CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
747 Words
Chapter Twenty-six
The idea had been Annabel’s.
After the long, tense weeks filled with whispers at the office, boardroom politics, and the Tristan family’s shadowy maneuvers, she had insisted they needed a night that was theirs. “We’ve been through enough,” she’d said. “We deserve at least one evening of laughter.”
So when work ended, Briella found herself walking into a quiet, softly lit restaurant tucked in a corner of the city. Marcellus was by her side as always, but tonight his presence wasn’t one of stiff professionalism—it was relaxed, his arm brushing hers as though reminding her they weren’t just colleagues fighting endless battles.
At a round table near the window, Christopher and Annabel were already waiting. Annabel’s face lit up the second she saw them, her hand waving wildly in the air.
“Finally!” she exclaimed as they approached. “I thought you two would show up fashionably late, CEO-and-Chairman style.”
Christopher smirked. “Give them a break, Belle. They probably stopped on the way to sign a billion-dollar deal.”
Briella rolled her eyes but smiled faintly, sinking into her seat. “Very funny. We came straight here.”
Annabel leaned across the table, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Mhm. Straight here—with Marci right beside you.”
Marcellus raised a brow. “Only Briella calls me that.”
“That’s exactly my point,” Annabel teased, nudging Briella under the table.
Briella’s cheeks warmed, but she shot her friend a warning glare that only made Annabel giggle harder. Christopher, on the other hand, leaned back in his chair with mock seriousness. “Honestly, watching you two dance around each other is exhausting. Can’t you just admit you like each other and spare us the suspense?”
Briella choked on her drink while Marcellus, unbothered, sipped his wine as though Christopher had just commented on the weather.
The table erupted in laughter, and for the first time in a long while, Briella felt something she thought she had lost—ease.
They spent the first hour reminiscing. Annabel recalled their university days, the reckless nights, and the time Christopher had tried to impress a girl by singing karaoke off-key. Christopher groaned, covering his face.
“You swore you’d never bring that up again!”
Annabel grinned. “I lied.”
Marcellus chuckled, the sound low and warm, and Briella found herself staring at him. The way his eyes softened when he laughed, the faint dimples that appeared when he was truly at ease—it was a side of him she hadn’t seen in years. For a fleeting moment, it was as if time had reversed, and they were just four friends out on a carefree night.
But then Christopher’s tone shifted. “You know, jokes aside… are you ready, Briella? For what your family might try next?”
The air grew heavier. Briella set down her glass slowly. “I don’t have a choice, Chris. They’ve tried to intimidate me for years. I let it slide before, but not anymore.”
Marcellus’s hand brushed against hers under the table, a silent show of support. “She won’t face it alone,” he said firmly.
Annabel’s smile faded into something softer, more protective. “I just… I worry. They won’t stop easily, Brie.”
Briella’s gaze grew sharp, but her voice remained calm. “Then they’ll learn I don’t stop either.”
For a while, the weight of her words lingered, but Annabel—never one to let a night sour—quickly steered the conversation back toward lighter things. Soon, laughter bubbled again at the table. They toasted with glasses raised high, celebrating survival, friendship, and the fragile but undeniable joy of the moment.
By the time dessert arrived, Briella’s cheeks ached from smiling, Annabel was practically bouncing in her seat, and Christopher was shaking his head at her antics. Marcellus, however, remained quieter. He laughed at the right moments, teased when the mood called for it, but every so often, Briella caught something flicker in his eyes.
It was brief, almost imperceptible—but it was there. A shadow. A knowing.
She didn’t ask him about it, not tonight. Tonight was for warmth, for laughter, for remembering that life wasn’t only battles. But as they all left the restaurant together, Briella knew one thing with absolute certainty: the storm hadn’t passed.
It was only gathering strength.
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✨ End of Chapter Twenty-six ✨
- Writer
