A Lie for Me, a Yacht for Him?

I stared at Julia, stunned. I never expected her to say something like that.

She held onto me so hard, her nails sinking into my wound. I held my ground, eyes fixed on hers.

Tobias played the helpless card again, acting all worried. "Lia, I've forgiven him. Please don't let this come between you two because of me!"

Julia's anger flared up even more. "Austin, don't you feel any shame? You harmed Tobias so much, but he forgave and looked out for you! But you? You're just jealous of him and can't even bring yourself to apologize!"

I suddenly felt drained the second I saw her face. "So what if I refuse to drink this? What are you going to do?"

Julia's face went grim, and she replied coldly, "If you don't drink it, I'll find a way to make you!"

She called Tobias over and kept me pinned in place. Then, she lifted the bottle and shoved it into my mouth. The wine kept flowing down my throat, some slipping into my nose.

I choked and gasped for air, but Julia showed no sign of letting up. She kept pressing on my wound until it ripped open, and blood began to spill.

Tears and snot were running down my face as my eyes turned red, but Julia and Tobias kept me locked in place. I couldn't break loose, no matter how much I fought.

It wasn't until the whole bottle of wine was forced down my throat that Julia finally let go after I shoved her off. Feeling dizzy and sick, I held onto the armrest and gagged, but she didn't seem to notice.

She cleaned the blood off her hands, took Tobias' hand, and gently said, "Don't be upset. I made sure he paid. He didn't bother to apologize, so he earned this! Just wait, I'll make sure he says sorry!"

Tobias grinned. "It's fine, Lia. All that matters is that you understand me."

I was disgusted hearing their lovey-dovey chatter. I hadn't eaten anything all morning, so even though I was vomiting, all I could throw up was some water.

I was done being their pawn in their little flirting game. I leaned on the couch for support, stumbled to my feet, and made my way to the door.

Julia's voice was sharp as she called my name. "Austin Wilder! Where do you think you're going? You still haven't apologized to Tobias!"

I stayed where I was and said flatly, "Julia, we're done. You've got one day to get your stuff out of my place."

Julia's expression immediately shifted, but I was done trying to keep her happy. I headed straight for the door. Right when I got to the hallway, my legs gave out, and I collapsed.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out was someone shouting, "Blood! He's bleeding out!"

…

I woke up to a whirlwind of noise surrounding me. I strained to make out the sounds and realized it was my buddy, Mark Osborne.

"Julia, have you lost it? Don't you know Austin's allergic to alcohol? Even if you didn't know, you should've known he got hit by a car while getting you a gift! And you're still pressing on his wound? Are you trying to kill him?"