Chapter 31

31 Anger

Selma Payne’s POV:

I couldn’t believe it. Aldrich agreed so quickly and with such certainty.

Just as I was feeling happy, he suddenly changed the topic. “But unfortunately, it’s time to rest now. I don’t want to delay everyone’s rest time because of one person. That’s it.”

Huh? What did he mean by that?

With everyone’s envious gazes, I dragged the exhausted Mara back to the bathroom. They were all dirty, with sweat and mud all over their bodies. I was the cleanest of them all. There were no glamorous battles in the world. Dust and dirt were our daily routine, except for today.

I leaned against the railing gloomily. I’d remembered what Aldrich did today. Not only did he not tell me in advance that he would be coming to our school, but he also did not let me participate in the sparring. I’d let him taste this feeling of being ignored this weekend!

Dorothy walked past me after her shower, still wet. She suddenly turned back and stared into my eyes without a word. I looked at her in confusion. “Yes, Dorothy?”

She didn’t say anything and suddenly turned to leave, as if our eyes meeting just now was just my imagination. She was still mysterious and strange, but I didn’t put too much thought into her. Instead, I was angry at Aldrich.

When I got home, I found a note in my bag. It was written in beautiful dark green ink. The words were beautiful and familiar. Dorothy had written it. It was like a proverb, “The important things are not necessarily obvious.”

If it were any other time, I would seriously study its meaning, but today was not the time.

The only thing I wanted to do now was to lie on the bed.

Saturday came very quickly. It used to be my favorite day because Aldrich and I would plan where we would go and spend a wonderful weekend together. However, today I didn’t want to go out with him. His actions yesterday made me angry.

I stayed in the garden alone. This was a new place that I had discovered, not far from the training ground. It was full of flowers of various colors, and few people would come here.

I liked it here. This was the best place to calm my chaotic mind when I was in a bad mood. Being near the calm nature could dispel many negative emotions.

A strong lemon scent drifted over just as I was enjoying my beautiful day alone. My recent training was indeed effective. I hadn’t seen the person, but I could already smell him.

“Hey, Selma, is this your secret base? Why are you ignoring me? I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

I lay on the grass, rolled my eyes, and ignored him.

Aldrich didn’t understand why I was angry. Instead, he started to praise the garden stupidly. “I followed your scent and got here. Thanks to you, I found such a beautiful place.”

I frowned and didn’t look at his confused face. Sometimes he was very considerate, but most of the time, he was just a silly idiot!

“Hey, Selma, come on. Look at me and talk to me. I’ve already made a reservation at a delicious restaurant,” he begged.

“Do you know what you did wrong?” I pouted and asked him.

Aldrich was stunned and hesitated for a long time before he asked tentatively, “Was I too late today?”

“No!” I growled. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to our school yesterday? You even played me and did not let me participate in the sparring!”

He stared at my face as if trying to find something on it. “Just because of that?”

“What do you mean by just because of that?!”

He laughed heartily, and I looked at him angrily with my arms crossed.

“I’m sorry. I think you’re not ready yet.”

I shook my hand and left, but he held my hand firmly. He looked straight at me with a trace of certainty.

“You’re not ready to face a battle yet.”

“I’m ready!” I retorted, not convinced.

His expression had completely changed. He was no longer as relaxed and happy as before. Instead, his expression was serious. This was a rare moment of seriousness, and it was damn charming.

“Why don’t you try?” Aldrich suggested. “If you think you are ready, let’s spar!”

What did he mean by that? Was he looking down on me?

I puffed my cheeks and said indignantly, “Fine! I’ll beat you up!”

We had only exchanged a single move, and within three seconds, I fell. I was firmly pressed under him. It all happened so fast that I didn’t even see it coming.

“How?” I shouted in disbelief.

Aldrich’s eyes were like a pool of dark lake water. For the first time, I saw the ruthlessness of a hunter in his eyes. “I’ll go easy on you.”