Lustful Paradise

Zoe took a deep breath before speaking, trying to keep herself calm despite being furious at her boyfriend. "That is exactly the problem, Nathan. You were too passive about the whole thing and didn't even bother trying to understand what was happening between Lucifer and Madison. Instead, you just stood there like an idiot while your friends caused a scene and ruined everything. What the hell is wrong with you? When do you ever plan to get over your laid-back and carefree attitude? There is a time to be chill and a time to act, and the earlier situation definitely called for the latter, which you didn't do!"

Hearing her say all that, Nathan felt embarrassed. It wasn't easy to admit that she was right, but it was true nonetheless. He had known about his laidback nature, and it had gotten him into trouble many times before, which Zoe always helped him get out of.

She always tried her best to get him to change and mature a bit so he could become the kind of guy she could rely on in tough times, but despite all her efforts, he always remained the same. He didn't try hard enough, which was why they always had this problem in their relationship.

"Nathan... I don't want to say this, but I'm tired of being the one who has to deal with your lack of seriousness. I'm sorry, but if you keep on being this way, then I don't see our relationship lasting for much longer. I love you, Nathan, but you have to learn how to take charge of the situation and become the man I can rely on. And if you aren't even capable of dealing with these small problems that pop up, then I'm not sure how I'm supposed to count on you to help me through life."

Hearing this, Nathan's heart dropped, and he looked at his girlfriend with a panicked expression, not understanding how things escalated to this point. "Zoe... Please, calm down. Let's not get too hasty about things here, okay? I promise I will try harder next time, alright? I just got caught up in the moment and forgot what was important, that's all. You don't have to get angry at me like this. We can work through this together, okay?"
Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Instead of responding to her boyfriend, Zoe looked at James and sighed. She didn't want to argue with Nathan right now, so she decided to ignore him and focus her attention on the last man. She wanted to get this conversation done with, as it was pointless to drag it out for much longer. "As for you, James..."

"Me? What have I done? Don't tell me that you think I'm at fault here as well." James interrupted her, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Unlike his two other friends, he believed that he was innocent and didn't deserve to be called out for his actions. But he just saw how Zoe rebuked Nathan and thus decided not to question her too much.

She sighed again, shaking her head in disappointment. "You know, out of the four of you, I have always felt that you were the most mature one and the most levelheaded person. And yet, you failed to live up to your reputation and instead ended up becoming a part of the mess. You should have been able to recognize the signs that things were about to go bad between Lucifer and your friends. Why did you not step up to prevent it? Don't you realize that you could have avoided everything if only you had acted like a leader, as you have always shown yourself to be?"

Hearing this, James became speechless. He looked at the others, wondering if he really did have such an opportunity to stop all the trouble before it happened.

And then he recalled the entire event and remembered how he had a chance to intervene. However, he thought things wouldn't turn out that bad and that the guys might just be overreacting, but it turned out to be the opposite instead. They took everything too seriously and ended up worsening the whole situation. So it was indeed his fault for not doing anything.

But even though he understood that now, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Everything was over, and there was no point in regretting the past.

Zoe noticed his silence, and seeing the look on his face, she knew he had realized the truth behind her words.

"I know you guys planned this trip so Ethan can have a chance to get together with Madison and Jack to earn Layla's affection, but you shouldn't think that those two are yours for the taking, and no one else can touch them. Don't you think you are being way too entitled by acting like that?" Zoe stated, crossing her arms under her ample bosom as she gave them a cold stare. "Look at the situation now... It's because of this thinking, and now everyone's going to suffer the consequences."

"Fine! We get it, okay? We messed up! So, what do you want from us? What are you expecting us to do now?" Jack yelled at Zoe in frustration. He was tired of listening to her lecture and just wanted this conversation to end already.

"Don't yell at me, asshole. I am not someone you should be shouting at!" Zoe snapped back at him in anger. "And I don't expect anything from you, Jack. You have always been like this, so there's no use talking to you. Just shut your mouth and listen to me. All I am saying is that you guys should apologize and make peace with Lucifer so we can continue to have fun and enjoy this trip like it should have been. And until you guys do that, I won't hang out with any of you either—just like them."

With that, Zoe left the lounge and headed upstairs to join Lucifer, Layla, Eva, and Madison in the jacuzzi. Leaving the four friends alone to reflect upon their actions.