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Chapter 8: Killed Thrice

As soon as Miss Vanilla and I finished clarifying matters on the table, I hurriedly left school. I am divided between responding to the CEO's offer immediately or reflecting on myself and considering the consequences of joining the werewolf hunter first. I am also contemplating whether I should inform my siblings of this situation and seek their opinions, or whether it would be safer for them if I decided things on my own.

I wasn't looking at anyone nearby, but I could tell from my peripheral vision that those I passed in the opposite direction were paying attention to me. They were probably perplexed by my aura of straightness—

“Sunflower for you!”

I almost startled out of my seat when a person holding a sunflower mini bouquet unexpectedly appeared in front of me from nowhere. I came to a halt in my footsteps.

“Mackenzie!” I was about to strike him in the face, but fortunately I struck him in the chest instead. He laughed with a gleeful expression on his face. He moved closer to me while fixing his eyes on mine.

He cracked a smile that showed his teeth and joshed, "I didn't expect that you still look pretty even when getting startled." He laughed again, almost losing his eyes. I swear! It would seem that this man has no worries whatsoever. His face was as flush as a field of black orchids with a few stray rose buds. His smile was warm enough that it would melt cheese on toast.

“Stop talking like that…”

“W-Why? Is there something wrong with what I said?” Mackenzie stroked his head in confusion as he stared beyond me, as if he was intrigued in something I was concealing behind my back. His disposition shifted instantly. His brows furrowed and his gaze darted.

I lip tightened and stared at him for quite a minute before I decided to silently step sideways and walk straight without minding his presence. He quickly followed and even attempted to hold my shoulder.

“Wait for me, Lita!” His voice was audible to everyone, but it was only a coincidence that all the classes were over and the place was bustling.

I closed my eyes, trying to distract myself.

“How about this flower…”

I was finally able to hear him when he spoke a little softer and the ambient noise subsided. Suddenly, I halted my pace; part of my mind was taking over that I didn't want to leave him along with that beautiful sunflower arrangement he wanted to give to me.

As I turned to face him, I was astonished to discover that he was already a fraction of an inch behind me. His jawline contacted the middle of my forehead, giving the impression that he had kissed it.

I immediately stepped back and wrapped my forehead with my palm.

“I’m sorry—”

“I’m sorry!”

We paused as we didn’t expect to say the same thing together. He smiled again and continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m really sorry…”

"You are not at fault. You do not need to apologize. I should be the one to apologize," I retorted. Before he could refute my words and proceed to persuade me that it was his responsibility, I intervened before he could shake his head.

I took the sunflower bouquet from him. “Thank you for this!”

And with that, I ran towards the school gate, leaving him speechless.

Since I was unable to find a taxi, I opted to walk back home. If I waited hundreds of hours for a taxi, surely I'll get one tho. The clouds were grayish, hinting that torrential rain would fall later.

“You aren’t replying to my recent messages.”

I stopped and peered up to see who was obstructing my path. I could only see its shadow descending across mine.

It’s Dwayne.

“I-I…”

I hastily concealed the bouquet within my purse. He might think I chose something superfluous over a group assignment. “I’ll promise to do my part in the group! Just please give me time! It’s just that something urgent happened lately.”

“Hm… I see. So, where did that bouquet come from?” His question made me stiffened. I knew he'd notice it, but I didn't anticipate him bringing it up.

I forced a smile. “O-Oh! Nothing that important. I just picked it somewhere here ‘coz I found it fascinating,” I lied.

Dwayne leaned forward, arms crossed over chest, and stared me down as if he secretly wanted to devour me. Like the watery meadow where I've been paddling to exhaustion, his eyes are a deep blue.

"A while ago, I waited a little longer than usual in class for you to approach me to discuss your absent participation. But you were talking to Mackenzie. You know, I saw you bolting out of the university to get away from him. Be honest, Amilita, is there anything going on between you two that's keeping you from getting your work done?"

Almost instantly, I shook my head a few times and waved a hand in the air. To this, I denied, "No! We aren't what we think we are! We're not even close!"

Dwayne glanced down to his right and let out a single guffaw into the air. In a sarcastic way, he nodded his head. "He just transferred here, even though the class has started, and now it feels like he knows you for too long," he speculated.

Damn, Dwayne. If only you know I also had the same thoughts as yours.

A woman's screams of agony may be heard out in the distance. Several individuals rushed to her aid. With a man's blood dripping down upon her knees, her child slumped down and wailed in anguish.

An automobile crash had taken place.

Dwayne and I looked in that direction, perplexed by the hubbub. We both got closer to them, but Dwayne continued blocking my path and that I could only see his back.

“You’re blocking my way,” I poked his arm.

“At least you're safe from whatever events that might happen,” he reasoned. I'm not sure whether I should be grateful to him, but I didn't anticipate that he would think this way either.

I just stood here gazing at the negative energy and listening to the jumbled voices of the people when all of a sudden I noticed that my ring was lighting up, which led me to ponder what the cause of this phenomenon might be. I didn't even touch it or click any of the buttons on it—if it has.

Then, after a time, there's a sudden, booming noise like a vehicle approaching. Not everyone was able to escape it, however. As a result of this unexpected incident, the automobile again collided with the yelling mother and came close to hitting the sobbing child. Now both parents are dead and the only survivor is their baby.

The majority of the crowd let out a collective scream and yelled out in every direction as they rushed to reach for their phones to dial emergency numbers. The automobile caught fire, and the petrol drained to the ground.

The noise could eat human flesh and devour skulls.

“Amilita, let’s get out of here. I feel like something suspicious is happening,” Dwayne wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back to the campus.

Behind a gigantic tree just a few steps from our campus, I noticed what seemed to be a guy standing watch. He extended his fingers as if getting ready to attack but when he spotted me, he lowered his arm. His figure is similar to Mackenzie’s body and height.

No, what am I even thinking? I shook my head and erased these random thoughts.

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