BuzzNovelDuring the halftbreak, the cafeteria swung open its doors and filled with the buzz of families reuniting for
lunch. The Morton brothers trailed along with the crowd, but by the tthey reached the dining area, only
Stella was left waiting.
“Stella!” Justin Keane called out, walking over with Stella’s father, Dave Laine, in tow. The Morton brothers
followed a few steps behind.
“Oh, Liam Morton?” Stella waved, her surprise clear when she spotted Liam at the back, but she greeted him
with easy confidence.
Liam nodded. “Congrats on making the finals.”
His voice was calm, polite but not overly enthusiastic-just the sort of tone you'd use with an acquaintance you
bumped into by chance.
Justin shot Liam a brief look and positioned himself beside Stella, with Dave quietly standing on her other side.
“Thanks.” Stella accepted the congratulations without a hint of awkwardness, meeting Liam's eves
“Hey, this is Stella,” Justin said to his brother. “She used to own the bar where | played gigs, and she’s a friend of
Lessie’s.”
Stella glanced over at Ethan Morton. “Hi, I'm Stella. You must be Lessie’s older brother, right?”
“Nice to meet you, Stella,” Ethan replied.
“As for Lessie... She said she had to head over to the gym for something. If you go straight ahead and take a left,
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtthe signs will lead you there,” Stella explained, pointing out the way. She'd planned to go with Alessia, but
Alessia insisted she'd be back soon and wanted Stella to stay with her dad. With the Morton brothers now here,
Stella felt more at ease.
“Thanks. We'll find her, then” Ethan said, and he and Liam moved to leave.
“Stella, you have to see this video | got of you-absolutely awesome!” Justin grinned, waving his phone.
“Letsee the photos first!” Stella demanded, reaching for his camera.
“Photos? Uh... I'll show you those later.” Justin’s voice had a suspicious edge as he tried to hide the camera.
“Why later? You've got the camera right there! Stella frowned and snatched it out of his hand. Justin made a
half-hearted attempt to grab it back, but Stella’s glare stopped him cold.
Dave just watched them with a quiet, amused smile as the two squabbled.
“Justin! What on earth did you take these for?” Stella cried out in mock horror.
What followed were Justin’s desperate pleas for mercy, echoing through the
cafeteria.
Liam let a small smile play at the corners of his mouth as Justin and Stella's playful bickering faded behind him.
He shook his head slightly but didn’t slow his
pace.
“If it doesn’t feel right, you've got to walk away before it’s too late,” Ethan said quietly as they left.
Liam paused, surprised, then relaxed and nodded. “I know.”
Meanwhile, over by the gym, Alessia and Cole walked side by side.
“You wanted to know how | figured out | was Miss Tate, didn’t you?” Alessia teased, flashing her phone at Cole.
“Meetat the gym.”
She showed him a text from Ileana, her expression half amused, half wary.
“At least she had the sense to pick lunchtime, when everyone would be in the cafeteria,” Alessia remarked.
“If she were really smart, she wouldn't have messed with you to begin with,” Cole muttered, rolling his eyes.
Alessia grinned, clearly agreeing, but didn’t bother to reply.
“We're nearly there. I'd better go,” she
said as they reach tps gyms (1
TR Cole &ui ht her hand
before she could leave. The content
is on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
“Be careful, okay?”
Alessia nodded, waving her phone, its screen glowing with an active call.
Cole gently cupped her face, a mix of
frustration and NGO) inchig) 11
PSUS NHR could do was
tch as she walked away. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Just before Alessia entered the gym,
she threw a quick glance back in
Cole's direction, theq RUphed open
the door Ytepped inside. The
space was almost deserted. She
looked up and spotted Ileana
standing alone in the second-floor
13-28
gallery, watching her with a cold, unsettling stare.
“What's wrong, lleana?” Alessia called out. “You Inviteover and now you're too scared to face me?”
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