Chapter 31 - Had he seen everything?

Chapter 31 - Had he seen everything?
~Harriet~

The voice that called me wasn't sharp or mocking like the others. It was bright, familiar, and filled with genuine excitement. I turned my head just in time to see a blur of caramel curls and a dangerously oversized handbag charging toward me.

“Lena?” I blinked, stunned.

In a second, I was wrapped in a hug–tight, bouncy, and very much Lena-style.

“Oh my god! You look so different, like–who are you?! Girl, you’re literally glowing!” she squealed, pulling back to look at me.

I couldn't help it. I smiled.

Lena Cho, my best friend since middle school. She was the only person who had stayed by my side before I lost everything in my previous life. Even after I pushed her away, she still tried to check on me. I’d ghosted her, thinking I was doing her a favor. But here she was again, before me, vibrant as ever, acting like nothing had changed. My eyes watered a bit, and I sniffled.

“What's wrong? Are they bullying you again?” Lena asked, pushing me aside as she glared fiercely at Kylie. Even in my previous life, she had never liked Kylie. Lena had always held something against Kylie, and I'd not understood why until I was reborn. Kylie had been my nemesis all along.

“Sister, it's good you came today. I thought you were doing terrible since father kicked you out. I'm really thankful that you seem fine.” Kylie muttered, her gaze sweeping over me, hinting at something. Her minions completed it for her.

“Could it be that she found a sugar daddy to sleep with? She doesn't look like she was kicked out of home.”

“Nonsense! My sister is not that kind of person, right, sister?” Kylie asked, looking as though she truly cared for me.

Lena tugged at my sleeve, but I just gave her a reassuring smile. Stepping forward, Kylie backed away. I bet she had remembered our last encounter.

“Having a sugar daddy to spoil me is much better than getting dumped on my wedding day, is it not?” I asked, making the air turn quiet. Kylie's minions who had previously been so talkative had shut their mouths, knowing full well the person I was talking about.

Kylie’s face burned with embarrassment and she ran into the school with her tail between her legs.

“Since when did you learn to talk to Kylie like that?” Lena suddenly asked, amusement marrying her face, and I smiled.

“Since now.” I muttered, smirking.

With that, I and Lena headed to our first class, completely oblivious to the eyes that had been watching us. Kylie hadn't bothered us anymore, and neither had Malfoy. Overall, the classes weren't bad at all.

…

After our final class, Lena had apologized, running back home alone as she had something to do, while I walked calmly out of the school in the evening after everyone had left. The sky had started to turn dark, and the air was chilly. I'd stayed back to sort some things out, leading me to lose count of time.

I'd walked out of the school, my footsteps thudding the pavement as I got farther away.

I had just taken a turn when a group of men cornered me. Four of them–they reeked of alcohol and sweat, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. It didn't take me long to guess what was happening.

"Look what we have here," one of them sneered, his breath thick with the stench of beer and cigarettes.

"A pretty schoolgirl, walking all alone… ain't that dangerous?"

I didn’t respond. I simply stared, my hands stuffed into my pockets.

“We can give you a ride, sweetheart,” the tallest one said, stepping closer.

“The kind of ride you would really enjoy,” one of them said, stepping closer as his hand reached for my shoulder. I narrowed my eyes.

“Back off.”

“Or what?” he asked, a laugh tearing from his throat as his hands moved lower. I grabbed his arm, seeing his eyes darken.

“You think you're so tough huh? Just give in and you won't get hurt,” he said, yet I hadn't budged. I held his hand in place, my eyes coated with glaciers.

Another man grabbed at my arm, making my eyes darken inexplicably. Touching me was their mistake.

I twisted, grabbing his wrist and yanking it down, hard. A loud pop cracked through the air as his elbow dislocated. He screamed, stumbling back.

“What the hell?!” one of the others shouted, running at me.

I ducked low, sweeping my leg beneath his knees. He crashed to the ground with a thud, groaning.

The third man came at me with a beer bottle, swinging wild as though he'd lost his mind. My lips curled up into something sinister.

I stepped aside, grabbed his wrist mid-swing, and used his momentum to slam his face into the nearby brick wall. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, glass shattering on the pavement beside his unconscious body.

The last one backed away, eyes wide with something I could tell–fear.

“You’re insane!”

“No,” I said coldly, brushing hair from my face. My smirk had not dropped.

“I’m just not to be played with,” I completed, watching as he tried to run. Yet, I'd appeared in front of him in the next second, kicking him in the balls. He dropped in front of me, a scream escaping his throat as I pulled his hair up for him to look at me.

“I never want to set my eyes on you all, do you understand?”

“Yes…yes, please.” he nodded with vigor, and I finally let him go, the hint of amusement in my eyes vanishing in the next second as they ran away.

And then I heard footsteps behind me. Footsteps that made the hairs on my back rise. I turned.

And there he was–Rael.

Hands in his pockets, eyes unreadable. His gaze drifted over the scene, from the u men scurrying away to the torn strap on my bag. Had he seen everything?

Oh no!