Love or Die: CEO’ s Daily Dose of Swoon (Cordelia) novel Chapter 46

Cordelia froze, her eyes locked on the text message that had just lit up her phone screen.

Had she read that right?

While she lost herself in the bewilderment, a voice snapped her out. "Cordelia, you leaving? They're about to lock up the auditorium."

She stood up, looking a bit confused. "Yeah, I'm leaving."

Clutching her textbooks, she slipped her phone into her pocket and exited the classroom.

-

Inside the Midnight Scent, Everard fixed his eyes on his phone, fixated on the last message he'd sent. [Call me dear, and it's yours to borrow.]

He still remembered the introduction when Cordelia joined the group chat. Stanton had called her Louie's dear good friend.

There he was, lowering his guard, sweet-talking and cooing, and he hadn't even managed to get her to add him on social media, and Louie just swooped in as 'dear friend'?

How could a girl so casually call someone 'dear'?

His finger tapped lightly on the table as he imagined her calling him dear in that soft, sweet voice. But why hadn't she replied to his message yet?

Meanwhile, the group chat "Who exactly is this girl?" was blowing up.

Bland started. [Damn! What's going on in here? Is Mr. Watkins flirting?]

Stanton typed. [Lia's got guts, still no reply. Is she rejecting him? We're witnessing a flirtation fail and might be doomed!]

The rest of the chat expressed their nervousness with shivering emojis.

Frankie added, [He's been talking a lot lately, which is abnormal. Should someone warn the girl not to tick him off? I'm worried she might vanish from the chat by tomorrow!]

Stanton replied, [I don't dare.]

Bland echoed. [Same here.]

The rest texted, [Even less.]

So, the big shots in the group chat shook in their virtual boots, silently observing. Just as they were fretting for Cordelia, a new message popped up.

Louie broke the silence. [She dare not call you dear. Perhaps Lia could respectfully see you as her teacher if you want to mentor.]

After reading this message, the chat went silent. Everyone was holding his breath, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of a battle between the big shots.

Patiently waiting for Cordelia's reply, Everard was surprisingly fine about it. After all, his young friend was a bit slow to warm up.

He'd only waited about five minutes when a new message lit up the chat. But upon reading it, his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, and he let out a sarcastic snort.

Was Louie trying to speak for her? Since when did he get to make decisions for Cordelia?

He was about to type a response when he suddenly paused.

Teacher? He thought of Cordelia addressing him with such reverence. Perhaps a teacher-student romance might not be too bad.

As he hesitated, another message appeared.

LearnLover asked, [Would that work? I love to learn. Would you be my teacher?]

The fire that had been building in Everard dissipated instantly with that message. His stern face softened into a smile, and his long fingers tapped out a response. [Okay.]

After that, Cordelia received a private message from Mr. All-Round with all the study materials requested.

Her eyes lit up as she saw it. [Thank you, Sir!]

By then, she had returned to the classroom. After sending her reply, she slung her backpack over her shoulder, ready to head home.