Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

After Giving Aira a Piece of Her Mind

Yvonne finally felt a sense of relief. Idris was just about to take her back to the Quinn family estate when her phone buzzed. It was Julia calling, and something about her tone was off.

They agreed to meet at a little café across from Night Elf-a trendy bar in town. When Yvonne arrived, she saw Aileen was there too.

Yvonne's mouth felt dry as a bone.

Julia had already ordered her an iced fruit punch, and Yvonne barely said hello before downing half the glass in one go.

"Ah, that's better," she sighed, feeling the last bit of anger melt away, the icy drink helping more than she cared to admit.

"So... why'd you want to meet here, and at this hour?" Yvonne asked, setting her glass down, genuinely confused.

She knew her friends all too well. To be honest, Julia and Aileen were what you'd call her "party pals." They hung out at galas, hit up bars together, but meeting in broad daylight at a coffee shop? That was a first.

Julia looked nervous, glancing at Yvonne, then at Aileen. Her whole vibe was off.

Yvonne frowned. "What's with the nerves? Spit it out already."

Seriously, Julia was never this jittery. Anyone who got along with Yvonne generally had a bit of bite to their personality-Julia and Aileen included.

Aileen nudged her. "Just tell her already."

Her tone was weirdly heavy, which made Yvonne even more uneasy.

Yvonne glanced between the two of them, her gut twisting. "What's going on?"

Julia met her gaze, drew in a shaky breath, and muttered, "Honestly, I don't even know how to say this..."

Her eyes flicked to the faint marks on Yvonne's neck. They were all adults here- nobody was naïve, and Julia's look said it all: Yvonne had clearly gotten up to something last night.

Julia, panicking, smacked herself on the cheek a couple of times, the slaps loud and dramatic.

Yvonne sputtered, "Whoa, whoa, what the hell, Julia? Will you just tell me what's going on?"noveldrama

The way Julia looked, Yvonne's anxiety was cranking up by the second.

Aileen finally rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll just say it."

"Yeah, please, just say it straight."

This was starting to feel like a bad soap opera.

Aileen took a breath. "Last night, Julia might've... dropped you off at the wrong hotel room."

Yvonne stared blankly.

Julia nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I did. For sure.”

Aileen's "might have" was quickly upgraded to "definitely" by Julia herself.

Yvonne's eye twitched, her pupils dilating in disbelief. "You... You what?"

Julia covered her face. "I know, I know, I'm so sorry! I was in a hurry and hit the wrong floor in the elevator."

All morning, the elevator's glowing numbers haunted Julia's mind. She'd booked Yvonne's room on the 15th floor, but last night, she'd definitely taken her to 16.

Yvonne's lips twitched in disbelief. "You hit the wrong floor?"

Julia nodded, looking mortified. "I swear, I was tipsy, my head was spinning, and I totally messed it up."

By the time Julia realized, it was too late-Yvonne was already storming around, causing chaos.

Julia's heart was in her throat. She wasn't exactly a saint, but if someone got caught in Yvonne's crossfire by mistake_yikes.

Yvonne's expression slowly turned to stone.

Finally, she ran a hand through her hair, exasperated. "So let me get this straight, Julia—I already beat Dan and his fiancée half to death, and now you're telling me you put me in the wrong room?"