---- Chapter 24 Amira Osborne POV: Arjun's face went from relieved to horrified in a split second. Carter, who had followed me, let out a triumphant little chuckle. "Fiancée?" | said, my voice light and breezy as | smiled at Arjun. "Congratulations! You're so proper, Arjun. | can't believe you never mentioned it." Carter's triumphant expression faltered. He had expected me to be jealous, to cause a scene. He didn't understand that the woman who would have done that was long gone. "Amira, let me explain," Arjun started, his cheeks flushing. | just waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense. You catch up with your fiancée. Chloe and | were just heading home." "No, wait!" Jianna said, her voice sharp. She blocked my path. "Why don't you join us for dinner? Unless, of course, you have something to hide." The challenge was so childish, so transparent, that | almost laughed. But | saw the desperate, pleading look in Arjun's eyes. Against my better judgment, | agreed. Dinner was an exercise in torture. Jianna clung to Arjun's arm, ---- chattering incessantly about their wedding plans. Carter spent the entire meal trying to reminisce about our "good old days," while pointedly ignoring the existence of Francine and his son "| just don't understand why you two broke up," Jianna said, looking at me with fake sympathy. "You seemed so perfect. A woman isn't complete without a man, you know. You should really try to work it out. After all, with a child in tow, your options are probably... limited." That was it. | had reached my limit. | placed my napkin on the table, my smile as cold and sharp as a shard of glass. "Thank you for the advice, Jianna. But my life's ambition isn't to get married. It's to be happy. Something you clearly know nothing about." | stood up and walked out of the restaurant. | paused just outside the door to call a cab, and | heard Arjun's voice from inside, low and furious. "How dare you?" he was saying to Jianna. "How dare you, as a woman, say something so insulting, so reductive, to another woman? The fact that you think like that is exactly why this engagement is a mistake. | am calling it off." My breath caught in my throat. Just then, Carter stumbled out of the restaurant, reeking of alcohol. He grabbed me, pulling me into a rough, desperate embrace. "See?" he slurred, his face buried in my hair. "He's ---- just like me. He'll leave you too. Come back to me, Amira. We belong together." His touch was repulsive. It felt like being pawed by a stranger. "Get off of me," | said, my voice shaking with disgust. His grip only tightened. He was crying now, pathetic, drunken sobs. "Eight years, Amira. Don't those eight years mean anything to you?" "No," | said, my voice flat and dead. "They mean nothing." | shoved him away, hard. He staggered back, his face a mask of wounded disbelief. "Get out of my sight," | said, my voice trembling with a rage | could no longer contain. "You have three seconds before | start screaming." That finally seemed to break through his drunken haze. He looked at the cold fury in my eyes and something in him seemed to crumble. But instead of leaving, he lunged at me, his mouth crashing down on mine in a brutal, punishing kiss. | gagged, the taste of stale whiskey and self-pity filling my mouth. | struggled, but he was too strong. Suddenly, he was ripped away from me. Arjun stood there, his glasses slightly askew, his eyes blazing with a righteous fury. He threw Carter to the ground and rained down punches, his usual gentle demeanor completely ---- gone, replaced by a raw, protective rage. Jianna shrieked. Carter groaned in pain. | finally found my voice. "Arjun, stop!" | cried, grabbing his arm. "You'll kill him!" He stopped, his chest heaving, and looked at me. His eyes were wild, but they softened when they met mine. "He hurt you," he said, his voice ragged. "He had no right to touch you."