Chapter 24 Unexpected Returns
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Inside the classroom, Nolan had somehow appeared without anyone noticing. He slung his backpack over one shoulder, his eyes cold as they landed on Zayden.
Students passing by in the hallway paused, heads turning, trying to see what all the commotion was about.
“Back off?” Zayden barked, still looking ready to throw a punch–just as the noise finally drew a teacher’s attention.
“Zayden! What do you think you’re doing? Get back to class!” The teacher snapped, face dark with disbelief.
Nolan getting involved was one thing. But Zayden? The school’s golden boy, picking a fight at school?
“Zayden, come on–let’s go,” Naomi rushed in, grabbing his arm and tugging at him.
But Zayden wouldn’t budge. His eyes stayed locked on Eliza and Nolan.
After the crowd cleared out, Eliza leaned against the wall, coughing hard.
Nolan walked over and gently patted her back, then turned her chin to the side with a light touch.
A dark bruise was already forming around her neck.
“I’m fine…” Eliza pushed him away, putting some distance between them.
“I heard everything. Nolan said calmly.
Eliza froze, a bad feeling creeping in. Heard… what exactly?”
He gave
her a look. “What do you think?”
T–She broke into another cough, waving her hand awkwardly. “T–it’s not what you think… I didn’t mean it like that…”
“I’m all ears,” Nolan said as he grabbed a chair and dropped into it, calm as ever.
Looking at his calm, unreadable expression made it even harder to speak. “I just said it without thinking. No one was supposed to take it seriously.”
could use me as your cover?”
“Who said you co
It won’t happen again.” Eliza instinctively reached for her neck. Zayden hadn’t held back–his grip had been brutal. Even talking still hurt. She looked at Nolan and hesitated. “Why did you come back?”
Nolan had been the first to leave after school. Now, twenty minutes later, he’d shown up again.
He was one of the students who didn’t live on campus–she was sure of it.
“I forgot my workbook. Nolan pulled a practice book from his desk.
Elza blinked. Nolan actually does homework?
–
Just then, Henry burst into the room, out of breath. “Dude! What was that? You just bolted–what happened?”
Nolan calmly shoved the workbook into his bag and stood. “Came back for my homework.
Henry blinked. “Homework?” Nolan? Doing homework? That workbook’s probably never even been opened
Eliza watched from the window as Nolan and Henry left the building together.
Henry trailed behind him as they headed toward the school gates.
It looks like Henry’s probably the only one in class Nolan’s close with, Eliza thought, remembering how the two of them had ended
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Chapter 24 Unexpected Returns
up in her last life.
Just then. Nolan suddenly stopped and glanced up–right at her window.
Their eyes met.
Eliza’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively ducked behind the window frame.
Great. He probably thinks I was spying on him.
Down below, Nolan’s lips curled slightly.
Henry stared at him. “Wait… did you just smile?”
Nolan never smiled. Not like that.
“I didn’t”
f in the middle
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You totally did! What is going on with you today? You ran off in the middle of our game, then came back for a workbook! You haven’t done homework since. ever?”
Henry looked genuinely thrown, like he couldn’t keep up with whatever was going on in Nolan’s head. Homework? No one in their class actually did that.
Nolan tossed a basketball into Henry’s arms. “Shut up and stop talking so much.”
That night, Eliza walked alone into the dorm.
Westbrook High was one of the top schools in the city, and the dorm facilities weren’t bad.
But most students didn’t stay there.
The wealthy kids had cars and drivers–there was no reason for them to live on campus..
And for everyone else? The dorm fees were too high. Most students just went home.
Eliza ended up assigned to an empty room.
It was spacious. Quiet. Compared to the cramped attic she lived in at home, it felt like heaven.
She finished organizing her desk when a flashlight beam flickered across the window. She squinted and walked to the window. Standing below was Zayden.
He must’ve seen her, because her phone buzzed a moment later.
It was him.
“You need something?” the answered flatly.
Zayden was the perfect student type–he should’ve been long gone by now.
But now? It was already 9 p.m.–and he was still here, outside her dorm
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