Chapter 171

My emotions continued to surge uncontrollably, making my vision blur as tears streamed down my cheeks.

The weight of everything crushed me, making me feel like I couldn't breathe.

The one person that I thought I could trust had been lying to me for who knows how long. I didn't know what parts of Lucas were real and what parts were fake.

I clung to James, my fingers digging into his back as if he could anchor me to reality.

Breathe, Shana. You're fine. You're not going to lose control. You've got this. Just breathe.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to remind myself that I was okay.

"Shana, you're really worrying me," James said from somewhere above me as he continued to hold me. He started to rub my back gently in a soothing motion. "Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded, unable to voice the words. In reality, I wasn't feeling okay - not in the slightest.

"Don't worry, Shana. You've got me." James's words comforted me, but also made the pain worse.

I thought I had Lucas... I thought I had his trust and loyalty.

I couldn't believe that he had this under his sleeve the whole time. How could he look at me without feeling guilt? How was he okay with himself?

"James, I can't believe they lied to us," I finally spoke, my voice quivering. "How could they do this?"

James held me even tighter, offering the support and comfort I desperately needed. But he needed support right now, too. "Shana, I know it's hard, but we need to confront them about this."

I nodded through my tears. My anger and sadness intermingled into a messy ball of emotions.

"Yeah, James. You're right. We can't let them get away with this," I said. "I just don't understand."

"Me either. I can't even think of a reasonable explanation for this."

Deciding that I needed to steel myself, I wiped away my tears, my determination to uncover the truth resurfacing.

I didn't want James and I to look like fools. We had been deceived and taken for granted when we've shown nothing but kindness to both Victoria and Lucas.

Together, the two of us would confront Victoria and Lucas and demand some kind of explanation for all this.

"Let's go to the engagement party." James pulled away from me slightly, his eyes reflecting the same determination as mine. "Let's get to the bottom of this. We deserve to know what's going on."

I couldn't agree with him more.

It was time to crash their party.

_

As James and I arrived at the upscale rooftop restaurant hosting Lucas and Victoria's engagement party, a sense of unease washed over me.

The fancy decor clashed with our casual attire, making us stand out like sore thumbs. While I usually wouldn't have cared about wearing jeans and a t-shirt, it was painfully apparent that everyone else was decked out in their finest black-tie attire.

It was clear that the two of us didn't belong here.

"James, we can't go in there like this," I whispered, trying to pull him back. "They're going to think we snuck in."

"Who cares, Shana?" He glanced down at me and shrugged. "I'm not letting them get away with this. I could go in there naked for all I care, maybe that would catch their attention."

As absurd as that was, I knew James wasn't kidding.

Not deigning to wait for my response, James began to walk toward the party. Reluctantly, I followed him as we walked through the entrance.

People in fancy dresses and suits stared at us with keen interest. They were probably wonder who the hell we were and what we were doing there.

A snobby Alpha woman even had the audacity to stop in front of me and comment, "Did you know the attire is black-tie?"

James turned around, noticing that the woman was speaking to me. He regarded her with an irritated expression, ready to snap at her, but I quickly pulled him off to the side to avoid causing a scene.

We were already standing out as it was, we didn't need to make things worse.

"Ignore her," I said to James, dragging us away from the woman.

"She's a bitch!" James argued with me. "I don't like how she was judging you."

I felt grateful knowing that I had James at my side for this because there's no chance I would've done this alone.

Once we were inside the party, the skyline greeted us and elegant decorations seemed to surround the area.

James's attention immediately shifted to the extravagant spread of food on the banquet tables.

"Shana..." he said cautiously as I noticed the drool already starting to come out of his mouth.

When it came to food, James had a serious weakness.

I tugged on his arm, trying to refocus him on our mission.

"James, now is not the time. We need to find Lucas and Victoria," I urged, scanning the room for any sign of our friends. If we could even call them that anymore.

He grumbled but nodded in agreement. "Food can wait. Food can wait," he chanted to himself as if soothing himself.

The two of us ventured deeper into the party. Conversations buzzed around us as we navigated the sea of well-dressed attendees.

I was afraid we'd run into Victoria's parents, or worse, Kendrick. I knew that they both had to be here, and I doubted that they would be happy to see us here.

We needed to find Victoria and Lucas as soon as possible, but still, there was no sign of them.

"Look at all this food," James muttered, his eyes fixed on the tables as we passed them. His stomach growled loudly, making me roll my eyes.

"Focus, James! Focus! We can eat later."

But before we could continue our search, another snobby Alpha woman with perfectly curled hair and a face cacked with make up approached us. She looked James up and down with distaste.

"Are you wearing... jeans?" she asked, her eyes dropping to James's pants.

"So what if I am?" James snapped, a mixture of his upset and hunger. He was clearly very hangry.

"Did you two forget the dress code?" she said, now looking at the both of us.

Damn, what was it with these people and following the stupid dress code?

James squared his shoulders and retorted, "No, we actually just prefer being comfortable. It's better than having a constant stick up our asses, or in your case, those tacky—"

"James!" I cut him off before he could insult the woman. He was going to get us kicked out of here before we could even speak to Lucas or Victoria.

I pulled him away from the woman. James away from the Alpha woman. Her gaze followed us as we retreated, her lips pursed in disapproval.

"Can you control yourself?" I asked him under my breath with a hiss.

"I hate these people," James replied. "They have no manners."

I nodded in agreement.

As we continued searching for Lucas and Victoria, I couldn't help but feel like we were making a scene with every step we took. The room seemed to grow smaller as we moved through the crowd, and I felt a sense of impending doom closing in on us.

Just as I thought we'd never find the, I spotted them sitting in the center of the room.

The two of them were looking at each other and... were they smiling?