While Kira was getting ready for school, she suddenly remembered her answer to Pascal, and a small smile tugged at her lips.
She flung her schoolbag onto her back and headed for the door just as Mrs. Samuels emerged from the kitchen.
"You're already done with breakfast?" her mother asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
Kira looked at her mother, who was trying to seem happy, but her eyebrows betrayed her worry. Kira responded curtly, "Yes."
As she reached for the door handle, her mother suddenly called out, "Come here, Kira."
Kira paused, giving her mother an uncertain look, but then Mrs. Samuels opened her arms. After a moment's hesitation, Kira grumbled softly and stepped into the embrace. Her mother kissed her forehead gently.
"Take good care of yourself, my love," she whispered.
Kira nodded silently, then turned and headed out the door. As she stepped outside, her eyes narrowed slightly, her lips curling in a faint smile as she walked down the street.
Near a tree close to the bus stop, she spotted Pascal leaning casually against the trunk. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him sharply.
"You're late," she said bluntly.
Pascal stepped forward, a grin on his face. "I was just enjoying the show you put on. You really went all out—couldn't ignore the effort you put into that spectacular display."
Kira's expression darkened. She wasn't staging a show for entertainment but rather issuing a warning to anyone who might want to harm girls.
"If you've got nothing useful to say, shut the fuck up," she snapped.
Pascal chuckled, clearly enjoying her irritation. To him, her anger was a sign that he mattered to her.
He laughed again and then said, "Cops took him away. He confessed to the crime. You did an excellent job…"
Impatient, Kira cut him off. "It wouldn't have been possible without you," she said sharply.
Without waiting for a response, she turned toward the bus stop, just as the school bus came into view. Pascal followed her, still smiling mischievously.
"We'd make a powerful couple," he said. "Why not get married? If we worked together, it'd be easier to prevent these things and bring the perpetrators to justice."
Kira glanced at him and sneered. "Bullshit," she replied coldly.
He scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. He thought he'd scored a point, but Kira wasn't giving him any face.
Helplessly, Pascal sighed and asked, "What can I do to make you open your heart to me?"
Kira opened her mouth to reply, but the bus was already pulling up. Turning back, she saw Pascal had already disappeared into the crowd. She wasn't bothered. She stepped onto the bus as it drove off toward school.
After attending several lectures, it was finally time to head home. Kira flung her schoolbag over her shoulder, with Sophia tagging along, chattering non-stop. Kira didn't respond or get annoyed by her constant talk; she quietly walked beside her.
Suddenly, she heard a whisper: "Kira."
Her heart skipped a beat. She immediately recognized the voice, but she didn't want to face whoever was calling her. She kept walking with Sophia, but the voice persisted: "I know you can hear me, Kira. I need to talk to you."
Without warning, Kira stopped abruptly, causing Sophia to stumble and look at her with a confused expression. Concerned, she asked, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
Kira handed her schoolbag to Sophia and said quietly, "Little wife, hold this. I'll be back."
Sophia pouted, annoyed at being addressed as "little wife," and glared at Kira with a hint of frustration. "Don't call me that," she snapped.
Kira didn't bother to reply. She left her schoolbag in Sophia's hands and walked away. Sophia called after her, "Don't take too long!"
Kira disappeared from sight as she headed toward the school field. There, she saw Clifford standing in the middle of the field. She paused at the other end of the goalpost and said casually, "I thought you'd hide from me forever."
Clifford turned to face her, his glasses still on. He looked uncomfortable with the distance between them but chose not to mention it. He responded, "I need to talk to you, Kira."
Kira spread her arms in a nonchalant gesture. "Here I am. What's so urgent that you're so desperate to speak with me?"
Pascal, observing from a distance, didn't seem angered by her tone. Instead, he explained, "I met with my pack seer. He told me that you can't make your mates kill each other, or else you'll regret it in the future."
Kira scoffed at Pascal's words, recalling how the pack seer had lied against her in her previous life. She sneered with contempt. "That dog-shit seer can be bought. They're just a bunch of ass-kissers trying to stay relevant. Not worth a single coin."
Clifford wasn't surprised by her reaction but warned gently, "Don't let your mates kill themselves, Kira. Fate knows why we're bonded. We'll find out the reason in time."
Kira shot him a cold glare. "I don't believe in that bullshit called fate. You can believe in it if you want, but I don't. I don't care. Someone's waiting for me, and I need to go home."
Turning on her heel, she started to walk away. Suddenly, Clifford spoke again, his tone softer. "I don't know what you've been through, but everyone has a sad story. Don't dwell in the past. Embrace the present."
Kira shot him a narrowed-eyed look, sneering. "Whatever I am today, it's because of my past. I exist because of it. That's who I am — and I'm not about to change for any present or future."
She stormed off, leaving Clifford standing in silence. When she returned home, Sophia noticed she seemed moody. Quietly, she handed Kira her schoolbag. Neither of them spoke as they boarded the school bus.
When the school bus dropped Kira off at her bus stop, she walked the rest of the way home.
As she approached her house, she noticed a car parked in the driveway. Frowning, she listened as she heard voices coming from inside.
"Samuels, you should be grateful that the government spared your life. You need to return to the research institute immediately."