Clashing Hearts

Chapter Three

I made my way to the bar, my heels clicking against the floor like a metronome of irritation. What was that all about? Why did Larry Jenkins, of all people, have the power to make him look… uneasy?

“Champagne, please,” I told the bartender, forcing a polite smile.

I took a sip, exhaling slowly, letting the cold bubbles fizz on my tongue. The crowd had thickened, voices overlapping with laughter and music. I turned around slightly, scanning for a quiet corner where I could hide for a minute, but before I could take a step…

Crash!!!!!

The cold splash hit before the pain of realization did. Champagne, sticky, sharp, and shimmering, soaking the front of my pink dress, dripping down like liquid humiliation.

“Oh, for the love of ….” I hissed, jerking my head up.

And there he was.

Larry Jenkins.

Of course.

His expression was unreadable, somewhere between surprise and amusement. He held his own glass, now empty, and a napkin he clearly had no idea what to do with.

“You!!!” I started, my voice low but shaking with anger.

“Me,” he said simply, eyes flicking down at the mess he’d made before returning to mine. “Though, technically, you turned around too fast.”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

He extended the napkin, that infuriating smirk tugging at his lips. “You should be more careful when you’re angry. It ruins your grace.”

“do you lack basic manners?!” my voice was already pitching high from sheer annoyance and irritation, before i could continue, I saw Leon swoop in.

“what happened?” his face held no expression at first, just staring at me, waiting for an answer.

“this i***t spilled his drink on me and won’t even apologize!”

“i offered you a napkin!” he said holding out some paper towels in his hand in a non chalant manner, “it was an accident and you’re also at fault having your eye at the back of your head.” How infuriating can one human being be? Before i could say another word, Leon was already few inches away from him,

“You call this an accident?” Leon seethed while stepping closer and closer to him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I watched his hand at his sides ball up into a fist that his veins popped up, oh dear.

“You think you can humiliate my sister and get away with it?” I could hear as people started whispering.

Larry didn’t back away. His smirk didn’t even falter. “Easy there, Hawthorne. It was just a spill.”

“Just a spill?” Leon’s voice rose. “You’ve always been the same arrogant …”

“Leon, stop!” I hissed, grabbing his arm. Cameras flashed, a few people had already turned, phones subtly raised. The Hawthorne name didn’t need this kind of publicity.

“Brotherly instinct, I see,” Larry said coolly, brushing a droplet of champagne from his cuff. “Though, I’d think a man would’ve learned to control his temper by now.”

That did it. Leon lunged forward, and I barely managed to step between them, my hands flat against his chest.

“Enough!” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “Both of you!”

Leon’s jaw was clenched tight, eyes burning with something more than anger, pain. Larry, meanwhile, looked maddeningly composed, as though the whole thing had been entertainment.

The host’s voice suddenly boomed from the stage, breaking the tension. “Ladies and gentlemen, please! Let’s keep things civil, remember, we’re here for a good cause!”

But the damage was already done. The entire room had gone silent. All eyes were on us.

Leon turned away first, muttering under his breath, “This isn’t over.”

And as I stood there, soaked and mortified, Larry’s gaze lingered on me one last time calm, knowing, and dangerously unreadable.

For a moment, I swore I saw something in his eyes that wasn’t mockery. Something I couldn’t explain.

“let’s go home, please,” Leon said, his eyes pleading with me. I had no choice anyway, my dress is ruined, there’s so much tension and i can’t deal with our parents right now, I simply nodded my head as he led me through the crowd.

I was wrong about tonight. It had always been so monotonous I never thought such turn of events.

It was a very quiet ride back home with only the sound of our breathing being heard.

LARRY’S POV

“the Hawthorne’s will be at the party tonight.” Dad said as he walked into my study. “and I heard Leon is back in town,”

“what has this information got to do with me father?” i asked not looking up from the pile of papers and numbers sitting in front of me.

“everything Larry. Every. Single. Thing. Leon,” His voice was low, every word measured. “being back means you have competition It means leverage. It means a risk to everything we’ve built.”

“I’ve told you that I have no interest in all of your petty rivalries and dubious schemes. I want to make a name for myself and not known only as the Jenkins heir.”

He let out a short, humorless laugh.

“I decide everything about you, Larry. I made you and everything that you are, do you understand?!”

A chill ran through my spine, I looked up to stare into his hooded eyes, “what? what would you have me do?”

“break Leon to the point where he can no longer show his face to the whole world, i don’t care what happens to him, as long as he is out of the way.” and with that harsh command, he turned and left the room, the study door clicking shut behind him like a verdict. I leaned back in my chair heaving a deep sigh, my chest tightening.

Now, I didn’t even want to be at the party at all.