Chapter 143: Desperate Measures

Jeryon remained silent, but Noella chose to come clean. "It just so happened that one of those companies was partnering with my aunt..."

"But after running an analysis, I found plenty of superior brand my aunt could partner with instead, so I simply offered her the best advice. Business owners always prioritize profit, after all."

Noella explained it as though it were entirely her own independent business decision, completely detached from Shani.

But Shani knew better.

If Noella’s primary goal were merely maximizing profit, optimizing a stable, existing partnership would have made far more business sense than replacing a partner entirely.

What was done was done. Shani hadn’t asked for their intervention, but she couldn’t overlook their effort either. She would make sure to hold this gesture close to heart.

Jeryon could read the changing expression in Shani’s eyes and easily guessed what she was thinking.

"Shan, whatever we did, we did because we wanted to and because we were able to. Don’t burden yourself over it," he said softly. Noella nodded in agreement.

Shani looked between Jeryon and Noella before finally giving a slow nod.

Her friends were thoroughly pragmatic. They would no doubt have an airtight excuse ready to counter any further pushback.

So instead of arguing, she resolved to support them the same way they had supported her, quietly and behind the scenes.

The conversation shifted when Sonny read a post on the academy forum regarding the upcoming member selections for the Tower Competition team.

"The selection trials are this Sunday at our respective clubs, right?" Kiran asked.

Sonny nodded. "Though first-years aren’t eligible to participate yet."

"I’m not even sure I’d pass the trials if I could," Kiran muttered in self-deprecation.

Shani instinctively glanced at Jeryon, who happened to be looking at her at the same time, as they both knew they would be participating in those trials.

...

The previous day, Emilia had returned empty-handed, placing the entire blame on Vivienne.

Vivienne had never felt so cornered in her entire life, especially now that even her mother had stopped taking her side.

At home, she no longer held the privileged position of a daughter whose every whim was indulged.

At the academy, she was relentlessly suppressed by Shani, while her peers treated her like walking contagion to be avoided at all costs.

The only person who was still supposed to obey her was Gideon, but he had blocked her number.

She shook her head fiercely in denial. "Gideon’s just playing hard to get. There’s no way he’d give up on being my partner!"

Clinging to that desperate conviction, Vivienne waited outside Gideon’s elective classroom, which happened to finish later than her own.

As the students trickled out, many cast frowning glances at Vivienne, but she ignored them entirely, her eyes scanning the crowd for Gideon.

Moments later, Gideon emerged while chatting amicably with Garth and a few other Class 1 students.

"Gideon, come with me!" Vivienne demanded, her voice raspy, whether from lingering nerves or simply from not having spoken all day.

Gideon froze at the sight of her. His expression morphed into a complex mix of panic, disgust, and aversion.

Glancing at his friends, who wisely chose not to intervene, Gideon muttered a quick goodbye and followed Vivienne into an empty classroom nearby.

The moment the door clicked shut behind him, Vivienne’s pent-up fury erupted.

"How dare you block my number! Unblock me right now! Do you really think this little stunt will make me beg you? I came to find you because everyone else is already close to hatching their second baby beasts."

"Vivienne, are you out of your mind?" Gideon retorted with a heavy dose of sarcasm and revulsion.

Vivienne was dumbfounded by his response. She assumed Gideon ought to be grateful that she had condescended to track him down first.

"What did you just said?!" Vivienne shrieked.

"Are you deaf on top of everything else?" Gideon fired right back.

Vivienne’s fingers curled into the fabric of her skirt, her teeth grinding together in pure rage.

"I don’t know what kind of twisted game you’re playing, but let me make this crystal clear: I want nothing to do with it. I am not getting involved with you ever again!" Gideon declared firmly.

Vivienne’s defenses shattered. The impenetrable wall of her denial crumbled into dust, leaving her limbs weak and her mind spinning.

She shook her head in frantic denial. "You have no right to act like this! If you aren’t partnered with me, who else could you possibly choose? Who is better than me? Huh?!"

"Even if I never manage to secure a partner, that’s still a thousand times better than being stuck with you," Gideon shot back without hesitation.

He made no effort to mask the disgust etched across his face as he stared down at Vivienne, who trembled with a mixture of humiliation and fury.

"I’m warning you out of courtesy since we used to be partners: stop provoking Shani. If you and your family keep acting this recklessly, you’re going to bring total ruin upon yourselves."

With that final warning, Gideon turned on his heel, refusing to stick around to hear Vivienne’s unhinged shrieks of protest.

He paused briefly near the door. "I won’t ask to see Ennie. Take good care of it."

Whether a hysterical Vivienne even heard him was entirely unknown. And at that point, Gideon no longer cared about his baby beast’s fate either.

...

Though Vivienne was still barred from returning to the mansion, she no longer cared.

She bypassed the family car entirely, hailing an online taxi straight to the mansion as soon as Friday afternoon classes ended.

Emilia, spotting her daughter’s unauthorized return, rushed over to scold her, but Vivienne blew past her mother without a single word of greeting.

"Vivi, what is the meaning of this insolence?!" Emilia shouted, left staring at her daughter’s retreating back.

Drawing a steadying breath, she softened her tone, calling out, "Just stay in your room. I’ll speak to your father about this once he gets home from work."

...