Page 84 of The Sweetest Revenge

I waved dismissively. "Zaiden's a big boy. I'm sure he can?—"

"They're not coming after Zaiden," Mila cut in, her eyes holding mine. "They're coming after you."

A shadow fell across the floor. "Who's coming after Ariella?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Zaiden stood in the doorway, his frame blocking the exit completely. His knuckles whitened against the doorjamb; the only visible sign of the rage I knew was building beneath his controlled exterior.

"It's nothing." I shifted in my chair. "Just team drama."

He stepped into the room, his gaze never leaving Mila's face. "Who. Is coming. After. Ariella?"

Mila's eyes flicked to me, silently asking permission. I shook my head slightly, mouthing "no". The last thing I needed was Zaiden starting a war over something I could handle myself, especially when we both knew how his wars ended.

"Who?" Zaiden's voice cracked, making all three of us flinch.

Mila broke. "EJ and the football team," she blurted, the words tumbling out like she couldn't hold them back anymore.

I groaned.

"What did they say?"

"Their exact words—" Journey hesitated, glancing at me.

"What?" Zaiden pressed, taking a step toward her. "What exactly did they say?"

Journey swallowed. "They said they were going to—" Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "—ruin that pussy for you." She looked at the floor. "They talked about passing her through all of them."

The room went silent.

Zaiden's face remained perfectly still—too still. Only the muscle ticking along his jawline betrayed any reaction. His head tilted slightly as his eyes narrowed, processing this information with the cold calculation of someone planning a war strategy.

"They're all talk," I said quickly, stepping between Zaiden and Journey. "They're pissed about what happened at the party. Give it a week, they'll find something else to obsess over."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Journey muttered. "EJ seemed pretty?—"

I shot her a look that could have frozen hellfire, and her mouth snapped shut mid-sentence.

"Everyone is overreacting." I kept my voice light, as if discussing tomorrow's weather instead of threats against me. "The football team is harmless. They're just boys with bruised egos."

I squared my shoulders and met Zaiden's gaze directly. The temperature in his eyes had dropped to something arctic.

"I'm not worried about any of them." My chin lifted, the lie smooth on my tongue. "Don't make this worse than it already is."

I held his stare, refusing to blink, silently pleading with him to let it go.

"Any luck getting into Kacie's MacBook?" Mila asked, effortlessly changing topics like she always did when tension rose too high. Zaiden finally broke eye contact, and I blew out a quiet sigh of relief.

"No." I shifted back to the laptop, running my fingers along its closed edge. "There was something in there she didn't want anyone finding. She never changed passwords unless—" I trailed off, the implications hanging in the air.

"This would be easier if we had her phone." Zaiden's voice was clipped, matter-of-fact, his problem-solving tone.

"But we don't." I met his eyes, matching his bluntness. "So, I'll keep working on her laptop."

"Let me know if I can help with anything." Mila gathered her bag, always the mediator. "But we have to go, like, now."

"Right." Journey checked her watch. "Tutoring in an hour." She curled her lip and flicked her dark hair over her shoulder. "God, I hate tutoring. Professor Martinez makes us explain the same concept, like, twenty different ways."

"Want to meet up after?" I asked.

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