A Beauty With Multiple Masks
Wendy’s heart skipped a beat the second she caught a glimpse of Arielle stepping inside the doors of the
library.
Determined to not allow Aaron to see Arielle, she shot in front of him and obscured his line of sight. With
a wry smile, she said, “Actually, there’s nothing interesting to see there, so why don’t we head over to the
school museum first?”
That confounded Aaron. “Didn’t you just tell me that the library here is the grandest one amongst all
within Chanaea’s higher institutes of learning? Why aren’t we going in now that we’re here?”
“It’s because…” Wendy hastily tried to cook up something. “It suddenly occurred to me that no matter
how big or impressive libraries are, they’re kind of the same anyway.”
“I won’t argue against that.”
That offered Wendy a moment’s breather until Aaron added, “But since we’re already here, we might as
well go in and check it out.”
Wendy’s chest tightened and she looked to intervene, but Aaron was already headed inside.
Left with no alternatives, she could only grit her teeth and play along
She could not afford to make it too obvious, lest it aroused his suspicions.
Wendy caught up with Aaron only to see him shake his head in disapproval. “It’s a lot less than I
expected. Back home, any one of our libraries would easily put this one to shame.”
Wendy’s eyes darted around in search of Arielle’s whereabouts so that she might adopt preemptive
measures.
When she heard what he said, it irrepressibly piqued her curiosity. “Our school library previously became
a popular search topic domestically because of its size and splendor, so where exactly are you from,
Aaron?”
Aaron narrowed his eyes and smirked menacingly. “I hope that’s the last time I’m hearing you ask me
that, Wendy.”
Wendy was suddenly gripped by terror as she could clearly see the warning signs in Aaron’s eyes.
The look inside them was akin to a sharp blade pressed up against her chest, threatening to pierce
through it at any time.
The only time she saw something like that was from Vinson, and that spelled extreme peril.
She was so cowed that she became dumbstruck and started to break out in cold sweat.
Wendy sensed that there were unfathomable secrets to Arron and it was this mysteriousness that drew
her to him.
Any man who was sufficiently mysterious must possess tremendous strength, and she greatly fancied
powerful men.
If Vinson only had that pretty face without that fearsome aura and the Nightshire Group behind him,
perhaps she might not have been as desperate to marry him. Practically drawn to him like a moth to a
flame, her heart fluttered and increasingly gravitated toward Aaron in the same manner.
Aaron quickly turned his attention away and scanned his eyes through the first floor of the library again in
a way that unnerved Wendy enough to hurriedly hunt for
Arielle herself.
She exhaled, relieved to have confirmed the latter’s absence from the vicinity. “The interiors of the floors
beyond look more or less the same as this one. Since you don’t think this place is grand enough for you,
shall we move on to the school museum?”
“Yeah.” Aaron’s waning interest in the library had already sent him on the way out.
Wendy quickly followed suit and something popped into her head that she thought might be safe to ask.
“Did you transfer to our school because of Arielle?”
Pertaining to this question, Aaron seemed significantly less inhibited. “I did.”
Wendy felt a lump in her throat. “Do you… perhaps, like
her??? His brow perked up. “You could put it that way.”
That caused Wendy’s fingers to tighten against themselves while she murmured ambivalently, “Strangely
though…”
“What’s strange?”
“Arielle isn’t that popular in school.”
“Why so?” Aaron asked.
Wendy sighed. “Because her grades are poor. She kept missing class and she… often talked back to the
teachers. Previously, she was involved in a gang fight and one of the students involved even landed up
in prison. She’s a bad girl in everyone’s eyes.”
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