Chapter 332: Chapter 332 Alexa wanted to scream. She could feel her composure slipping, like a cartoon character losing balance on banana peels.
Trying to regain control, she crossed her legs elegantly and forced a laugh. "Well, not everyone can be as natural as models, right?" she said, her tone sharp beneath the sugary sweetness.
Dominic smirked, his gaze sliding lazily to her phone—where her lock screen showed her own heavily filtered selfie. "You’d be surprised," he murmured, voice smooth as silk. "Some people don’t need filters. They just... have it." His eyes flicked briefly toward Bella. Barely a second, but Alexa saw it. Her entire face burned.
Jason grinned. "Yeah, like freckles. Scars. Personality. You know—things Photoshop can’t do."
Scarlett wheezed into her drink. Zeke covered his mouth, trying to hide his grin. Bella blushed, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
Alexa sat stiffly, the corners of her smile twitching as she took a deep, shaky breath. "You two... are so funny," she said through gritted teeth.
Dominic’s lips curved lazily. "Thanks," he said, his voice low and unhurried. "But we’re not trying."
Jason nodded innocently. "Yeah, this is just our natural talent."
Alexa’s eye twitched. "Right... natural talent."
And as the group turned back to Scarlett and Bella—laughing easily, tossing witty remarks back and forth—Alexa sat frozen in her seat, clutching her glass so tightly she nearly cracked it.
Her inner thoughts screamed.
Why is he looking at her? Why is everyone laughing? Why does the room feel like it’s spinning? Jason suddenly turned to her again, his expression playful but kind. "You okay? You look like you swallowed a lemon."
Alexa’s fake smile finally collapsed.
Dominic chuckled under his breath, the sound dark, rich, and utterly devastating. Without even trying, the two of them had just completely ruined her night.
Alexa’s lips twitched painfully as she forced a brittle laugh that sounded like it had been dragged across sandpaper. "I think I just remembered something—I have somewhere to be," she said quickly, every word tight with suppressed fury.
Her eyes darted toward Bella and Zeke, who were still laughing softly with Scarlett, and her blood boiled. Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heels, nearly tripping over her own bag. "Freya, let’s go," she snapped sharply.
Freya blinked, startled by her sudden outburst, and hurriedly stood. "Y-Yes, ma’am!" she said softly, lowering her head as she followed Alexa toward the door. She risked one small glance back at Bella, who gave her a gentle, understanding smile. Freya’s heart squeezed at the kindness in her eyes before she quickly turned away.
Alexa’s heels struck the marble floor like tiny hammers of rage as she stormed out of the lounge, muttering furiously under her breath. "Unbelievable... all of them, sitting there laughing, acting like I’m some kind of joke!" she hissed, her voice trembling with anger. "Do they really think I don’t see through it? That I’m stupid? That I’m just some decoration next to that perfect little Bella?"
Her words grew sharper with every step, her fury spilling out like venom. "That fake sweetness—ugh! She thinks she’s better than me just because they’re all drooling over her face? Pathetic! I hate them. Every single one of them!"
Her grip tightened around her expensive hand bag until her knuckles went white. "Zeke Sinclair, Dominic King, Jason Vale..." she spat each name like a curse, her breath coming out fast and hot. "Arrogant, smug, infuriating jerks! They’ll regret making a fool out of me. I swear they will!"
Meanwhile, inside the lounge, Alan awkwardly cleared his throat, the silence after Alexa’s exit stretching uncomfortably across the room. He shifted in his seat, eyes darting between Dominic’s smirk and Scarlett’s unimpressed stare.
"Uh... I think I should go too," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
Scarlett didn’t even glance up from her drink. "Door’s that way," she said flatly.
Alan blinked, offering a weak, nervous chuckle. "Right. Yeah." He stood, fumbling for his phone before forcing a polite smile toward Bella. "Nice seeing you again."
Bella returned a small, courteous nod, her tone gentle but distant. "You too, Alan."
That tiny exchange was all it took to make him realize—he didn’t belong in this room anymore. With one last awkward laugh, he turned and walked out, the door clicking shut softly behind him.
Dominic leaned back, smirking. "Well," he drawled, "that was entertaining."
Jason grinned. "I didn’t even do anything this time."
Scarlett groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "That’s the problem. You don’t even try, and people still lose their minds."
Dominic’s low laugh rumbled through the room, warm and amused. With Alexa, Alan, and Freya gone, the air felt instantly lighter like someone had opened a window and let all the tension drift away.
"Finally! I thought I’d suffocate from all that perfume and fake laughter," Jason said, fanning his face as if he’d survived a battlefield.
Scarlett snorted into her drink. Even Dominic’s lips twitched. Zeke leaned back, smirking. "You always say that after every meeting with women, Jason."
Jason sat up, pointing at Bella like an excited kid. "But this—this is different! Do you even realize who we’re sitting with right now? Bellatrix! Our Bellatrix! The legend herself!"
Zeke grinned, his calm face lighting up with genuine warmth. "He’s right. I can’t believe we’re actually meeting you in person after all this time," he said. "We’ve been coding side by side for years—fighting digital wars together and now you’re just... here. Very Real."
Dominic chuckled softly. "Yeah, and not at all what I imagined." His dark eyes glinted with quiet amusement. "For someone who once crashed my agency’s firewall for fun, you look way too innocent."
Bella laughed shyly, covering her face. "I didn’t crash it! It was an accident—I told you that a hundred times!"
"Accident," Dominic repeated dryly. "Sure. Like Jason’s car ’accidents’ every weekend."
Jason gasped. "Hey! That’s emotional damage!"
Zeke laughed, shaking his head. "He’s not wrong, though. You did crash into that vending machine."
Jason crossed his arms stubbornly. "That vending machine was standing suspiciously, okay? It looked guilty."
Bella burst into laughter. She had only ever known them through glowing screens and midnight calls but now, seeing them in person, laughing together, made her heart feel impossibly full.
Zeke’s gaze softened as he watched her. "I still can’t believe this," he murmured. "Our Bellatrix—the mystery queen herself—is actually this... adorable."
Jason nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I thought you were some grumpy old man living off coffee and code, not an actual angel in a dress!"
Bella blushed furiously, hiding behind her hands. "Stop exaggerating..."