?Chapter 176:


    “Shut up! If any of you say her name again, or take her side, you’re no friend of mine.”


    After several rounds of whiskey, Marc was fully wasted.


    He sprawled across the table,pletely disheveled.


    With a swipe of his arm, he knocked every bottle to the floor—ss ttering and echoing through the private room.


    Still, he kept murmuring Ste’s name, his voice hoarse, tone swinging between bitter and longing.


    Johnny and Tommy both sighed. They helped him stumble outside.


    After only a few steps, Marc stopped short, digging in his heels. He started yelling, demanding Johnny call Ste—swearing he’d tear the ce down if someone didn’t.


    After trying to calm him for nearly an hour, both men gave up. Exhausted, they copsed on a stone bench at the curb, half-supporting Marc’s dead weight between them.


    Johnny shivered in the night wind, wondering how things hade to this.


    But the truth was, Marc had always had poor drinking habits.


    It had nothing to do with his issues with Ste. Marc just turned into aplete mess when he was drunk. Back then, Ste would always take care of him.


    Johnny turned to Tommy. “Call Haley. Let here take him.” There was no way they’d dare call Ste.


    Meanwhile, Haley was sprawled on her bed, alternating between sulking and stewing. She’d waited all day for Marc to call—he hadn’t. Just as she was about to hit the shower, her phone buzzed.


    “Marc? You’re finally calling?” she answered, her voice suddenly hopeful.


    But it wasn’t Marc. Tommy cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s me. Marc’s drunk—he’s out on Seabreeze Boulevard. Can youe get him?”


    Haley froze for a beat, then quickly got dressed and rushed out the door.


    Fresh updates now on g??ln????e??s.c??m


    By the time she arrived, she spotted Marc slouched on the bench, nked by Johnny and Tommy. She hurried over, squatting down in her heels to touch his shoulder. “Marc, I’m here. Let’s go home, okay?”


    Later, in the backseat of the car, Haley nced at him. The stench of alcohol was overwhelming, but she still leaned in slightly. “Marc, do you want me to roll down the window? Are you feeling warm?” Her voice was soft, careful—eerily simr to how Ste used to sound. And in that moment, Marc’s blurry gaze locked onto her face.


    “Stel… why are you doing this to me?”


    Marc suddenly yanked Haley into his arms, holding her close as if she might vanish. His breath hit her cheek, his voice thick and low. “Stel, I knew you couldn’t leave me. Back then… whenever I got wasted, you were always the one who looked after me. Took me home. You still love me, don’t you?”


    Haley’s chest burned with rage. Did he seriously just call her Ste? What was it about that woman that made men lose their minds? Still, Haley couldn’t walk away. Not like this. She loved him too much, so she swallowed her pride and kept steady.


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