Hours after leaving Ciel's apartment, Harry sat alone in the dark corner of an exclusive Manhattan club.
Jazz music drifted through the velvet-lined room. A crystal glass rested in his hand, half-filled with expensive whiskey.
He loosened his tie and drank hard.
Ciel's voice kept echoing in his head.
I will call the police and have you arrested for harassment.
His stomach twisted.
He could not understand how the woman who once chased him now looked at him like trash.
The club door opened.
Julian Chavez walked in wearing a relaxed dark blazer. He spotted Harry immediately and took the seat beside him.
"Drinking away the pain of being banned from the wedding escort?" Julian asked lightly.
Harry shot him a glare.
"I'm celebrating," he snapped. "I finally got rid of a clingy problem."
Julian accepted a martini from the bartender.
"The entire estate is talking about it," he said. "Ciel crossed out your name herself."
Harry tightened his grip around the whiskey glass.
The word banned burned.
"She's an ungrateful idiot," Harry muttered. "Without me, let's see how she walks into that dead estate with any dignity."
Julian's expression cooled.
"You look terrible, Harry. You're about to run for Senate, and you're losing your mind over a woman you claim you don't care about."
Harry slammed his palm against the bar.
"I am not losing my mind. I just hate it when property disobeys me."
Julian stared at him for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
"You need to face reality. You were cruel to Ciel for years."
Harry froze.
"I gave her everything."
"No," Julian said flatly. "You gave her humiliation."
He began listing incidents one after another.
Harry mocking her outfits at galas.
Leaving her outside in the rain during a charity dinner while flirting with other women inside.
Ignoring her messages for days.
Every memory hit harder than the alcohol.
Harry suddenly remembered Ciel standing alone in the rain, soaked through, still forcing herself to smile when he arrived late.
Pain pierced his chest.
His ego fought back immediately.
Crash.
He slammed the whiskey glass against the bar hard enough to shatter it.
Amber liquid and broken glass scattered across the polished wood.
"She brought it on herself!" Harry roared. "She threw herself at me!"
Julian looked at the broken glass, then at Harry's face.
"Then pray you never realize what you actually lost."
He stood and left.
Harry remained alone in the dark corner, breathing hard while staring at the shattered glass and the reflection of his own ruined expression.
