His large hand rested on my waist as he thanked Zane, "Thanks, brother; I will cherish her."
Zane's expression darkened, and he scoffed disdainfully.
We walked out of the room, and as we closed the door behind us, several loud crashes echoed from inside.
Zane angrily smashed several bottles of wine.
I heard someone trying to calm him down.
"It's okay; maybe Stella just wants to make you jealous; don't take it to heart."
"Exactly, why get so angry? She's probably still thinking about becoming a daughter-in-law of the Franklin family and will come back to apologize soon."
Zane seemed somewhat pleased, his voice cold, "A pretty girl and a bastard are a better match, aren't they?"
"If she wants to come back, let's see if I want her."
As we walked out of the bar, I felt a twinge of guilt and apologized to Yale.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess."
"You don't have to take what I said seriously," I said.
To my surprise, Yale reached out and touched my face, his tone soft and affectionate.
"Why are you crying?"
Then, lowering his voice, he whispered in my ear, "And I did take it seriously. What now, Stella?"