Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 257: I Don’t Get It

Winn smacked the back of his head and headed upstairs.

Hours later, the room looked like two toddlers and a tornado had had a playdate. They were deep into the second season of Stranger Things, two boxes of pizza thoroughly annihilated, the coffee table buried under an army of empty beer cans.

Joey suddenly leaned forward, pointing aggressively at the TV with a half-eaten crust. "I don’t get it!" he yelled. "Why would you move toward something you know is scary? You got gas in the car, it’s working fine. Drive the fuck out of there!"

Winn gave him a look of absolute disbelief. "Not everyone is a pussy, Joey."

"Like you? Letting the woman you love slip through your fingers?"

"You are an asshole!" Winn snapped. "But yeah, you are right... I am a pussy."

Joey leaned back, hands up. "No argument there."

Winn groaned, tilting his head back against the sofa, running both hands through his hair. The movement made the muscles in his arms flex, tension rippling beneath his skin.

"I should see her, shouldn’t I?" Winn said quietly.

His eyes stayed locked on the TV, but Joey knew Winn wasn’t seeing a damn thing on the screen.

"Why?" Joey asked. "What’s that going to change?"

"I don’t know," Winn admitted. "Maybe nothing. Maybe everything."

"I can ask her to wait for me. Until I fix things, until I can make sure all is clear, right?" Winn said. His fingers drummed anxiously against his knee, a restless rhythm betraying the panic burning under his ribs.

Joey narrowed his eyes. "You do realise some couples fight together, right? Together?" He gestured in a wide arc, nearly knocking over a beer can. "That is literally the whole point of relationships. Not... whatever superhero martyr bullshit you keep doing."

Winn shook his head, jaw tightening. "I can’t risk that. She just has to wait. If I come out of this, we can start all over again. We can live happily ever after." The last part came out hushed.

Joey stared at him, mouth slightly open. "You sure that’s not the beer talking?"

Winn blinked several times, as if waiting for his brain to catch up. "I mean think about it. I’m right, aren’t I?" His gaze darted between Joey and the TV, searching for approval.

"I’m going to go with yes," Joey said slowly, dragging the words out. "But I really should go with no. It’s evening already and the party is almost done."

"Come on!" Winn suddenly jumped to his feet. His heartbeat was practically audible in the air, a thudding insistence matched only by the frantic shine in his eyes.

Joey slapped a palm over his face. "I knew this was going to happen. Knew it. Felt it in my bones." He stood with a groan, stretching his back. "But can we dress like human beings first before we go crash a party?"

"Where is it holding?" Winn demanded, already heading for the stairs.

"The Rothschild house," Joey answered.

"Go change into one of my suits. Hurry!"

Later, Winn’s Maybach screeched to a halt in front of the Rothschild’s gates, the tires singing a very expensive protest. The front lawn was dotted with guests.

Joey exhaled sharply as he stepped out, adjusting the lapel of Winn’s suit.

A valet approached them. Joey shoved Ivy’s invite into the man’s hands. Once cleared, both men strode toward the entrance.

Guests turned to look. Joey felt eyes trailing them.

The first person Winn spotted that he recognized was Irene—hard to miss with her deep-blue evening gown. She was adjusting Theresa’s dress when Winn practically barreled toward her.

"Irene? Where is Ivy?" Winn demanded, barely stopping himself from grabbing her shoulders.

Irene’s brows shot up. "She is upstairs getting ready. Is everything okay?"

"Upstairs where?" Winn asked, already half turning.

"One of the rooms in the guest wing," Irene said slowly, pointing. "Take the left stairs in the entrance hallway." She tilted her head. "You plan on changing her mind about this?"

"Yes!" Winn didn’t even try to pretend otherwise.

Irene sighed under her breath. "Men," she muttered. But she didn’t stop him.

Winn hurried through the courtyard with Joey close behind, dodging servers carrying champagne and stepping around intricately carved floral arrangements.

Winn reached the landing, slightly breathless, scanning the hallway. Six doors. Three left, three right. Every one identical.

He opened the first door on the left.

Empty.

A perfectly made guest bed, fresh lilies in a vase, no Ivy.

He swung around and opened the door directly opposite.

And froze.

His breath exited his lungs in a small, shattered gasp.

He shut the door immediately. Hard.

He turned to Joey, face pale, jaw locked, eyes hollow.

"You know what? I changed my mind," Winn said briskly. "Come on. Let’s go home."

"What the fuck!!!" he whisper-yelled, grabbing Winn’s arm.

"Joey, trust me..." Winn muttered, rubbing his face.

"I’m having a hard time believing your head is screwed on straight right now," Joey replied, poking his chest, "and you want me to trust you?"

Winn stepped back. He looked down the hallway.

"Joey," he said again, quieter, heavier, "trust me."

"We gotta get the hell outta here," Winn affirmed. His eyes were still wide, disbelief flickering in them as he pivoted back toward the hallway.

Joey groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face as he followed Winn back the way they came, muttering curses under his breath. Guests continued moving around them, unaware, glasses of champagne clinking, laughter floating.

By the time they cleared the courtyard, Winn was already shaking with suppressed laughter.

He reached the car door, yanked it open, and the moment he sank into the driver’s seat of the Maybach, he burst—a loud, uncontrollable, belly-shaking laugh that exploded out of him.

"Oh my God!" Winn wheezed between gasps. "This is—oh, Jesus—this is delicious!"

Joey slid into the passenger seat, staring at him. "You’re crazy. You’re crazy, Winn. I swear! You came all the way here for NOTHING!"

Winn slapped the steering wheel, still laughing. "I’m glad I did." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I’ve got time. Enough time. She is going to come back to me."