Chapter 54 What Happens When You Provoke Me
Elodie's POV
Alex's eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged bull, and he charged in recklessly.
He must have heard something and tracked me down all the way here, just in time to see Ethan gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him.
Jealousy and rage burned away his last shred of reason.
Before anyone, including Ethan, could react, Alex had already rushed up to us. His clenched fist cut through the air and, without warning, slammed hard into Ethan's face!
A dull thud.
Ethan staggered from the blow, his gold-rimmed glasses knocked askew.
The entire classroom fell deathly silent—even the sound of breathing disappeared.
Everyone was stunned by this shocking scene.
Ethan slowly adjusted his glasses. Behind the lenses, his dark eyes narrowed. He ran his tongue over the inside of his injured cheek.
"You're asking for death."
"Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you touch her!" Alex was blinded by rage, completely unaware of what kind of devil he'd just provoked.
He pulled me behind him protectively, striking a guardian's pose as he roared at Ethan, "What exactly is your relationship with Elodie?"
Looking at his stupid face, written all over with "fighting for love," I felt nothing but despair.
"Alex, get out of here!" I grabbed his arm. "He's dangerous. You can't beat him. Leave now!"
But my warning meant something entirely different to him.
The fury in his eyes faded, replaced by a kind of wild joy at finding something lost.
"Elodie, you're worried about me, aren't you?" He grabbed my hand in return, babbling excitedly, "I knew it! You still have feelings for me! Don't worry, I'll beat him today. I'll prove to you that I'm a hundred times better than this pretty boy! I'll take you back from him!"
"Are you insane?!" I couldn't believe my ears. What was this idiot thinking?
But he was beyond listening to anything I said.
He shook off my hand and charged at Ethan again.
What happened next couldn't even be called a fight—it was a one-sided, brutal beating.
Ethan didn't even dodge. Just as Alex's fist was about to reach him, he caught Alex's wrist lightning-fast and twisted it hard.
The sharp pain of dislocated bones made Alex let out a piercing scream, and he instantly lost his balance.
Ethan lifted his foot and kicked hard at Alex's knee. Alex fell to his knees, unable to control himself.
Ethan grabbed him by the hair, forced his head up, then delivered punch after punch without mercy to his face.
The heavy thuds of fist against flesh, accompanied by Alex's pained groans, hammered like drumbeats against everyone's hearts.
Blood soon poured from Alex's mouth and nose. His handsome face quickly became a mess of bruises and cuts.
But Ethan showed no sign of stopping. The violence and murderous intent in his eyes only grew stronger.
He was going to kill Alex.
That thought made my blood run cold.
I couldn't just stand by and watch someone die because of me.
"Stop!"
I screamed and rushed over desperately, spreading my arms wide to shield Alex's barely conscious body.
Ethan's blood-stained fist stopped less than an inch from my face.
The fierce wind from his punch stung my cheek.
He looked down at me.
"Move."
Meeting his deadly gaze, I shook my head, my voice trembling. "Stop hitting him. You'll kill him."
Alex on the ground seemed to finally regain a bit of awareness through the pain.
He coughed up blood and struggled to play his last card against Ethan. "You... you dare touch me... I'm a Verma... the Verma family... you can't afford to mess with..."
The Verma family did have some influence in New York's high society.
But to someone like Ethan, a real power player, they were just an ant he could crush at will.
Sure enough, when Ethan heard this, instead of showing any concern, he actually laughed.
"The Verma family?" He looked down at Alex like he was hearing the biggest joke. "Good. I'll let them know what happens when they cross me."
My heart sank. He wasn't just going to kill Alex—he was going to destroy the Verma family!
"No!" I grabbed Ethan's sleeve. "Ethan, please, let him go, let his family go... Just stop, and I'll do anything you want. I'll listen to everything you say!"
My crying and pleading finally calmed the terrifying storm in Ethan's eyes a little.
Behind me, Alex gasped with relief. "Elodie... I knew it... I knew you still cared about me..."
Ethan suddenly reached out, yanked me away from Alex, and pulled me tightly into his arms. He gripped my waist so hard it felt like he wanted to merge me into his bones.
"Tell me," he said through gritted teeth, word by word, "who do you care about?"
"Who do I care about?" I repeated his words, my mind going blank.
Behind me, Alex was still coughing blood but struggling to get up, mumbling incoherently,"Elodie, don't be scared... I won't let him take you..."
This idiot.
He had no idea that the more he showed he cared about me, the more Ethan wanted to kill him.
A sharp despair pierced my heart.
I couldn't let anyone else die because of me.