Chapter 7

In the duty office, Nayeli sat on a chair against the wall, spine straight. Blood had seeped through the gauze on her knee again. She tucked her leg back, hiding the dark red stain in the shadow of the chair.

Shepherd wiped at the soup stains on his shirt with tissues, glaring at her viciously. "Just you wait. When my parents get here, let's see how you explain yourself!"

Nayeli ignored him, pulling out her phone to review the training plan Zaiden had sent.

She mentally ran through the exercises, calculating when her knee would be able to handle that kind of intensity.

The door opened again.

High heels clicked urgently across the floor. Eleanor Jennings swept in wearing a forest-green dress. Seeing her son's disheveled state, her voice immediately shot up. "Nayeli did this? I knew it—children raised on the streets have no manners!"

Grant Jennings followed behind her, stone-faced and silent. Eleanor turned to Nayeli, her voice shrill. "Do you have any manners at all?"

Nayeli lifted her head, tone flat. "Sorry, I honestly don't know what manners are."

The door was pushed open again. Nehemiah walked in, clear irritation between his brows.

He'd just left the hospital. He'd been planning to buy donuts for Lucia when the school called him in.

"What's going on?" He first noticed Shepherd covered in stains, then spotted Nayeli in the corner. "Nayeli, what kind of trouble did you cause now?"

"You don't even ask what happened—you just assume I'm the one who caused trouble?" A mocking smile curved Nayeli's lips.

Eleanor jumped in. "She dumped her lunch all over Shepherd! Nehemiah, if you ask me, Lucia is the real McCarthy family heiress. She should be the one fulfilling this engagement!"

Shepherd chimed in. "I never wanted to be engaged to Nayeli anyway. She's not good enough for me!"

Nehemiah fell silent for a moment, then turned to Nayeli. "Nayeli, apologize to Shepherd. Then we'll drop this."

Nayeli laughed. "I'm not apologizing. He insulted me first, and he put his hands on me. I only fought back in self-defense."

"You're lying!" Shepherd jumped up.

"The cafeteria has cameras. Want to pull the footage?"

Shepherd's face went rigid. The atmosphere in the duty office froze.

Just then, the door opened once more. Yasser stood in the doorway in a black tracksuit, baseball cap pulled low.

His gaze swept coolly over everyone in the room before settling on Nayeli.

Behind him stood the school's vice principal, Fabian, fawning as he made introductions. "Yasser, this is our school's—huh? Why are there so many people in the duty office?"

Fabian poked his head in and froze. "Mr. Jennings? Master Nehemiah? What are you doing here?"

Seeing him, Grant's face immediately broke into a smile. "Sir, just a small matter. Sorry you had to see this."

Yasser's gaze passed over the dark red bloodstain on Nayeli's knee. His gray-blue eyes darkened slightly.

He said nothing, just stood in the doorway like a cold, hard statue.

Fabian sensed something was off. He cleared his throat softly and asked the duty teacher what had happened. The teacher gave him a brief rundown.

After listening, Fabian's expression grew complicated.

This was, at its core, just a conflict between students. But everyone involved was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

The Jennings family and the McCarthy family—he didn't want to cross either side.

"Well..." Fabian began carefully, his gaze landing on Yasser. "Yasser, what do you think about this..."

Yasser finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, his tone carried no inflection, but every word landed with weight.

"Since both sides have conflicting accounts, I suggest reviewing the security footage to establish the facts. If the boy struck first, then the boy is at fault. If the girl provoked him without cause, then the girl is at fault."

He paused, then continued. "If the investigation reveals someone abusing their position, appropriate action should be taken—reports filed, disciplinary measures enforced. Schools aren't above the law."

Fabian's expression changed.

The words were too direct. But coming from Yasser's mouth, he couldn't refute a single one.

Eleanor's face darkened. "Who is this? Our families' business—what right does an outsider have to interfere?"

Fabian quickly interjected. "Mrs. Jennings, this is Yasser Laurent from the national figure skating team. He's here on official business today."

Eleanor's expression stiffened.

Yasser Laurent. Even someone like her who didn't follow sports had heard that name.

National team captain. Three-time World Championship gold medalist. His weight in the athletic world was undeniable.

Nehemiah looked at Yasser, then at Nayeli. Confusion flickered in his eyes.

When had Nayeli gotten tangled up with someone like this?

Yasser said nothing more, simply letting his gaze rest on Nayeli.

"Nayeli." He spoke, his tone as cool as it had been at the training facility. But Nayeli caught the meaning behind his words.

He was backing her up.

Nayeli lowered her head, looking at her knee.

She suddenly remembered all those moments from her past life when she'd been completely alone.

When classmates bullied her. When her brothers scolded her. When Lucia framed her. Not once had anyone stepped forward to say a single word in her defense.

Now, a stranger she'd only met twice stood in the doorway, using a few understated words to shield her from all the malice.

Her nose stung, but she held it back.

"Thank you, Captain." She lifted her head, voice steady. "But there's no need to go to the trouble. I'll accept the school's mediation, but I won't apologize."

She looked at Shepherd, her gaze cold as ice. "Because I didn't do anything wrong."

Shepherd felt a chill under her stare. He opened his mouth to say something, but Eleanor stopped him with a look.

Yasser was the captain of the national figure skating team. He was here to promote next month's National Youth Selection Competition—a major event. The school's athletic reputation depended on this.

Now was not the time to cause a scene. Fabian wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly said, "In that case, let's have both sides meet halfway."

"The school will compensate for Shepherd's clothing. Nayeli won't pursue the matter of Shepherd striking first. You're all classmates—you'll still have to get along. Making this too ugly won't benefit anyone. What do you both think?"

Grant tugged Eleanor's sleeve, giving her a meaningful look.

Though clearly reluctant, Eleanor knew that pushing further wouldn't benefit the Jennings family. It would only give outsiders something to laugh about.

"Fine." Eleanor snorted. "But as for the engagement, we'll discuss that with the McCarthy family another time."

With that, she pulled Shepherd along and left without looking back.

Grant nodded at Nehemiah and followed them out.

Nehemiah stood in place, looking at Nayeli. His expression was complicated.

He wanted to tell her she was too impulsive, that she didn't understand how things worked. That she shouldn't have antagonized the Jennings family.

But the words stuck in his throat. Looking at Nayeli's pale face and the dark red bloodstain on her knee, he suddenly found he had nothing to say.