Chapter 175

How did Maverick get here? Didn’t the ‘toast’ he was referring to happen a long time ago? Why does he still remember it so clearly?

Gwendolyn glanced behind Maverick from the corner of her eyes.

Not only him, but it seemed that Nico, Elven, Ezra, William, and Quinton were all there as well.

Gwendolyn instinctively looked up at the railing on the first floor again. Charles was still leaning at where he was. Although she could not see his expression due to the lights, she could sense that he was watching them.

The man offering a toast was scolded by Maverick, and the former looked innocently at Gwendolyn. “Miss, I meant no harm. It’s just a drink. I don’t know why this gentleman has to insult me.”

“You’re right. It’s just a drink.” Gwendolyn pursed her lips and smiled, her slender fingers reaching out to take the red wine that had been passed to Maverick.

However, Maverick refused to give her the glass. His darkened eyes were gloomy, and his face was full of displeasure.

Gwendolyn’s beautiful eyes were gentle, and she coaxed Maverick in a frivolous tone, “Behave yourself and let go of the glass. I’ll accept your toast next time.”

With just this one sentence, Maverick was instantly satisfied.

Gwendolyn effortlessly retrieved the glass of red wine, elegantly taking a whiff before gently pressing her red lips against the rim, readying to take a sip.

The man offering the toast saw her movements, and a hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.

However, Gwendolyn’s lips came to a halt just before they touched the liquid.

She looked at the man with a hint of playfulness in her gaze. “Do you really want me to drink?”

The man was stunned for a moment, and his eyes filled with anticipation as he nodded.

In the next second, Gwendolyn’s smiling eyes suddenly turned cold, and she splashed the glass of wine directly onto the man’s face. “You know exactly what’s in this drink, and it should taste pretty good. You should give it a good try.”

She had not noticed it at first, but the man mentioned that he came from the small cubicle. When Maverick and his group appeared and threw a wrench in the man’s plan, the people at that table did not react at all. Moreover, the man was being overly attentive.

The man’s face and body were covered in red wine, which annoyed him slightly. “If you don’t want to drink, that’s fine. But why are you accusing me? You’re such a buzzkill!”

He wiped his face and lowered his head, reaching for the tissue in his suit pocket.

Maverick watched him closely and noticed a cold look on the man’s face when the latter lowered his head, which was not a good sign.

The man seized the opportunity when Gwendolyn had turned her attention away and suddenly pulled out a small glass bottle from his pocket, maliciously splashing its contents toward Gwendolyn’s face.

“Look out!” Almost acting out of instinct, Maverick pulled Gwendolyn into his embrace, and the entire bottle of liquid splashed onto the back of his suit. The suit immediately sizzled and emitted smoke.

“Ugh…” The burning pain shot through him, causing Maverick’s brows to furrow tightly and his face to turn pale. Despite the agony, his arms still hugged Gwendolyn close, firmly protecting her in his embrace.

“Ms. Shalders, it’s sulfuric acid!” Elven cried out in terror.

This sentence was like a bomb, causing the crowd that was initially dancing on the dance floor to burst into an uproar as they screamed and scattered in all directions.

The scene turned chaotic in the blink of an eye.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the man who threw the sulfuric acid quickly fled.

Gwendolyn fumed, “William, Quinton, go after him! How dare he play tricks on me! We must catch him!”

After that, she quickly attended to Maverick and observed his condition, swiftly taking off his suit and shirt.

Maverick had just caught a cold last night, so his immunity was low. After taking two cold medicine pills in the afternoon and even doing some housework, his stamina was completely drained.

He was in so much pain that he could not stand steadily. He exhaustedly rested his chin on Gwendolyn’s shoulder and gently held her slender waist. As cold sweat rolled down his face, he allowed Gwendolyn to pull off and discard his clothes.

Fortunately, most of the liquid had soaked into the clothes, and only a palm-sized area in the middle of the entire back was affected. The liquid was most concentrated in that area, causing the acid to seep into his skin and turn it into a burnt, bloody mush.

It was extremely agonizing.

Maverick felt relieved that it was he who got injured. If Gwendolyn were accidentally hurt, that would have truly broken his heart.

Amidst the intense pain, he lifted his eyelids, and his eyelashes quivered slightly. His nose gently sniffed the faint scent of Gwendolyn’s fragrant hair, barely helping him maintain a sliver of consciousness.

However, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Justin, who had originally been standing behind Gwendolyn, was nowhere to be found.

He quickly gave Nico a meaningful glance.

The latter understood the message right away and quietly left to find Justin.

