Chapter 216
“The black market crowd is messy. Who knows if some of them are here with hidden agendas,” Arnold said with visible disapproval. He sounded like he could barely tolerate his son’s current performance.
‘This is what you call chasing a girl? No won
“I’ve got it handled,” Nicholas replied calmly. standing alone.”
Edward always drags your name through the mud
still, having someone from the Baxter family show up might be good. Let them see the Vance family isn’t
Nicholas didn’t say it out loud, but he had taken everything that happened seriously–especially what it meant for Sharon.
Arnold’s tone cooled. “I’ll run a separate investigation on my end. Everyone knows Sharon is practically family. Whoever had the nerve to set her up is clearly not afraid of us. They must’ve forgotten that I didn’t inherit my position–I took it.”
No successor of a major family sat comfortably without earning their seat. Arnold may have mellowed with age, but back then?
He would’ve already wiped someone off the map by now.
“Thanks,” Nicholas muttered.
“Protect your own fiancée, for crying out loud. Your mom’s been pacing all night waiting to hear back from you.”
Now it was Arnold’s turn to start giving Nicholas a hard time.
Sure, he was protective of his family–but ever since Sharon entered the picture, it felt like his status at home had taken a nosedive. Anything involving her, Wendy took personally. She hadn’t even slept properly last night, staying up just to wait for a message from Nicholas.
Arnold had already told her Sharon was fine, but apparently, his word didn’t count for much anymore. She still insisted on hearing it from Nicholas directly.
Frankly, Arnold felt a little betrayed. ‘Seriously? My own wife would rather trust my son over
me?‘
‘Another day, another serving of mom–and–dad PDA.‘
Nicholas lay back in his tent, expression nonchalant. “Well, if she’s that worried about Sharon, maybe have another kid. A daughter this time.”
“Get lost,” Arnold snapped before hanging up.
No way in hell was he going through all that again just to raise a daughter–only to have her also steal his wife’s attention. He wasn’t that crazy.
After the call ended, Nicholas stared at his screen for a few seconds and then finally sent Sharon a message. Nicholas: [The Baxter family will send someone over tomorrow. The martial artists you hired might not all be trustworthy.]
A second later, he added. Nicholas: [As for freshman camp, I’ve cleared it with the staff. You can take a few days off. Given everything that’s happened, it’s a valid excuse.]
The blisters on her hands and feet were reason enough to rest. Besides, military training was just formalities. No one at the A challenge her.
With that thought, Nicholas finally set his phone down and drifted off to sleep.
y could actually
The next day, Sharon slept like the dead and didn’t wake up until nearly noon.
Sunlight streamed through the window as she yawned and reached for her phone. She had a few unread messages–Nicholas had followed up, letting her know about the Baxter family’s support.
… 17:45. Tue 17 Jun
Chapter 216
Right. I keep forgetting i have a fiancé who’s the Baxter heir!
She had gotten so used to doing everything on her own, it hadn’t crossed her mind to rely on anyone else. But Nicholas stepping in hea that ca unexpectedly nice.
She smiled and texted back. Sharon: [Thanks, fiancé.)
No reply. She tossed the phone aside with a shrug. Nicholas was always busy and never replied
on time anyway.
Stretching, Sharon walked over to the window. The sunlight was strong and warm, making her squint until her eyes adjusted. She raised a hand and let the light stream between her fingers.
Down on the lawn, a group of men were out running in matching black workout gear. All of them had solid builds.
Leading the charge was–surprisingly–Marvin.
‘Now that’s rare.‘ He used to be the king of late nights and the emperor of sleeping in.
Sharon leaned against the window frame, watching her brothers jog in neat formation under the bright sun. It was a beautiful scene. Soft light fell across her face, giving her an almost ethereal glow.
“Shari!”
Marvin noticed her and waved up at the window.
“Keep it up!” she called back.
She spotted Wallace, Aaron, Marcus, and Jeffrey in the group too. Sharon waved at them and made a playful heart shape with her fingers.
The moment she did, the perfectly coordinated group stumbled out of rhythm.
Marvin wiped his face and turned back around, now even more fired up. ‘With Shari cheering me on, I’ll run fifty laps if I have to.”
He was determined to build himself up, protect her the next time, and never be the one dragging her down again.
He’d love to shout from the rooftops how amazing Sharon was–but if he did, she’d probably punch him in the face.
Sometimes, being a guy meant swallowing their pride. Even when it burned.
Joan, also training outside, sneakily snapped a picture of Sharon making the heart. She smiled to herself.
‘Even after all that… she’s still so full of love.‘
The training wrapped up not long after. It was almost lunchtime.
Sharon glanced at her phone and saw a new message from her team. Cameron: [Shari, we’ve got a lead on the person behind it.]
Her smile vanished. Her eyes turned cold. Sharon: [Where are they?]
Cameron: [You’re going in person?]
Sharon: [They went after my people. Of course I’m going.]
Her mouth tightened into a grim line. ‘The families of those low–ranking martial artists who died protecting us deserve justice. I’ll give it to them— personally.‘
Cameron: [Got it. I’ll send the coordinates. We’ll be ready.]
Chapter 216
She shut the app just as another message came in from Nicholas. Nicholas: [It’s the least I could do. I already notified the Academy. Want to take a couple days off?]
Sharon: [Two days will do.).
She didn’t want to make things difficult for him. Two days were enough.
Nicholas: [Rest up. I’ll make sure we find who did this.]
Sharon replied with a sticker–a cute one, of course.
It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the help. She just preferred to finish things herself.
Across the swamp, Nicholas stared at the sticker on his phone. ‘Yup. Even her emoji game is adorable!
He filed her leave request with the Academy immediately.
Moments later, Brent ran up to him.”
“We tracked a lead–but it turns out we’re not the only ones watching them.”
“Who?”
“Solar Flare.”
Nicholas‘ eyes narrowed, voice turning sharp.
‘What the hell is she investigating this for? What does this have to do with her?‘
AD
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