?Chapter 672:


    Everyone knew both William and Rutherford had admitted their crushes were here tonight. The obvious guess? Ste.


    After all, she hadn’t minded Rutherford’s quick kiss—so surely, a hug from William wouldn’t be a big deal.


    Compared to a kiss, a hug seemed like no big deal.


    William looked straight at Ste and calmly said, “I choose Ms. Gilbert.” He started to get up from his seat, but before he could, Ste lifted her ss and raised a hand to stop him.


    “I’d rather drink,” she said.


    The rules were simple. If the person doing the dare couldn’t go through with it, they had to drink. If the one expected to y along backed out, then both had to drink.


    But the drinks didn’t really matter at this point. Everyone was far more interested in seeing how William would react to being rejected.


    For a second, William didn’t move and thought he must’ve misunderstood her. But when Ste threw back her drink without blinking, he knew she meant it. Earlier, when Rutherford had to kiss her on the cheek, she had hesitated briefly but still went along with it. But now?


    Just a short hug with William, and she chose to drink instead?


    His expression hardened, like he was holding back a dozen questions. Why was she treating him differently?


    If this was all just for fun, why not go along with it like everyone else?


    As William sat there, visibly trying to make sense of her reaction, Ste leaned back and finished her drink without a word.


    Frustration built inside him, and suddenly, being at the party didn’t feel fun anymore.


    In the next rounds, Ryan noticed something was off between William, Ste, and Rutherford.


    He tried to steer the game away from them, but the bottle didn’t care who was tense, and it still pointed at Ste and William now and then.


    Each time the game called for them to interact or answer something personal, Ste would quietly reach for her drink without giving William a second nce. As the night went on, William’s expression turned steadily darker, while Rutherford started to grow concerned about how much Ste was actually drinking.


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    Sometime after midnight, everyone gathered to give the birthday guy his wishes. Then Rutherford stood up and said, “I’m taking her home now.”


    Ste wasn’tpletely drunk, but the alcohol had definitely hit her.


    She got up and told the others, “Sorry, I’m not feeling too well. I’ll head out.”


    No one stopped her. Ryan and the rest could sense the tension and kept quiet.


    As Rutherford helped her downstairs, William suddenly followed them. He nced at Rutherford, who had his arm around Ste, and said, “Let me take her home. We’re headed in the same direction.”


    Rutherford looked at him coolly and replied, “She came with me tonight. That means it’s my responsibility to get her home safe.”


    William frowned, clearly not backing down. “We live in the sameplex. You don’t need to go out of your way.”


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