Chapter 671
Chapter 671:
Ryan looked like he’d just been slapped with a plot twist. He hadn’t expected anything juicy—he was just killing time. Even James glanced between Stella and Rutherford, unsure what to make of the tension suddenly thick in the air.
The bottle kept spinning through the next few rounds, skipping over William, Rutherford, and Stella. It landed on other people, giving Stella some breathing room.
Since she wasn’t playing, she just leaned back, sipping her drink and enjoying the chaos.
By the time a few rounds passed and the bottle still hadn’t pointed her way, Stella was starting to think luck was on her side tonight.
But the moment she thought that, it landed on Rutherford again.
He let out a soft sigh, clearly ready to pick truth again—but Ryan wasn’t having it. “You already did truth,” Ryan said. “This time’s a dare.” Rutherford gave a reluctant nod, resigned to whatever came next.
Ryan pulled out his phone, opened a truth-or-dare app, and tapped the screen.
The app spun… then stopped. “Kiss the cheek of the first woman to your left,” Ryan read out loud, grinning.
Everyone turned. The first woman to Rutherford’s left… was Stella.
Rutherford looked from the screen to Stella, then asked gently, “Ms. Gilbert, are you okay with that?”
If she wasn’t, he’d just take a drink instead.
Stella paused for a beat. It was just a silly dare. No big deal. And maybe—just maybe—it’d send a message to William to cool it.
So she nodded. “It’s fine. I’m good with it.”
William’s chair creaked. For a second, it looked like he was about to lunge across the table—but under the table, James shot out a leg and kicked him lightly. Then, as if nothing happened, James leaned in and whispered, “Hey, could you pour me a drink? The bottle’s closer to you.”
William glanced at James and caught the warning in his eyes.
Chill out.
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Reluctantly, William reached for the bottle—but his eyes never left Stella. Meanwhile, Rutherford leaned over, lips brushing Stella’s cheek so fast and light it was barely even there. Most people missed it entirely.
Ryan let out a groan. “What was that? That was a ghost kiss! Total cheat!”
He was clearly hoping for more drama.
But Rutherford didn’t flinch. “The dare said kiss, not how long or how intense. I did it. That’s fair.”
Ryan opened his mouth to argue but gave up with a laugh. He moved on to the next round.
Once the focus shifted again, Rutherford leaned over and murmured, “Sorry about that, Ms. Gilbert.”
Stella gave him a small smile. “No need. I said I was fine with it.”
She was actually surprised by how gentlemanly he’d been. She barely felt it—it was over before she could react.
A few more rounds went by, and the bottle eventually landed on William again. This time, he had no choice. Dare.
Ryan tapped the app. “Give a one-minute hug to a woman at the table,” he read with a dramatic pause, eyebrows raised.
The group perked up instantly.
.
.
.