CHAPTER 275: 275-IAN STRIKES AGAIN

Clementine:

After I finished speaking with Miss Rue, I decided to return to my dorm room. But as I turned away, something caught my attention, and it unsettled me.

Usually, whenever one of us was called out or had to go somewhere, the others would pick up their dishes. It had become a small ritual of ours.

But this was the first time my dishes were left behind.

I wasn’t the kind of person who expected others to clean up after her, yet the fact that this happened bothered me deeply. I had a bad feeling about it.

I picked up my dishes, took them to the kitchen, washed them, and then headed back.

As I walked through the passage toward my dorm room, I could already hear chatter and laughter from inside.

When I reached the half-open door, I saw Oriana standing in the middle of the room, acting on a scene as she told some silly story that made everyone laugh.

She used big gestures and lively expressions. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"And then I was trying to hide from my father after I did it. But I got caught, and everyone was like, ’She’s the trouble! She’s the trouble!’" Oriana exclaimed, laughing as she told the story.

The others laughed with her loudly. At that moment, I realized they were having too much fun for it to be fake. And I also understood that maybe I wasn’t needed there anymore.

Instead of walking back inside and possibly ruining their mood with my arrival, I walked away down the passage.

The weather was cold and windy. I went all the way to the ground where we used to hold our group meetings and sat on the grass.

Honestly, I wasn’t feeling confident in myself anymore or in my squad. I couldn’t say they had let me down, but I should have known better.

All men were the same. It had been that way for years. Men always had too many mates, and they enjoyed tasting them all.

I might have been fine if it had only been about mates. The problem was that she wasn’t their mate. And of course, they didn’t understand what equality meant.

There I was, trying too hard to be understanding of everyone, until I began struggling with my own feelings.

"And something tells me you took it to heart," a voice said.

I turned slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. I should have known Ian would be nearby, since he wasn’t in the room.

"I’m not bothered by you or whatever you did," I replied sharply.

"Really? So then what exactly is bothering you? Is it that your other mates are also entertaining her?" he asked, stepping in front of me and dropping down onto the grass, leaning back on his hands.

"I’m not bothered by anyone. I just needed some time to be with myself," I replied harshly, since he wouldn’t take the hint and leave me alone.

"Ah, okay. My bad then," he said quietly.

I had no idea why he was so interested in my miserable life.

"You know, I wouldn’t do it if you marked me back," he suddenly said.

That snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my head toward him, questioning his state of mind.

"You seriously think that after you hurt me with your behavior, then slept with your ex, forcefully marked me, and later slept with Oriana in my own bed, you think after all that, I would desperately ask you to be with me? And that I should be the one to mark you?"

I tried to understand what he was thinking at that moment. He was clearly trying to make it seem like I should be the one chasing after him, as if I needed to earn his love.

The thought made me shake my head in disbelief. It was absurd.

"Well, you don’t have to make it so difficult," he said.

"All I’m saying is, you don’t have much going on in your life anyway. Your mates have already turned their attention to Oriana. It’s only a matter of time before she replaces you. They’ll chase after her, then someone else, and again after that. So your best option is to make amends with me, apologize for the damage you caused, mark me, and be happy. Have someone who will protect you."

The more he spoke, the more confused I became.

Had he always been this way? So arrogant—so sure that he was the only one who could save me? I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

"What’s so funny?" he asked in a stern tone.

"Ian, you lost your chance when you cheated on me. And trust me, I’d rather stay single than be with someone like you," I said firmly and started to stand up.

But then I heard something that made me turn to look at Ian. He straightened his back and stared at me.

"Are you sure she told you the truth? We’ve been digging for days, and we still haven’t found anything. We sent them north, and they returned already and we still haven’t found anything."

I recognized the voice, it was Mr. Rick. He sounded frantic, probably talking about Bodhi’s diary.

"She told me he hid the diary somewhere around here," Miss Rue replied.

I started walking toward the bushes where the voice was coming from. When I hid behind them, I could hear the rest of their conversation. It seemed they had just arrived.

"Well, then we should keep digging. We need to find this diary before Clementine gets her hands on it. Trust me, once she does, we’ll never see it again. And you better believe she’ll turn it into a huge scene," Mr. Rick continued, speaking about me in a way that made me realize how little they thought of me.

It was demeaning.

"Don’t worry. I know she didn’t lie to me. I have her trust," Miss Rue said.

As soon as she spoke, I closed my eyes and lowered my head, feeling awful.

"You know what? It’s times like these when I can’t stop myself from being mischievous," I heard Ian whisper behind me, crouching down and watching the ringleaders just as I was.

Before I could understand what he meant, I felt his hands on my back and then a shove toward the ringleaders.

The next thing I knew, I tumbled out of the bushes and landed face-down at their feet.