shook the entire wooden piece, sending a sharp, deafening ring through the air as if it were about to smash into pieces. He snapped up onto his feet, his entire frame tensing with pure rage. His face was completely flushed, his jaw locked so hard his muscles bulged, and the blinding blue glare in his eyes turned into sharp, piercing blades that froze me right in my tracks.
He glared down at us with pure, unadulterated hatred and disgust, his deep voice thick with a suffocating, suppressed wrath that sounded like a low hiss. "Fuck this... the air in this fucking living room just got so suffocatingly tight I can’t even breathe. I’m going the hell out to get some fresh air on the balcony to calm down."
He moved with heavy, lightning-fast strides, his massive frame shaking the wooden floorboards like thunder as he marched straight toward the glass balcony door. He threw it open with a violent shove and slammed it shut behind him, the impact rattling the glass so hard it nearly shattered.
I immediately swung my gaze back to Julie to see if she had noticed his psychotic, unhinged jealousy and the pathetic scene he had just made. But she was just staring at his broad, massive back with a cold, unreadable expression, a heavy mystery veiling her emerald green eyes. Finally, she turned back to me with the emotionless stillness of a stone wall, her cherry lips curling into a strange, unreadable smirk.
A long, suffocating silence settled over the room after his savage exit, the only sound left being the faint, low static buzzing from the TV screen. I narrowed my eyes, staring at Julie with intense focus, desperately trying to predict what kind of twisted thoughts were running behind that frozen mask of hers.
But she was infuriatingly good at burying her emotions and intentions. With slow, agonizing grace, she lifted her hand and tucked a strand of her smooth brown hair behind her ear with effortless femininity. Then, she locked her eyes onto mine with a sharp, hawk-like intensity that sent a violent spike of anxiety and dread crawling right under my skin.
"Mike is a gentleman, Stella," Julie said, her voice low, steady, and completely devoid of any emotion or panic. "And I respect him immensely. But I am completely certain that his intention for tomorrow’s dinner is nothing more than a casual get-together between two friends to catch up. There’s absolutely no reason to paint this with some romantic brush. It’s simple."
A bitter, mocking sneer curled my lips a wave of deep resentment I couldn’t suppress if I tried. I leaned back into the plush cushions of the couch, propping my weight up comfortably as I scoffed. "Really? I truly hope that’s all it is for both of you, with no hidden desires.
Because sometimes, sweetie, men have a very fucked-up way of interpreting a woman accepting an invitation. Meanwhile, we women go into it completely innocent, entirely blind to whatever dirty motives they’re hiding inside."
She didn’t give me a single word in response. She simply offered a faint, icy nod of her head, her green eyes boring into my features with a silent, analytical depth that made my stomach turn and sent a jolt of sheer frustration straight through my nerves.
Outside, past the thick pane of glass, pitch-black darkness engulfed the balcony, but Jake’s giant, towering silhouette was entirely visible, looming like a mountain. He was gripping the iron railing with both of his massive hands, his knuckles turning white as his head hung forward in pure, unhinged rage.
A thick, white cloud of smoke billowed from his lips, quickly dissolving into the freezing night air. The bastard had lit a cigarette to calm his goddamn nerves, likely grinding his teeth to powder as he choked down the suffocating, murderous jealousy my brother Mike had triggered inside him.
I pushed myself up from my seat with agonizing slowness, smoothing out the fabric of my dress with deliberate, calculated movements as I prepared to leave. I forced my voice to drop into a soft, sweet, and gentle tone, masking the malice dripping from my pores.
"Well, Julie... I think the vibe in this house tonight is definitely not right for a movie night. It looks like Jake is completely stressed out, exhausted, and in a wretched mood. I’m going to head out and go back home."
Julie stood up behind me politely, her tall, slender frame perfectly poised as she answered with cold formality. "Whatever you prefer, Stella. I’ll walk you to the front door to see you out."
We moved together with quiet, measured steps down the hallway. The second she opened the heavy front door and I turned around to give her my final goodbye, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. Jake was storming back inside from the balcony, his heavy strides cutting through the living room. For a fraction of a second, his blazing blue eyes, completely alive with a murderous fury, collided straight with mine.
A wicked, triumphant smirk broke out across my face, and I waved my hand at Julie, letting the poison flow freely into my parting words. "Goodnight, sweetie... I hope with all my heart that you have a wonderful, thrilling dinner tomorrow night with my handsome brother Mike. All by yourselves. Have fun!"