Chapter 75 You love Elara
Chapter 75 You love Elara
Knowing Caspian still loved Michelle, Lake called her a friend before hauling River up from the floor.
He dragged River out of the stall and slammed his head against the sink. River saw bright lights, the pain too much. Blood ran from the new wound.
“You should be glad my best friend wasn’t the one to find you,” Lake said, throwing him back down. The punches came easy, just like he remembered.
Over twenty years ago, a group of girls had beaten up his sister, Margo. When Lake went to make them pay, their brothers and boyfriends overpowered him.
Lake thought it was over for him. Then that quiet boy from his class stepped in. They had never even spoken before. That boy was Caspian.
Caspian got hurt, but the bullies ended up in the hospital for weeks. Later, Lake learned about Caspian’s older brothers. Caspian had learned to fight because of them.
Since Caspian would never hit a girl, he paid another group of girls to teach the ones who hurt Margo a lesson. They did it for free when they saw Caspian’s face and heard Margo was his sister.
They all got two weeks of detention, but a friendship was born that day. The problem was Margo became fixated on Caspian. Knowing Caspian didn’t feel the same, Lake asked their parents to send Margo abroad.
Thankfully, she talked about him less and less. Lake believed she had moved on. He missed her, but Margo loved her new life too much to come home.
The last photos she sent were from Hawaii. She was living her best life.
Lake made himself stop. Any more, and River might not have gotten up. He turned to Mira. She was leaning on the wall, her head spinning from River’s slap. Two words left her mouth, and it was clear she wished River was gone.
“Thank you.”
Lake let out a breath. “Let’s get out of here before this gets more complicated.”
Mira just stared, not moving. Seeing she was in shock, Lake bent down and picked her up.
Mira didn’t fight him. He had just saved her life. Instead, she put her arms around his neck. The truth was, she would never have given in. River would have hurt her badly.
From the floor, River watched through a haze of blood. Jealousy and rage burned inside him, but he couldn’t stand. Lake had been brutal.
Back at the table, Madison gasped. “Mira! What happened to you?”
Lake set Mira down in her chair. He poured her a glass of water, then went back to his seat. Rush and Michelle were already at her side.
“Who did this?” Michelle asked, her eyes dark.
Mira drank the water all at once. She hadn’t known how dry her throat was, maybe from all the crying.
“Who else?” she said, her voice breaking. “The man I wasted ten years on. If Lake hadn’t come…” She couldn’t finish. Michelle pulled her close and looked at Rush.
“Rush, find him. Make sure he goes to jail.”
“He’s still in the men’s room,” Lake added.
Madison took a napkin and pressed it to Lake’s bleeding hand. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft.
Lake gave her a small smile, about to make a joke, when a tall shadow fell over him.
“Who did this to you?” Caspian’s voice was low, his protective mode switched on. Lake was taken aback. Even now, Caspian was watching out for him. The truth was, Caspian meant who hurt Mira, but he wouldn’t say it.
“Not me. I did it to him. Don’t worry. I learned from the best,” Lake said, a note of pride in his voice.
Caspian didn’t reply. He just went back to his chair. Madison looked surprised. “I always thought he didn’t care,” she whispered.
Lake shook his head. “Caspian might be a mess with love, but with friends, he’s solid. You don’t know the half of our story.”
Rush returned a moment later. “It’s handled.” He had no plan to stay near Michelle with both Caspian and Edmund there. He let his team deal with River. In his condition, River wasn’t going anywhere. Rush found himself wondering if Lake and Caspian had some kind of special training.
He’d felt Caspian’s punch before. Now, Lake had done the same to River. Rush thought if he was going to compete with a man like Caspian, maybe he should take Michelle far away from this city.
Michelle had just sat back down when a loud, grating voice cut through the room. Everyone looked toward Caspian’s table.
“You love Elara, Caspian! Admit it! You’ve loved her even when you thought she was gone! Why deny it? She’s right there! Tell her to her face you don’t love her if I’m lying!”