In the middle of the dance floor, Jasmine was almost knocked down by the dispersing crowd. She hurriedly ran back to look for Gwendolyn. As she approached the latter, Jasmine saw the bloody wound on Maverick’s back, which turned her face pale with fright. “Gwendolyn, what’s going on here? How did he get hurt like this?”

Gwendolyn did not have time to explain. “It’s too chaotic here, and I don’t have the time to take care of you. Go and find Charles first.”

After she was done speaking, she asked Elven to drive and Ezra to carry Maverick.

When Ezra came over, Maverick refused to let the man carry him. His dark eyes were weak yet stubborn. He clenched his teeth and said, “Gwendolyn, I… don’t want… to go out shirtless.”

Gwendolyn understood and immediately stripped Ezra clean.

She took a shirt to help Maverick wipe off the remaining sulfuric acid and bloodstains on his back, then carefully wrapped him in a suit.

Ezra hugged his arms, feeling a chilly sensation on his body. He felt somewhat embarrassed by his nakedness.

It was not until Gwendolyn called out to him that he hurriedly carried Maverick out of Realm Bar on his back.

William and Quinton were chasing the man at a rapid pace. Unfortunately for the man, he did not have the chance to escape the bar before William and Quinton caught up and captured him.

Gwendolyn was just about to get in the car when she thought of the man who had been captured in the bar. She glanced at Maverick, who had already passed out from the pain in the backseat. She hesitated for a few seconds with her hand on the car door.

In the end, she did not choose to get in the car right away. Instead, she ordered Elven and Ezra, “Hurry up and take him to the nearest hospital to treat his injuries.”

Elven asked, “What about you, Ms. Shalders?”

“I’ll be there later.” Gwendolyn closed the car door, and her eyes instantly turned cold, filling with murderous intent.

Returning to Realm Bar, she first went to the front desk and casually tossed a Centurion Card onto the counter.

“Clear the area. Let me borrow this place for some matters. I’ll cover all the expenses, and if there’s any damage, I’ll compensate for it!”

The receptionist was stunned by her sharp gaze. When she lowered her head and caught sight of the Centurion Card, she thought that she had only seen such cards on television before and did not expect to see one in real life. She immediately called her boss to report the situation.

The person on the other end of the phone quickly agreed.

Meanwhile, the man was pinned down on his knees by William and Quinton in the middle of the dance floor. He was struggling and clamoring all the while.

Gwendolyn walked over and picked up an empty red wine bottle next to her. She forcefully struck it against the edge of a table, causing the bottle to shatter. A loud and ear-piercing sound echoed throughout the bar.

The man, who was still talking big a moment ago, instantly weakened when he caught sight of Gwendolyn, who was slowly approaching him while pointing the sharp edge of the broken bottle at him. Her aura was menacing, and her murderous intent only seemed to intensify with every stride she took.

“What are you trying to do! You… Ah!”

Next, a spine-chilling scream echoed through the air.

Half of the man’s face was slashed by the broken wine bottle, instantly becoming a bloody mess. The sight was shocking and horrifying, and his eyeball was in unbearable pain.

Gwendolyn’s gaze was cold and ruthless as she pressed the sharp edge of the broken wine bottle against the man’s neck. Her voice was devoid of warmth as she questioned, “Who sent you?”

Sulfuric acid was not something one would carry around casually unless it was premeditated.

The man endured the pain and remained silent, refusing to answer the question.

Gwendolyn’s face was expressionless as she looked at his right arm. “Did you use this hand to splash at me just now?”

William and Quinton understood the meaning of her words and pinned the man down on the floor. A leather shoe stomped hard against the man’s half-unharmed face, and the man’s right hand was forcefully extended and pinned to the ground.

Gwendolyn slowly crouched down. Her cold eyes glinted menacingly as she ruthlessly stabbed the wine bottle into the back of the man’s hand.

Following that, a throat-ripping screech echoed across the bar.

The bar staff trembled in fear and huddled together.

Nevertheless, Gwendolyn remained expressionless as she uttered in an ice-cold tone, “It’s fine if you don’t talk. I won’t kill you for that, but I have a hundred ways to torture you until you break and start talking.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she pressed the wine bottle deeper into the man’s hand and even twisted the bottle.

“Argh!” The man was in so much pain that his entire body convulsed. He nearly fainted on the spot several times.

“It will be your left hand next. If you still don’t speak up, it’ll be your right foot and left foot. Think it through carefully!”

The man was then forcibly made to extend his left hand.

Gwendolyn’s eyes glinted with viciousness, but just as she was about to pierce the man’s skin, her wrist was suddenly grabbed from behind.