<b>Chapter </b><b>195 </b>


    CELINE’S POV-


    The champagne ss felt like ice against my fingers, but not as cold as Hunter’s words echoing in my mind.


    “Mia ckwood. She’s exactly the kind of woman I was raised to be with. Beautiful, connected, from the right family. Noplications, no baggage, no questions about whether she belongs in my world.”


    I stood at Caroline’s bar, my back to the circle of people who’d just witnessed my public humiliation, focusing on the mechanical act of breathing.


    In, out. In, out. Don’t let them see you break.


    “Celine,” Caroline’s voice was soft beside me, filled with gentle concern that made tears threaten. “Honey, he didn’t


    mean…..”


    “Yes, he did.” My voice came out steadier than I felt. “He meant every word.”


    I could feel their eyes on me.


    The entire party had gone quiet, the yful atmosphere destroyed by the brutal honesty Hunter and I had just exchanged.


    Part of me wanted to run, to grab Caesar from the hotel’s childcare and disappear back to New York. Back to being just Celine Brown, nobody special, nobody’splications.


    But a bigger part of me was angry.


    Furiously, devastatingly angry.


    I’d answered honestly because that’s what the game demanded. Yes, in another life, I might have considered ncey.


    He was kind, stable, uplicated. He looked at me like I was precious, not like I was a problem to be managed or a secret to be hidden..


    But I’d also made it clear that I chose Hunter. That I was choosing Hunter, every day, despite Eleanor Reids and Mia ckwoods‘ constant reminders that I didn’t fit into his world.


    And his response had been to publicly fantasize about my recement.


    “The game’s getting out of hand,” Frederick said quietly, appearing on my other side. “Maybe we should call it….”


    “No.” I turned back toward the circle, my chin lifted in defiance. “I’m not running away.”


    I walked back <i>to </i>the group with measured steps, very aware of how quiet everyone had be. Hunter’s eyes found mine immediately, and the regret I saw there almost made me falter.


    Almost.


    But then I saw Mia’s satisfied smirk, Jessica’s barely contained joy, and my will hardened into steel.


    I didn’t sit back down on Hunter’sp. Instead, I took the empty spot between ke and Vincent, <b>ignoring </b>Hunter’s sharp intake of breath.


    “Whose turn is it?” I asked with weird brightness.


    Vincent leaned closer, his voice barely audible. “Are you okay?”


    I gave him a smile that hurt my face. “Perfect. Just ying the game.”


    The bottle had somehow found its way to ke, who spun it with obvious hesitation. Itnded on Vincent, who chose truth with the attitude of a man walking toward his execution.


    “What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for someone?” ke asked, her voice gentle, clearly trying to steer the


    conversation back to safer territory.


    Vincent’s answer about surprising his ex–girlfriend with a trip to Paris felt like background noise.


    I was hyperaware of Hunter’s presence behind me, of the way his hands kept clenching and unclenching on his knees, of how he kept starting to speak then stopping himself.


    The game continued, but the earlier yfulness was gone. Everyone was walking on eggshells, trying to avoid another explosion.


    When the bottlended on Caroline, she chose dare and was asked to kiss the person to her left, which happened to be


    Frederick.


    Their sweet, giggly kiss felt like a mockery of whatever Hunter and I were destroying. Then Myra spun the bottle, and it pointed directly at me again.


    “Truth or dare?” she asked, her voice carefully neutral.


    “Dare.” I met her eyes steadily. I was done with truths for tonight.


    Myra looked around the circle nervously, clearly not expecting that response. “I… um… I dare you to…”


    “Kiss the person you find most attractive in this circle,” Jessica interrupted smoothly, her eyes glittering with malice.


    The silence was overwhelming. I could feel Hunter’s tension behind me, as if it were a physical force. I sensed that everyone was holding their breath.


    I looked around the circle slowly, deliberately. My eyes skipped over Mia’s triumphant face, Jessica’s eager expression, passed Hunter without lingering, and settled on ncey.


    He looked surprised, then hopeful, then concerned as he recognized the hurt driving my decision. <fn23b3> The source of th?s content is fινdnοvel</fn23b3>


    “Celine,” Hunter’s voice was rough, desperate. “Don’t.”


    I stood up slowly, every movement precise and controlled. “It’s just a game, Hunter. Like you said.”


    I walked over to where ncey sat, my heart pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it. He stood to meet <b>me </b>halfway, his hands gentle as they framed my face.


    “Are you sure?” he whispered, and the kindness in his voice almost broke myposure.


    I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.


    The kiss was soft, gentle, nothing like the desperate passion Hunter and I shared. But it was warm and uplicated <b>and </b>it tasted like an option.


    Like a different life where I wouldn’t constantly question whether I was enough.


    When we separated, the room fell silent. I could hear my own heartbeat, could feel the weight of ten pairs of eyes watching


    my every move.


    I walked back to my seat without looking at anyone, least of all Hunter.


    “My turn,” I said quietly, reaching for the bottle.


    It spunzily before settling on one of Frederick’s friends, a guy named Marcus who’d been making increasingly inappropriatements all evening.


    “Truth or dare, Marcus?”


    He grinned, emboldened by alcohol and the evening’s revtions. “Dare. Give me something good.”


    I smiled, and something in my expression made Vincent shift ufortably beside me.


    “I dare you to apologize to every woman in this room for the sexistments you’ve been making all night.”


    Marcus’s grin faltered. “Come on, that’s not….”


    “You said ke was ‘asking for attention‘ with her dress. You told Myra she should smile more. You’ve been undressing every woman here with your eyes and making sure we all know it.” My voice was getting harder, colder.


    “Apologize. Sincerely. Or leave.”


    The room was so quiet you could hear the traffic from the Strip twenty floors below. Marcus looked around for support and found none. Even his friends were avoiding eye contact.


    He mumbled something that might have been an apology.


    “Louder,” I said pleasantly. “And make eye contact.”


    It <i>took </i>him three tries to get through proper apologies to each of us. By the time he finished, his face was red with embarrassment and anger.


    Vincent was looking at me with something like respect. ke was grinning outright. Caroline seemed torn between pride and concern.


    And Hunter… Hunter was staring at me like he’d never seen me before.


    “Anyone else want to y games?” I asked the room atrge. “Because I’m just getting started.”


    Sur, ou AUL


    Mia cleared her throat delicately. “Maybe we should….”


    “Move on to the clubs?” I interrupted. “Oh, I think we should definitely hit the Strip. After all, we’re in Vegas, <b>Sin </b>City, Where people show their true colors.”


    I stood up and smoothed my silver dress, very aware of how it clung to my curves, how the light caught the sequins. For the first time tonight, I felt powerful.


    Dangerous.


    “I’m going to dance until my feet bleed,” I announced. “I’m going to flirt with strangers and drink expensive champagne and remember what it feels like to be wanted withoutplications.”


    Hunter was on his feet instantly. “Celine….”


    “No.” I held up a hand, stopping him mid–sentence.


    “You made your preferences clear, Hunter. So I’m making mine clear too. Tonight, I’m not yourplicated girlfriend with baggage who doesn’t belong in your world. Tonight, I’m just Celine Brown, and I’m going to have the time of my life.”


    I headed for the door without waiting for a response, my heart hammering with adrenaline and hurt and something that felt dangerously like freedom.


    Behind me, I heard the chaos erupting–multiple people talking at once, chairs scraping, someone cursing. But I didn’t look back.


    I was done being the good girl who made things easy for everyone else. Tonight, I was going to be theplication Hunter clearly found so exhausting.


    And maybe, just maybe, I would discover I liked her better.


    田