She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 101

“No way!” Leroy slammed his hand on the table, jumping to his feet. A wine glass toppled over, spilling its contents across the surface.

Loyce rose slowly, smoothing her sleeves. “A bet’s a bet.”

The crowd started chanting, “Strip! Strip! Strip!”

Leroy’s face was grim. He clenched his fists, then suddenly grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the table. With a loud crash, glass shards flew everywhere. “Shut up, all of you!”

The crowd fell silent instantly.

Loyce didn’t even flinch, not so much as a flicker of her eyelashes. She watched Leroy calmly, her voice soft but laced with an undeniable force. “Can’t you handle a loss?”

Finally, swallowing his humiliation, Leroy walked to the stripper pole. His fingers undid one button after another, revealing his skin.

Just then, the bar’s main doors burst open. Sybil, dressed in a white dress, hurried in.

“Wait!” Sybil pulled Leroy’s half-removed shirt back onto his shoulders and stood protectively in front of him. She turned to Loyce, her voice a soft plea, as if she were enduring some great injustice yet forcing herself to be strong. “Loyce, Leroy’s young and foolish. Please, be the bigger person. Don’t hold it against him…”

She lowered her head slightly, her eyelashes trembling as if she were the one being bullied, yet she managed a gentle smile. “He’s impulsive, but his heart is in the right place. He just wants your approval. If he’s offended you in any way, I apologize on his behalf. Please, don’t make things hard for him, okay?”

As she spoke, she gently took Leroy’s hand, shielding him like a mother bird protecting her young—frail yet resolute, her eyes pleading. “Loyce, if you’re angry, blame me. I’m the one who didn’t teach my brother right…”

Her words made the onlookers soften, some even murmuring amongst themselves.

“Isn’t Loyce being a bit aggressive?”

“Sybil is so kind, apologizing for her brother like that.”

Leroy stood behind her, his expression still sour. Seeing his sister groveling only fueled his anger. “Sybil, you don’t have to do this,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

But Sybil gently squeezed his hand, signaling for him to be quiet. She continued to gaze at Loyce with those watery eyes, as if she would keep up her pitiful act indefinitely until Loyce relented.

Loyce suddenly let out a laugh. “I don’t get it.”

She stepped onto the stage, facing Sybil directly. “Leroy was the one who invited me for a drink. Leroy was the one who challenged me to a drinking game. And Leroy was the one who warned me that a bet’s a bet. So how, coming from you, did this become me making things hard for him?”

Sybil hadn’t expected Loyce to see right through her act. Biting her lip, she suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Loyce’s arm. “Loyce, it’s just a game, don’t take it so seriously. The Lonsdale family’s reputation is more important. Please, think of the bigger picture.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify