He Locked Me in His GOLDEN CAGE, So I Locked Him Behind Iron Bars Chapter 04
“Here you go, girl. You want this exact sequence of numbers, right?”
I stood inside the convenience store, nodding at the clerk behind the counter.
I had lied to Luke.
I hadn’t bought a lottery ticket before, so there was no real payout.
But I was buying one now.
This specific sequence of numbers…
If my memory from my past life served me right, it was a guaranteed winner.
I remembered the combination perfectly because it was Luke’s birthday.
The moment I stepped out of the store, my phone buzzed. The caller ID read “Manager”.
A sharp female voice came through the speaker. “Hailee? The cafe is slammed today. Can you pull a shift?”
This was the part-time gig I’d been working to grind out my college tuition.
“Ma’am, I sent you a text yesterday,” I replied. “I can’t come in anymore.”
If Luke caught me still working, he’d get suspicious about the lottery money.
The manager laughed. “I know, I know. But it’s the weekend and we’re desperately short-handed. Besides, you’re literally one shift away from hitting your perfect monthly attendance bonus. You’re just going to throw that cash away?”
I blinked. “Fine. Put me down for one more day.”
“Awesome. See you soon.”
An hour later, I was expertly assembling lattes, placing them on a tray to serve the VIP private room at the back.
This cafe was an upscale, high-end spot with ridiculous prices, which was the only reason the hourly pay was actually worth my time.
I knocked on the heavy wooden door.
A lazy, single-word response came from inside. “In.”
I instantly froze, taking a step back.
That voice. I could recognize it from a single syllable.
Before I could spin around to pass the tray to a coworker, the door was yanked open.
Chloe stood there, dressed in a flawless designer dress. Her eyes raked over my uniform before she grabbed my arm, dragging me into the private room.
The space was huge.
Aside from her and Julian Laurence, there were a handful of other people.
They were all part of their elite trust-fund circle, faces I recognized from being trapped by Julian’s side in my previous life.
One of the guys smirked, leaning back. “Well, she definitely looks the innocent part. No wonder that charity-case Luke is so obsessed.”
A wave of pure disgust hit me.
Chloe shot the guy a vicious glare, silencing him instantly.
Julian kept his head propped up on his hand, his pitch-black eyes locked onto me.
“Thought you won the lottery,” he asked, his tone completely flippant. “Still clocking into a day job?”
“None of your business,” I said, forcing my breath to remain steady.
Chloe snatched a cup of scalding coffee from the table and hurled it directly at my face. “Watch your mouth! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
I ducked sharply to the side.
The dark liquid splashed violently against the door.
Her expression turned completely feral. “You little…!”
Before I could even reset my stance, she grabbed a glass of water from the table and threw that at me too.
I closed my eyes.
It was lukewarm water, but it instantly soaked through my hair and the front of my shirt, clamping the damp fabric to my skin.
Chloe had always loathed me.
In my past life, it was even worse, until Julian claimed me as his exclusive property, forcing everyone else to back off out of fear.
The damp clothes made me shiver.
The rest of the room started laughing, tossing out casual compliments to calm Chloe down.
Then, I felt that familiar, predatory gaze drilling into me.
The next second, a heavy designer jacket flew through the air, landing square on my shoulders.
“Get out,” Julian ordered, his voice flat.
I grit my teeth, clutching the jacket around myself. “I’m leaving.”
Julian didn’t look at them. “I meant the rest of you. Everyone else, get the hell out.”
