Chapter 5 Boyfriend's Attitude Changes Drastically

Anna's POV

"Looks like I'm destined to win, thanks to your luck, Isaac," Nick said, waving his cards at Isaac with a smirk.

Following Nick's earlier advice, I kept an eye on everyone's reactions. He might not have a great hand, but he was definitely trying to bluff his way through.

I took a sip of the juice Susan handed me, the only non-alcoholic option, and felt my throat ease up a bit.

"Nick, if you win, you have to sing us a song," Ella teased, even though they had just met.

Nick grinned, "And if you lose?"

Ella, with a playful glint in her eye, replied, "Then I'll sing a duet with you."

Everyone cheered, and Ella linked her arm with Nick, drawing envious looks from the other girls.

After a bit, Nick lowered his arm, and Ella went back to her seat.

I kept track of the big cards others had played, and with Nick's gestures, I could figure out what cards were left. He had an incredible memory for this stuff.

"Action card, skip," I said, following Nick's signal, and skipped the turn of the group about to play.

Nick then played his last card. We were the first to finish this round.

"Already over? I thought you had a trump card. Guess your brother's shuffling wasn't that lucky," someone joked.

They realized Nick's hand wasn't great, and he won purely through our teamwork.

"You gotta be bold and scare them, Anna," Nick reminded me.

He started letting me take the lead in our card-playing strategy while he focused on remembering the cards.

Even though we lost once, we didn't come in last, and we won three more rounds after that.

People noticed me signaling Nick, and more eyes were on us. Isaac, who seemed uninterested at first, started paying more attention to the game.

"At least I saved myself from dish duty next week. I was really ready to wash dishes, you know?" Nick said, making everyone laugh. He had a knack for winning people over, always looking happy and dazzling under the lights.

No one noticed when I slipped upstairs to find Danial. The second floor had a lot of rooms, and some had interesting sounds coming from them. Probably couples from the party were getting cozy.

I called Danial, and while on the phone, I saw Nick opening windows in the hallway, leaning against the wall to catch the breeze.

Just then, a door opened, and Danial stepped out. "Let's go home, darling," he said, taking my hand. He looked freshly showered, his hair wet and smelling of shampoo.

I stood on tiptoe to adjust his collar, and suddenly found a thin strand of golden hair. I pulled it from his shoulder and asked, "Danial, wait, what's this?"

Danial paused. "Must be from another guest."

At that moment, a group of people, seemingly following Nick, came over. Isaac glanced at us, looking like he wanted to say something, but Nick patted his shoulder. "This bar's hygiene is really lacking."

"Yeah, I got something dirty on me, so I took a shower," Danial added.

Hearing this, my suspicions eased. Nick was a regular at many bars, so he would know about these things. Plus, Danial had always been good to me; I couldn't imagine him betraying me.

But Isaac's face darkened, especially when I held Danial's hand tightly, and Danial was about to lead me away.

"No one's leaving yet; there's still a celebration tonight," Nick said with a smile, stopping us.

In the evening, everyone was getting down to the beats of the DJ and the band Isaac had brought in. The dance floor was packed with girls and boys dancing close and provocatively.

"Nick, I heard you're the best dancer at our school. Show us some moves!" a football team member shouted.

Nick grinned and extended his hand to the most beautiful girl in the room. "Well then, beautiful Tina, care to dance with me?"

Tina, the daughter of the Alpha of the Mistwood Pack, was known for her wealth and high-quality education. She placed her slender arm in Nick's hand.

Nick bowed slightly, and as the band played a mix of violin, piano, and guitar, they began to dance. Every move Nick made was elegant yet powerful, and Tina spun gracefully with him. In her burgundy gown, she looked like a stunning butterfly fluttering in the morning mist.

"Wow, they look perfect together!" Susan and Jane exclaimed excitedly.

In the dim light, they looked like natural dancers. Nick's smile at that moment could charm any girl in the room.

"Anna," Danial called from behind. I thought he was going to ask me to dance.

"I need to teach some friends a few dances; they said only I know the steps. Social obligations, you know. Sorry," Danial said apologetically.

I felt a bit sad but nodded. "It's okay, go ahead."

"I ordered your favorite fruit-flavored drink. Give it a try," Danial handed me a drink that looked like blueberry juice.

Even though I said I didn't mind, watching him patiently teach Ella and others on the dance floor, I felt a faint pain in my heart. Maybe we were always in different worlds.

I couldn't dance, and my family had already spent a lot just to let me study. I sat by the window, holding my cup, sometimes looking at the dance floor, sometimes at the night view.

"Isaac is so handsome! So charming!" Susan and the others screamed.

At that moment, the most eye-catching thing on the dance floor was Isaac and two of his friends showing off their light, stylish moves. Their dance was a blend of street and classical styles, combining gentlemanly elegance with cool, intricate steps that added a touch of mystery.

Isaac, who had just wowed the whole room, sat down to rest near the floor-to-ceiling window. He always had a strong presence and authority, and even though he was far from the center of the dance floor, everyone could tell he wanted some peace. Many girls wanted to invite him to dance but didn't dare to approach him.

In the noisy dance music, I heard a magnetic voice by my ear, "Blueberry tea cocktail? Who gave you this? Your boyfriend?"

"Yes, why?" I didn't react at first and opened my phone to search. I found a note under the blueberry tea cocktail entry, explaining it was a well-known date rape drink.

"It tastes like juice but is made with various strong liquors. People with low alcohol tolerance can feel dizzy after just one glass..." I read the further explanation, my voice growing weaker.

Isaac's tone and expression were particularly cold. "That bastard."

I was surprised; Isaac never spoke like this in public. Remembering how Danial was hurt by Isaac today, I stopped Isaac, who was about to go to the dance floor to find Danial.

"It has nothing to do with him; I said I would drink strong liquor with him." I stood in front of Isaac, refusing to move.

Danial had already suffered serious harm for me; I couldn't let his situation get worse.

"He's a bastard, and you still want to be with him?" Isaac tapped and took my glass, his smile mocking.

I looked at Danial, who was holding a girl's hand, guiding her dance steps, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed. But I took a deep breath and still answered, "Yes, I want to. It's between him and me."

I found it hard to believe that Danial, who had stood by me and taken beatings with me in countless instances of bullying, would betray me. He was the only one who protected me every time. I often feared he would find me embarrassing or troublesome, but he never did.