Celestial Guardians: Uniting Dimensions (Celestial Guardians Series, #1)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jamaica's POV

I was in the library. I sat at one of the corner tables, furiously scribbling notes for my Philosophy assignment. It was a quiet day, but the nagging feeling in my chest wouldn't let me focus.

Kevin and Nel were late.

Not that it was unusual for them to be late, but they'd been... different lately. Distant.

A buzz of chatter broke the library's silence, and I saw a group of students huddled near the entrance. Their whispers grew louder as a girl stepped through the door. She was stunning—perfectly styled chestnut waves, flawless skin, and an aura that screamed wealth and confidence. She walked like she owned the place, her designer heels clicking against the marble floor.

"That's Sofia," someone whispered. "You know, the billionaire's daughter? Rumor has it her dad owns half the city."

"She's gorgeous," another voice said, awestruck.

I sank lower in my chair, hoping to go unnoticed. But as luck would have it, Sofia's eyes scanned the room, and her gaze landed on the table beside mine.

She smiled—a dazzling, effortless smile—and settled in, her presence commanding attention even as she opened a book.

When Nel and Kevin finally showed up, I was packing my things. I waved at them, expecting them to come over like usual, but they didn't.

Instead, their attention zeroed in on Sofia.

Kevin nudged Nel, grinning. "You see her?"

Nel chuckled. "Hard to miss."

I froze. They weren't even subtle about it.

"Do you think she'd talk to us?" Kevin asked, a playful edge to his tone.

"Only one way to find out," Nel replied, already walking toward her.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. What was happening? This wasn't them. The Nel and Kevin I knew didn't care about things like this—about appearances or status.

But now, they were practically tripping over themselves to impress a girl they didn't know.

The days that followed were a blur of confusion and frustration. Nel and Kevin always hung around Sofia, laughing at her jokes, carrying her books, and skipping training sessions.

"Are we still doing this?" I had asked them one afternoon when I found them lounging under a tree with Sofia. "The whole 'saving the multiverse' thing?"

Nel barely looked at me. "We've got time, Jamaica. Not everything has to be about duty."

Kevin smirked, his arm casually draped over Sofia's chair. "Yeah, relax a little. Maybe you should try it sometime."

The words stung more than I cared to admit.

Sofia turned to me with an amused smile, her tone dripping with fake sweetness. "Oh, Jamaica, you're always so serious. You should let loose a little. Life's too short to worry about things that don't matter."

Don't matter? I wanted to scream. The fate of the entire multiverse doesn't matter?

But instead, I just stood there, biting back the words and swallowing the lump in my throat.

I trained alone that night. The empty field was eerily quiet, the stars above a cold, indifferent audience to my anger.

I threw punch after punch at the practice dummy, each strike fueled by the bitterness building inside me.