Chapter <b>61</b><b>: </b>Drunken <b>Confessions</b><b>–</b><b>1 </b>


    Chapter 61: Drunken Confessions


    (Connor’s POV)


    The rich aroma of aged whiskey mingled with expensive cigar smoke as I settled into my chair at Quinn’s estate. The familiar weight of ying cards in my hands felt


    almost foreign after weeks of barely leaving Olivia’s side.


    “Gentlemen, shall we begin?” Gabriel Andrews asked, his voice carrying its usual


    measured calm.


    Quinn shuffled the deck with practiced ir, his movements unnecessarily showy. “I still can’t believe you actually showed up tonight, Rivers.”


    I merely raised an eyebrow in response. Since Olivia had started working at Moow


    Legal Services and moved into her apartment across from Riverdale University, I’d


    made it a point to see her almost daily. After the silver dagger wound I’d taken


    protecting her during our engagement ceremony, I’d be even more reluctant to


    let her out of my sight.


    Tonight was different. She had a work dinner with her colleagues, and I’d finally


    epted Quinn’s persistent invitation.


    “Deal the cards,” I said simply, taking a sip of my whiskey.


    Quinn’s lips curled into that familiar mischievous grin that always preceded trouble.


    “Wow, the moon must be rising from the west. Why isn’t our Alpha Rivers picking up


    his little Liv tonight?”


    He dealt the cards with dramatic ir, his smirk growing wider. “Got abandoned?


    Since when is a work dinner more important than you?”


    His tone was deliberately provocative, though careful not to cross the line that would truly anger me. Still, I felt my patience wearing thin.


    “Abandoned?” I fixed him with a cold stare, my ice–blue eyes narrowing slightly. “She


    might be out now, but won’t she stille back home to me afterward?”


    I allowed myself a small, cutting smile. “What about you, Quinn? Picking up your


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    Chapter 61: Drunken Conf.


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    girlfriendter?”


    The barb hit its mark. Everyone knew Quinn was perpetually single despite his


    constant flirtations. His face flushed red, teeth gritting visibly.


    “Andrews, look at him!” Quinn tried to drag Gabriel into the fray. “Is this how an Alpha


    treats his friends? You’re single too, don’t you feel insulted?”


    Gabriel cleared his throat calmly, arranging his cards. “Sorry, I’m actually seeing


    someone now.”


    Quinn’s jaw droppedically, momentarily forgetting my earlier jab. “What? Since


    when? Who is it? Parker family? Thompson n?”


    He rattled off two of Riverdale’s most influential families, naturally assuming Gabriel’s


    girlfriend must be from our elite circle.


    Gabriel exhaled a plume of cigar smoke, his expression neutral. “Just an ordinary girl


    from a small town.”


    Quinn blinked rapidly, disbelief written across his face. “An ordinary girl? You sure your family would approve?”


    Gabriel shrugged indifferently, studying his cards. “I’m just enjoying herpany, not getting married. Doesn’t matter what they think.”


    Quinn snickered, shaking his head as he discarded two cards. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll try to cling on when you want to break it off?”


    Gabrielughed carelessly, revealing a coldness beneath hisposed exterior that I hadn’t noticed before. “Give her a couple of luxury items, some cash. If I want her


    gone, she won’t even get to see me again.”


    “True,” Quinn mused, shuffling the remaining deck with practiced ease. “For people in our circle, if you don’t want someone toe close, they simply can’t.”


    I nced at Gabriel, noting the casual cruelty in his words. “Just don’t get too deep yourself and regret itter.”


    My voice carried a weight of experience that silenced them both momentarily. I knew better than most the value of a true mate- something I’d nearly lost through my own


    foolishness with Olivia.


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    Quinn’s eyes brightened with his insatiable appetite for gossip. “So, what does she look like? Bring her to the next gathering for us to see.”


    Gabriel’s expression darkened slightly. “No need. We’re not from the same world.”


    Quinn shrugged, epting the boundary. “Fair enough.”


    We continued ying in rtive silence. I found myself checking my phone repeatedly, waiting for a message from Olivia. She’d promised to text when her dinner ended.


    Instead, my screen lit up with a message from Miles Bet: “Heard you’ve got problems… with your performance?”


    I felt my face instantly harden, lips stiffening as I read the cryptic text. What the hell


    was this about?


    Quinn, with his uncanny ability to be in the wrong ce at the wrong time, nced at my screen and burst into raucousughter. “Hahahaha! No way! You can’t rise to the


    asion? Hahahaha!”


    My icy re silenced him midugh, his expression shifting from amusement to


    caution in an instant. “What the hell is going on?” he asked, suddenly serious.


    I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the hardwood floor. “I’m leaving.”


    Quinn’s mischievous grin returned as he nudged Gabriel with a look that clearly said,


    Follow him, let’s watch the drama unfold.


    Twenty minutester, we pushed through the crowded entrance of Moonlight Club.


    The bass–heavy music pounded through the air as we made our way inside.


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