My Engagement Party, His Humiliation Show Chapter 05
It didn’t take long for the crowd to figure out what was coming at them. The grins vanished. PeopleÂ
started shoving toward the edges of the plaza.Â
But a dozen men jumped down from the leadÂ
vehicle before anyone could break through. TheÂ
one in front gave a sharp tactical hand signal andÂ
barked the order.Â
“Lock it down. Nobody leaves.”Â
They moved as one, fanning out to the edges ofÂ
the crowd. In exactly fifteen seconds, every exitÂ
was sealed. The runners had nowhere to go.Â
Bradley froze for a beat, then shook it off. HeÂ
walked straight up to the man who’d given theÂ
order, chin up, still playing king.Â
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You haveÂ
any idea whose town this is-”Â
He never finished the sentence. A sick snap cutÂ
through the air – Julian Sterling had caughtÂ
Bradley’s pointing finger and bent it backward untilÂ
it broke.Â
Bradley’s men charged. The fastest one threw a wild kick straight at Julian’s head.Â
Julian was faster. He dropped low and drove hisÂ
boot into the man’s groin. The man crumpled,Â
hands between his legs, screaming into theÂ
pavement.Â
Four more men stepped off the vehicle. TheyÂ
dismantled Bradley’s crew in exactly forty–fiveÂ
seconds.Â
Once it was over, Julian came jogging toward meÂ
and shrugged off his jacket, draping it around myÂ
shoulders. The look on his face when he saw meÂ
was pure fury and regret.Â
“Vivienne, what the hell happened to you?”Â
“Why are you here? Where’s my dad?”Â
Julian hesitated, then leaned in and whispered. I understood immediately. He helped me back to the vehicle to change.Â
I’d barely stepped out of the vehicle three minutes later when I heard Chloe’s voice again. She was wrapping Bradley’s hand, tears streaming, but her eyes were fixed on me.Â
“What is wrong with you, Vivienne?! You knowÂ
Bradley can’t stand the whole Highcreek princessÂ
act – and you pull this?!”Â
“And you’re walking around wearing another man’sÂ
jacket? You don’t even care how that looks toÂ
Bradley?!”Â
Bradley had been quiet. Chloe’s words set him offÂ
all over again.Â
He pushed Chloe behind him and came straightÂ
for me. He got in my face, jaw clenched, hisÂ
uninjured finger an inch from my nose.Â
“What the hell was that, Vivienne-”Â
“You’re about to find out.”Â
I held his stare for exactly three seconds, thenÂ
turned and nodded to Julian.Â
A hundred engines roared to life at once. The jetsÂ
crashed into the plaza like a tidal wave – aÂ
hundred streams slamming into the crowd fromÂ
every angle.Â
Every man who’d been circling me with a grin onÂ
his face was flattened against the ground in underÂ
five seconds.Â
I climbed onto one of the cannon trucks. WailingÂ
rose from every direction.Â
From up there, I could see Chloe huddled behindÂ
Bradley and the remains of his crew. I picked up the mic and gave the order.Â
A dozen cannons swiveled toward Bradley’sÂ
group.Â
–Â
“Bradley I can’t take it, it hurts-”Â
“I can’t – Bradley, my eyes are bleeding!”Â
The outer ring went down first. In the entire plaza, only two people were still on their feet – BradleyÂ
and Chloe.Â
Bradley braced himself in front of Chloe, taking the full force of a dozen jets on his body. The pressure tore through his shirt like tissue paper.Â
Blood mixed with the water running off his skin,Â
turning the stream at his feet a thin, sick pink. He doubled over, grabbed his chest, and coughed blood onto the pavement.Â
Then his legs gave out, and he went down.Â
Chloe stood alone.Â
I signaled Robert Vance, then climbed down from.Â
the truck and walked toward Chloe. Her triumphÂ
was gone. All I saw now was fear.Â
“Chloe, it’s the Summer Splash, remember? YouÂ
said it yourself getting soaked is the wholeÂ
point…”Â
I turned toward Robert, but Chloe clamped a handÂ
around mine. “Vivienne, don’t – please, I’m begging you-”Â
I looked down at her and smiled. Then I wrenched my hand free.Â
One sharp wave at Robert, and I stepped clear.Â
The cannons locked onto her. She was knockedÂ
off her feet before she could scream.Â
She crawled across the wet pavement, scrambling out of the streams. But the jets followed her everyÂ
move, pinning her down whichever way sheÂ
twisted.Â
“Stop – it hurts!”Â
“Bradley, help me – I’m going to die!”Â
Chloe’s screams echoed off every wall in the plaza. The pressure shredded the remains of her dress and left her skin raw. She couldn’t lift herÂ
head. All she could do was lie there and take everyÂ
second of it.Â
I folded my arms and watched her like somethingÂ
small and trapped.Â
I was still savoring it when Bradley managed toÂ
drag himself up and staggered toward me. “That’sÂ
enough, Vivienne. There’s a line.”Â
“A line?” I spun on him. My palm cracked againstÂ
his face.Â
I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him close,Â
pointing back at Chloe thrashing under the waterÂ
behind us.Â
“Where was the line when she was targeting meÂ
with a water gun?!”Â
“Where was the line when she told me to strip inÂ
front of a hundred men?!”Â
“Where was the line when you tore my mother’sÂ
dress off my body?!”Â
“You’re fucking disgusting, Bradley.”

