NovelUSAChapter 308 She stared straight at Hastings, her eyes wide and searching. In a careful, almost timid voice, she asked, "Hastings, you once toldI was the most important person in your life. I just want to know... am I still?" Kali's gaze was deadly serious, brimming with a desperate need for reassurance.
Hastings couldn't quite figure out why she was asking this now. He hesitated, then finally replied, "Of course you are." Relief washed over Kali the moment she heard the answer she'd been hoping for. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but she quickly swapped it for a pout, putting on her best wounded expression as she complained, "Hastings, you have no idea how awful that freshman you're mentoring-Citrine Carmichael- has been." At the mention of that familiar name, Hastings' eyebrows rose. "Citrine Carmichael? What did she do?" Kali perked up instantly, all too eager to spill the details. She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. "She senta video of you two sparring." "And..." Kali hesitated, as if what cnext was too humiliating to say out loud, "she said spretty nasty things about you." Hastings took her phone and clicked on the video. It was from a month ago— footage of his training session with Citrine.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhen the video ended, he finally noticed the string of messages Citrine had sent along with it.
"Kali, your dog's loyal, but honestly, he's useless." "I mean, compared to Sebastian, he's nowhere close." "I bet you didn't know this, but Sebastian is so gentle and thoughtful. There was this one time... He actually pulledinto his arms because he was afraid I'd get scared. Have you ever been that close to him?" As Hastings read these words, something hot and furious flared up inside him. Kali, pretending to be even more outraged, huffed, "Did you see that? Not only did she call you a dog, she even said you're not as good as Sebastian." Hastings had always liked Kali, and nothing got under his skin faster than hearing someone say he wasn't as good as Sebastian. The last person who'd made that comparison had ended up with their entire life in ruins, courtesy of Hastings himself.
Sensing his silence, Kali leaned in, fanning the flames, "Seriously, she's gone way too far. How can she say those things about you?" "I won't let her get away with it." Hastings' voice was cold as steel, eyes locked on the screen, the lines of text reflecting in his darkening gaze.
But Kali had no idea that what truly drove Hastings to the edge wasn't being called a dog. It was Citrine's last sentence.
What exactly was going on between her and Sebastian? Why had Sebastian been holding her? When had they gotten that close? A strange, destructive urge welled up inside him.
Noticing something off in his expression, Kali's worry spiked. "Hastings, are you okay?" "I'm fine, Kali." The moment he heard her voice, Hastings forced himself to smooth out his features.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe didn't understand why he'd lost control like that. Normally, with Kali around, he could keep his cool. But today, something was different-he was on edge, impulsive.
Only Kali knew just how furious she'd been when she'd first received those O messages. She'd been so angry, she'd nearly smashed her phone-if she could have, she would've wrung Citrine's neck. She narrowed her eyes at Hastings, hoping-no, needing not to be disappointed by him.
Meanwhile, across town in a cozy bistro, Citrine and Ingrid sat with a group of friends, raising their glasses inFeelebration of surviving the grueling month-long boot camp.
The moment training ended, they'd bolted from the field without abackward glance. Ax for saying goodbye to their drill instructor-well, the thought hadn't even crossed their minds. After a month of being pushed to their limits by Hastings, the group fantasized about giving him a taste of his own medicine-let alone sending him off with any well wishes.
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