Archibald couldn't stand it anymore and was about to lose his temper when Sophie spoke first. "When are you going back?" she asked softly, turning to Ned beside her.
Ned acted as if he hadn't heard her at all, continuing to play drinking games with the woman, laughing and flirting.
"When are you going back?" Sophie turned her head to stare at him, asking again in an icy voice.
Ned, still immersed in his revelry, seemed deaf to her words. But the woman beside him noticed. "Ned, that girl who just came in is asking you something! She wants to know when you're going home, hehe..." Mia cooed sweetly, nestled in his arms.
"Going back? I'm not going back!" came his lazy reply. "Of course I'm staying until I've had enough to drink!" Ned tightened his arm around Mia and reached for the bottle to pour himself another glass.
Sophie stared at him in silence. Her face grew paler and paler, devoid of expression, only her shimmering eyes misted over with a watery sheen.
Archibald really couldn't take it anymore. He snatched the full glass from Ned's hand. "Ned, you've had too much! This is going too far!"
Ned didn't care at all. He casually took Mia's glass instead and drained it in one gulp. Mia cheered and clapped excitedly. The way he drank made Archibald frown deeply.
Sophie stared at him in a daze. When Ned reached for the bottle again to pour a second glass, she finally reached out with both hands and grabbed it. "Stop drinking!"
Ned's face remained expressionless as he shook her hands off and prepared to pour.
Sophie gripped the bottle again, her eyes filled with stubborn determination. The two suddenly locked in a tense standoff.
Archibald sat across from them, holding his breath and staring, unsure what to do.
"What the hell are you doing? You come here and won't even let people drink? Let go!" Mia narrowed her eyes and snapped when she saw Sophie's actions.
Sophie stood her ground, unmoving, refusing to release the bottle. She stared fixedly at Ned, as if she hadn't heard Mia at all.
Furious, Mia reached out and tried to pry Sophie's fingers off the bottle.
Sophie still wouldn't let go. Mia refused to back down and deliberately dug her sharp nails into the back of Sophie's hand.
Sophie gasped in pain as Mia's nails left several bloody red scratches on her skin, but she stubbornly held on...
"Hey, hey, hey! Enough, enough! Let go, what are you doing?!" Finally, Archibald couldn't stand it anymore and quickly pulled Mia away.
"Why are you pulling me?! She's the one being crazy! Why are you grabbing me?" Mia struggled like a cat in heat and scratched Archibald in retaliation.
"Shit! You crazy woman! Why are you scratching me?!" Archibald was on the verge of losing his mind.
Yet Ned seemed completely oblivious to the entire commotion, as if it had nothing to do with him. "Let go," he said coldly to Sophie.
"No, I won't!" she replied stubbornly, clutching the bottle tightly. "Not unless you come with me."
Ned simply took action, forcefully prying her fingers away.
"Ugh!" Sophie let out a muffled groan as her wrist throbbed from his brute strength…
He poured the wine and continued drinking.
Sophie lowered her arm, staring at him in utter defeat.
Seeing Ned ruthlessly shake off Sophie's arm, Mia let out a triumphant, coquettish laugh beside him…
Just as Ned was about to pour his third glass, Sophie finally reached her breaking point. Without a word, she stood up and turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, don't go!" Archibald reacted too late. By the time he snapped out of it, Sophie was already hurrying out of the restaurant. Ned, as if he hadn't seen a thing, just kept pouring and drinking.
Archibald shot to his feet in panic, grabbing Ned's arm. "Why the hell aren't you chasing after her?!" he roared at his friend. "The girl you stole from me, and you don't even treasure her? It's so late; it's dangerous for her to get a ride alone around here!"
Ned stared at him for a long moment. "Did I need to steal your girl? If you're so capable, take her back yourself."
Mia sneered coldly, "So what? She's the one who's boring, ruining our drinking fun. Good riddance!"
"Shut your mouth! Why are you always part of this?" Archibald snapped fiercely.
"What are you yelling at me for? Who gave you the right to tell me to shut up?" Mia shot back, not backing down.
"I'm yelling at you, that's who! Adding fuel to the fire, what the hell are you…" Archibald, already fuming, let himself argue with her.
"What did you just say—" Mia's face twisted.
Suddenly, Ned slammed the bottle down on the table with a loud BANG, startling the two mid-quarrel into silence. Then, without warning, he strode toward the restaurant exit.
"Ned!" Mia cried out in shock, trying to call him back. But he completely ignored her.
Ned caught up with Sophie in the alley, grabbing her hand and demanding, "What's the meaning of storming off alone like that?"
"You never intended to leave with me, yet you asked me to come pick you up. What's your meaning??" she countered. She had never felt this fragile before, completely unprepared for Ned's behavior. She didn't understand why he was treating her like this.
"There were friends there, and all you cared about was venting your emotions. You're always this willful, like a child who never grows up!" Ned listed her faults. "You came looking for me, then left first. That's wrong!"
"A child who never grows up? Are you dating a 'child'?" Sophie glared at him, enunciating every word. "If I'm just a 'child,' then you shouldn't have made a 'child' witness your decadent, drunken, womanizing world!" She furiously yanked her arm free from Ned and turned to walk away.
"I told you long ago that drinking is like this. You're not a minor—are you incapable of listening or incapable of understanding?"
"I don't understand, and I don't want to understand. Just leave me alone. I can get home by myself." Sophie stormed deeper into the alley.
Ned took one big stride forward and seized her hand again. "What the hell do you want from me…"
She struggled fiercely to break free from his grip, her face pale as she said in a tone colder and more distant than ever before: "Let go of me!"
Ned's face darkened as he dragged her out of the alley. "Stop being stubborn. I'm taking you home."
"I don't need you to. I can get back by myself." Sophie struggled the whole way, trying to wrench free. The two of them tugged and pulled until they finally emerged onto the street.
The cold night wind hit their faces, sobering them both. Standing at the curb waiting for a ride, Ned felt the alcohol loosen its grip under the biting breeze. At last Sophie managed to fling his hand away and retreated several steps, putting a safe distance between them.
"Come here." Ned sighed, turning to glare at her four or five meters away. "If you don't come over, I'll come drag you myself."
Sophie acted as if she hadn't heard a word and didn't move an inch.
Ned strode toward her, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and pulled her close. "Why are you hiding so far away?" he growled right into her ear.
Sophie pounded his chest with her fists and crouched down, resisting his embrace. "Let me go!"
Ned quickly pinned her wrists, dragged her into the shadows, and pressed his body against hers to stop her squirming.
"Let me go!" She kept hitting him with clenched fists.
"Have you lost your mind?!" He seized both her hands and locked them firmly behind her back.
Tears poured wildly from Sophie's eyes. She screamed at him through sobs, "Let's break up! I never want to see you again. We're done!"
Ned froze. The next second, his gaze turned terrifyingly dark. "You're serious?"
"I hate you. I hate you like this!" Sophie glared at him and roared with what strength she had left.
"Say it again!" Ned released her hands, his eyes ice-cold, and barked in a low, dangerous voice.
Sophie, already drained of all reaction, flinched at the shout. Her whole body trembled. Then she slowly lifted her eyes and stared straight into Ned's unreadable ones. "I hate you like this. I hate the you who drinks with other women. I hate the you who doesn't care about me at all!"
She let all the resentment pour out in one breath: "Why do you have to make me suffer so much? Didn't you say you loved me?" Her voice suddenly rose to a shout. "If you're tired of me, if you don't love me anymore, just tell me honestly! You can't treat me this way. I can't stand feeling like this!"
She buried her face in her chest and murmured, "When you act like this… my heart hurts so much. It really, really hurts inside…"