Golden Melody (Editing)

Part 2

Chapter 130

Classroom - Section 1

The double doors of the executive classroom burst open with a violent echo.

Every conversation died.

Zatariel Wov stood at the entrance-disheveled, breathing hard, eyes bloodshot like he hadn't slept at all.

The Student Council President looked... unraveling.

No one dared speak.

He crossed the marble floor in long strides, the sound of his shoes the only noise in the suffocating silence.

Then-
His hand shot forward.
Gripping Jayson by the collar.

Gasps rippled across the room.

"Why."
The word came out raw.
"Why did you break the engagement?!"

His voice was low, trembling with something dangerously close to breaking.

Jayson did not resist.
He didn't pry the hand away. Didn't call for the guards stationed outside.

He simply looked at Zatariel.
His expression was composed... almost.
But the faint swelling around his eyes betrayed him. As did the tremor in his breath.

Zatariel's anger faltered.

Because he recognized that look.
The look of someone who had already sacrificed something precious.

A quiet, bitter laugh slipped from Zatariel's lips.
His grip loosened.

"So it's true..." he murmured hoarsely.
His gaze dropped to the polished floor.
"My jealousy... my arrogance... my childish tantrums..."
Another hollow laugh.
"And she pays the price for it."

His fingers curled slowly into fists at his sides.

"I'm not angry at you, Jayson."
A pause.
"I'm angry at myself."

Jayson's voice finally broke the silence.
"...She isn't gone."

Zatariel looked up sharply.

Jayson inhaled slowly, steadying himself like he always did when bearing the weight of the world.

"Madam Wayne has decided Miexha will remain under Dom protection."

A stir ran through the class. Even among elite heirs, the Verra name carried weight.

"She will not be offered to any candidate... for now."

Zatariel frowned.
"...Meaning?"

Jayson met his eyes.
"It means you still have time."
A flicker of something fragile crossed his expression.
"To prove you deserve her."

Silence thickened between them.

"And... she loves you anyway," Jayson added quietly.

"My duty is to protect her."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Not necessarily to marry her."

Zatariel stared at him as if struck.

Jayson looked away first.

"I did fall for her," he admitted.
His fingers tightened at his side.
"But not as deeply as you did."
A breath.
"I can step aside... without breaking completely."

He forced a small smile.
"I want the two of you to be happy."

There it was.
That infuriating, noble, painfully beautiful loyalty that defined Jayson Dom.

Zatariel swallowed hard.
"...You idiot."

The insult lacked any real bite.
His voice trembled.

"You unbearable, self-sacrificing idiot..."