Love On Ice: Don’t Leave Me, My Charming Liar

Chapter 75: Who would be content with merely being friends with Nyla? It was a laughable notion. In Night Charm's largest private room, the table was littered with empty bottles. A few men lounged on the sofa, their faces flushed from drinking. The only exception was Ethan, seated in the center. His gloomy expression radiated a simmering anger, as though no amount of alcohol could extinguish his irritation. "Ethan, if you're trying to drink us all under the table, just say so," said a man with light pink hair, waving his hand in mock surrender.

"We barely see you once a year, Benson, and you still can't hold your liquor? Pathetic," Keith teased, swirling his glass with a smug grin. "It's been ages since I drank anything," Benson Payne protested, straightening his posture as if to defend his honor. "My company's super strict-they think drinking tarnishes our image." He gestured toward a bespectacled, composed man sitting beside him. "Why don't you pick on Jameson? He's hardly touched his glass either." "Jameson doesn't drink, and you're seriously complaining?" Keith shot Benson a disdainful glance before turning back to Ethan.

Ethan sat silent, his brooding air reminiscent of a child mourning the loss of a treasured toy. Nothing seemed to reach him. "Is this about that woman again?" Keith's diamond-studded earrings caught the dim light as he posed the question, sending a ripple of tension through the room. Benson instantly sobered. "What woman? Who are we talking about? I thought this was about celebrating my return!" Even Jameson Diaz, typically indifferent to gossip, raised a curious eyebrow. Ethan rarely invited them out for drinks-occasions like these usually revolved around someone's homecoming.

Benson spent most of the year on set, and his return to Ulares had prompted this get-together. To Benson's surprise, Ethan had ordered several cases of alcohol, forcing even the teetotaler Jameson to down a couple of glasses. Benson had assumed Ethan was simply happy to see him and had been touched enough to drink straight from the bottle in celebration. Your imagination takes flight on gⱯlnσνℓs․com Keith was unimpressed. "What's so special about your return?" Ethan remained silent, drinking alone.

His brooding charm was captivating, unlike others whose similar behavior might seem pretentious. Ethan's rugged handsomeness was genuine. "I heard you're about to get engaged to the Higgins family's daughter, and the engagement party is after New Year's. Is it true?" Jameson asked, clinking his glass against Ethan's, his tone low and tinged with doubt. Ethan, already irritated, thought of the Higgins family and couldn't help feeling that Nyla wasn't particularly special. He knew he couldn't truly sever ties with the Higgins family. Yet, Bonnie's words from earlier had unsettled him.

He'd attributed it to spending too much time with Nyla, who was unusually understanding and drama-free. He'd enjoyed her company. Now that she wanted to end their relationship, he simply wasn't used to it, hence his current mood. . . .