Chapter 9: Running into trouble

The pain on Luca's face reverberated to his brain, and this made him stand up because of fury. It wasn't the pinch of pain that made him angry but Juliette's insolence.

With gritted teeth, Luca walked up to Juliette, snaked his hand to the back of her neck, and pulled her closer to his face.

"I dare you to repeat that," Luca taunted.

"Which part?" Juliette feigned innocence, not minding the proximity of their noses, almost touching. "You being a scumbag? A jerk?"

Luca's jaw moved, as his patience was almost cracking, but he smiled through gritted teeth which made him look more lethal.

And Juliette, who plucked up her courage from god-knows-where, kicked Luca's shin with her heels, and the latter whimpered from the excruciating pain.

Luca almost lost his balance and had to lean on the table for support. He caressed his shin up and down fastly to relieve the pain. The pain was too extreme that he almost forgot to breathe.

"Fuck!" Luca breathlessly cursed.