I thought, if I wanted to, Kael would probably rush over to find me immediately. The fact that he didn’t come directly showed that he respected my wishes. I had told him before-he couldn’t come to see me, and we couldn’t make our relationship public. Thinking of this, my heart grew increasingly sweet. The feeling of secretly being in love under everyone’s gaze…
I responded to Magnus: “Of course. You’ve got this, Kael.”
Kael replied: “If I win, can I have a kiss?”
I looked up at him, and he was already smiling at me, his golden eyes gleaming. He was so handsome. Even in such a crowd, his attention was solely on me. The girls around us were already swooning over his smile. This guy…
Now I understood why Kael’s reputation as a playboy was so infamous. With the gentle, affectionate expression he wore now, any woman would fall for him. Even I felt like I was about to sink into his tenderness.
“Okay,” I replied.
Kael’s smile widened, and he turned to leave.
“Seraph, I really admire you. Seriously, how did you make Kael fall in love with you? Even though he wasn’t looking at me just now, my heart was pounding,” Evelyn said. “He’s not even my type, yet I can’t resist his charm.”
“Judy’s still here, Evelyn. Could you tone it down a little?” I gave Evelyn a helpless look.
Judy, however, wrapped her arms around Evelyn’s waist and rested her head on Evelyn’s shoulder. “It’s fine. I understand. I was just thinking about how amazing it would be if I could be like Kael-oozing hormones wherever I go.”
As we chatted, I suddenly felt a strong, piercing gaze land on me. Though I didn’t look immediately, I could sense the heavy resentment emanating from the person staring. Following the direction of the gaze, I saw Vivienne. She was sitting not far from me, her eyes locked on mine.
I was surprised. Usually, whenever Vivienne saw Kael, she would rush to cheer him on. Back then, every girl envied her. But this time, she sat quietly in the audience and didn’t approach the stage. She must have seen the entire interaction between Kael and me earlier.
I didn’t avoid her gaze. Instead, I met it openly and let a smile spread across my face. I smiled on purpose, just for her.
As expected, upon seeing my smile, Vivienne couldn’t hold back her anger and cursed, “What are you so smug about? Kael would never like someone like you!”
“Then he wouldn’t like you either,” I shot back without hesitation.
Vivienne’s face turned bright red with rage.
At that moment, I suddenly felt it wasn’t worth it. Kael didn’t like Vivienne at all, so why did I put so much effort into retaliating? It was meaningless.
I turned my attention back to the match.
Just like the last competition, the earlier rounds featured other members from both clubs. They had chosen skilled fighters. However, this time, I didn’t see Lucian.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Lucian in a long time. After our breakup, he had acted obsessively-staring at me, following me, refusing to leave me alone. But ever since I rejoined the Eagle Club, he seemed to have disappeared.
Could it be, as Kael had said, that he had dealt with Lucian? Was Lucian no longer part of the club?
Even Evelyn noticed. “Lucian’s not here. That’s strange. Even if he’s not the best in the Eagle Club, he’s definitely in the top five. How could he miss such an important competition?”
Evelyn glanced at me and added, “Not that I’m defending him, but I’m curious. What happened to him? Why isn’t he here?”
“I’m curious too, but it doesn’t matter. We have no connection anymore. Whatever he’s doing has nothing to do with me.”
Evelyn nodded, and the competition began.
Right from the start, a member of the Iron Fist Club dominated one from the Eagle Club. Both were skilled fighters, but the Iron Fist member’s aggression was overwhelming. A flurry of punches forced the Eagle Club fighter to keep retreating.
Honestly, my interest in boxing stemmed entirely from Kael.
The Eagle and Iron Fist clubs were seated in the front row, split into two groups.
As I watched, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze on me again.
This time, it was Briar. At some point, he had turned his head to look my way. His eyes were fixed on me.
His face was as refined and elegant as ever, his gaze warm and gentle. Yet his chest, with its faintly visible muscles, was strikingly solid and impossible to ignore. That contrast-his refined demeanor paired with his powerful physique-was enough to drive countless women crazy.
I felt a wave of nervousness.
We had barely interacted. After I declined his job offer, we hadn’t been in touch. So how did he spot me in such a crowd?
When he saw me looking back, he smiled.
Others noticed Briar’s attention as well. Excitement rippled through the crowd.
“Am I seeing things? Is Briar looking this way?”
“No, you’re right. First Kael was looking over here, and now Briar is too!”
“Oh my god, I want to confess my love to Briar right now!”
“Briar’s looking this way,” Evelyn said, nudging my arm. “Do you think he’s looking at you?”
“No. Maybe there’s someone he likes here.”
But before I could say more, Briar had already turned his head, seemingly engaged in conversation with someone next to him.
It wasn’t my imagination. Briar had been staring at me.
For some reason, the moment reminded me of the first time Kael had watched me from across the boxing arena. Kael could see me from so far away because he was a werewolf. But Briar?
Then again, with only three or four rows between us, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Briar to notice me if he wanted to.
I shook off my doubts and focused on the match.
Soon, it was time for the main event: Kael versus Briar.
The earlier matches had merely been the warm-up. This was the real highlight of the night.