Chapter 18- The VIP card
Aleanna's fingers trembled slightly as she typed.
To: Thyron
Meet me at the café. Urgent.
She hit send.
The black sedan was already waiting outside the academy gates. Tinted windows. Engine running.
She exhaled and stepped inside. The door shut with a soft click.
And then— She froze.
Sitting in the back seat, arms crossed, posture perfectly straight—
Zatariel Wov. Her cousin.
Her least favorite surprise.
She blinked. "What are you doing in my car?"
The driver avoided her gaze in the rearview mirror. "Miss Aleanna... my apologies. Master Zatariel insisted."
"Of course he did. It's not your fault, manong," she muttered.
Zatariel didn't bother with greetings.
"Did you attend Lea Michele Knight's debut last Sunday?"
Straight to interrogation. No pleasantries.
Aleanna's heartbeat spiked. Her parents didn't know she went. She had told them it was an official Miss Wayne Academy obligation.
Technically not a lie. Just... edited truth.
She swallowed. "Yes."
The word came out smaller than she intended.
Zatariel's gaze sharpened. "And you informed your parents?"
Her silence answered for her.
She bit her lip and looked at him, almost pleading.
Please don't tell them.
Zatariel leaned back slowly, crossing his arms. A faint smirk touched his lips.
"How irresponsible for a beauty queen," he said coolly. "Sneaking into a mining heiress' private masquerade without parental clearance."
"Stop being dramatic," she snapped. "It was just a party."
"Was it?" The way he said it made her stomach twist.
He tilted his head slightly. "Tell me about the souvenirs."
Aleanna hesitated.
His eyes narrowed. "Don't insult me by pretending there weren't any."
She sighed. "It was a VIP pass."
"To?"
"...Knight Royal Casino."
Zatariel lost composure.
"What?!" He jolted forward so abruptly his head nearly hit the roof. "A casino? They handed out casino passes to high school students?!"
"VIP ones," she corrected weakly.
He stared at her in disbelief. "Where is it?!"
She looked away. "I don't have it anymore."
A pause.
"You threw it away?"
"No."
Her voice dropped.
"I sold it."
Silence filled the car.
"You did what?"
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Golden Melody (Editing)
RomanceZenips Paradise Series: Golden Melody Even in a world built on lies, love finds its own melody. From dream to truth and back again. In a reality shaped by broken timelines and rewritten destinies, falling in love might be their only salvation... or...
