Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Ella's POV

In a landscaped corner of the campus, I sat on a bench under an artificial rock formation, holding a cat in my arms. I was wearing a black T-shirt paired with a long denim skirt, my long hair casually draped over my shoulders.

I gently stroked the kitten in my arms while having a pleasant chat with a girl wearing a red hoodie.

Sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, scattering in little spots across us, creating patches of dappled light and shadow.

"Really? Then we're classmates!" the girl said in surprise, speaking fluent Astorian.

I smiled and nodded in response: "What a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet someone from Astoria here."

Meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land, that sense of warmth naturally arose.

The girl in the red hoodie smiled and introduced herself: "I'm Hazel Foster, and you?"

I politely responded: "I'm Ella Thorne."

Hazel acknowledged this, then asked curiously: "By the way, where are you living now?"

Hearing this question, I didn't answer right away.

I couldn't exactly say I was being forced to live at the Smith Manor, could I?

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of James's reflection moving quickly across the artificial lake. He walked into this landscaped area of the park, his gaze sharp.

Soon, he spotted me on the bench under the rock formation.

James let out a soft hum, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, then he strode toward me.

I was looking at Hazel, hesitating about how to answer her question, and had just slowly begun: "I applied for a dorm, so in the future I should—"

Before I could finish, I suddenly felt my body lift off the ground, and I screamed in terror.

A tall figure appeared from behind, wrapped an arm around my waist, and carried me straight back.

The kitten in my arms was so startled it jumped away and disappeared into the lawn.

"Ella..." Hazel watched me being carried away, momentarily at a loss.

When I saw clearly that the person carrying me was James, my throat moved, and I asked in a trembling voice: "James, what... what are you doing?"

James didn't speak, just carried me toward the school gate.

As he walked, he didn't forget to reach down and press my skirt hem downward.

Kai, waiting at the school gate, immediately opened the car door when he saw this scene.

James stuffed me into the back seat of the car and climbed in after me.

He slammed the car door shut with force, making a loud bang.

James looked at Kai and coldly ordered, "Kai, back to the Smith Manor."

Kai immediately got in the car and started the engine.

Half an hour later, we returned to the Smith Manor.

James pulled me by the hand, heading upstairs.

Alexander was bouncing in from outside and, seeing James and me, excitedly ran over.

He didn't know how to read the room yet. His chubby little hand grabbed mine as he said innocently, "Ella, Uncle James, you're back?"

James completely ignored him and continued pulling me upstairs.

This made both Alexander and Sophia freeze for a moment.

"Ella." Alexander chased after us upstairs.

Sophia saw the violent aura radiating from James as he entered, and her heart tightened. She quickly stepped forward to hold Alexander back, reminding him, "Alexander, let's not disturb Mr. Smith right now, okay?"

Alexander looked completely confused, his little eyebrows knitting together: "Why not?"

Sophia didn't know how to explain this to a five-year-old child.

"Mr. Smith and Ms. Thorne have important things to do. If you disturb them, Mr. Smith will get angry." Looking at Alexander's innocent expression, Sophia could only say vaguely.

He tilted his head, pouting: "What are Uncle James and Ella going to do?"

Sophia frowned: "Well..." This really couldn't be explained clearly to a child.

The bedroom door upstairs slammed shut with a dull thud.

Inside the room, James pressed me against the door and asked directly, "Ella, do you know there was just a shooting at your school?"

"A shooting?" My expression instantly froze, my eyes widening, clearly shocked by this news.

I really didn't know about the shooting, and this wasn't my fault.

The landscaped area where I'd been sitting was particularly quiet, with few people passing by, and the shooter had used a silencer on the gun.

James studied my panicked appearance: "Scared now?"

I nervously bit my lip: "I... I really didn't know."

James stared at me intently: "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

I fumbled to pull my phone out of my bag, saw the missed calls, and finally realized: "I put it on silent last night and forgot to turn it back on."

"Ella," James took a deep breath, "from now on, your phone stays on twenty-four hours a day, and you can't put it on silent. If I call you, you must answer within five seconds. Got it?"

I gripped my phone, my eyes avoiding his, not daring to meet James's intense gaze: "I... I understand."

Watching my nervous appearance, for some reason, James seemed somewhat irritated.

He suppressed the irritation in his heart, his eyes and voice softening slightly as he changed the subject: "Did you finish everything at your school?"

I nodded: "Yes."

After answering, I carefully ducked out from under James's arm and took small steps to the side.

I was afraid James would get angry, so I didn't dare go too far, just keeping some distance from him.

"Ella," James called my name seriously.

I looked up at him, responding timidly: "Yes?"

"Why are you standing so far away?" James's tone carried some displeasure. "Am I going to eat you?"

My heart trembled. I actually really wanted to nod and say "yes," because I'd seen him angry before, and when he got angry, it was even scarier than being eaten.

But I didn't dare tell the truth, so I could only shake my head woodenly.

James looked straight at me and said in a deep voice: "Come here."

I froze for a moment, then carefully walked a few steps toward him.

James raised his eyelids slightly and said flatly: "Don't you have something to say to me?"

I felt a dangerous atmosphere slowly spreading throughout the room.

I thought for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, and quickly lowered my head to search through my bag.

I rummaged for quite a while before finally finding the black card inside.

"Here, this is yours."

Unexpectedly, my hand slipped, and the bank card fell from my palm, landing at James's feet.

"I'm sorry." I immediately bent down to pick it up.

But James lightly grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me up.

His sudden touch made my neck and shoulders tingle instantly, and my body unconsciously shrank in place.

James stepped back, bent down, and picked up the card from the floor.

After straightening up, he held the card between his slender fingers, looking down at me from above.