Chapter 374

Everett immediately let go of her wrists and retreated several steps, creating distance between them.

Rosalind felt warmth trickling from her nose. When she touched it, her fingers came away stained crimson.

"Oh no! I'm bleeding," she gasped, panic lacing her voice.

Everett glanced over and saw the blood. He pulled out two tissues and handed them to her. "Tilt your head back. It'll stop."

Rosalind accepted the tissues and complied, confusion clouding her features. "Why is this happening?"

Everett offered no explanation. He turned on his heel and pushed through the door.

The icy wind slapped his face the moment he stepped outside. Its sharp bite helped erase the lingering sweetness of the girl's perfume from his senses.

Rosalind caught up moments later, having stemmed the nosebleed. "Wait! Why do you have all those scars?"

Everett didn't slow his long strides.

Undeterred, Rosalind kept pace beside him. "Are those from fights? You shouldn't be brawling. Focus on your education. Knowledge is power."

Everett remained silent, acting as though she didn't exist.

A group approached ahead - Adriana flanked by several girls.

Adriana's face flushed with fury as she shouted, "Rosalind! Stop right there! I've brought backup. Scared now?"

Rosalind blinked in surprise at Adriana's audacity. She moved to step forward. "I'm not afraid-"

Everett blocked her path before she could finish. His lean frame shielded Rosalind as he fixed Adriana with an arctic stare.

Adriana faltered, her anger momentarily checked. Truthfully, she'd harbored genuine feelings for Everett, rejecting countless wealthy suitors for him.

"Everett, I-" she began.

He parted his lips slightly, delivering one frigid word: "Leave."

Just that. Leave.

Adriana's face drained of color as humiliation and heartbreak crashed over her. Her fists clenched. "Everett, I love you! I've swallowed my pride chasing after you all this time. How can you dismiss me like this? Have you no heart?"

Everett regarded her impassively. "I'm not interested."

The public rejection turned Adriana ghostly pale. Her voice cracked. "Not interested? Then who? Her?" She jabbed a finger at Rosalind behind him. "Do you have feelings for Rosalind?"

Everett said nothing.

To a woman, silence always felt like confirmation. Adriana's composure shattered.

"You do, don't you? Protecting her when you've never protected me! What does she have that I don't? Why her?"

Everett's patience evaporated. "Are you leaving or not?"

The cruelty of his dismissal cut deep. Adriana laughed bitterly.

"You think you're so special? You're just a drug dealer's son, dragging around your blind mother and sick sister! And what do you do outside school? Others might not know, but I do. Construction sites, odd jobs - you're nothing but a broke laborer!"

Rosalind's fists clenched as she stepped forward. "Adriana, why must you be so cruel?"

Adriana's gaze swept over Rosalind before landing on the crystal hairpin. "That little trinket in your hair is Chanel's new collection. Must have cost a fortune, hmm?"