Beast Love Show: All For Her (by Sylvester Raven) novel Chapter 177

Chapter 177 Battles of the Heart

For some reason, he felt he couldn’t compete with Shane.

By the time he returned, Shane had once again transformed into the ultimate devoted mate, hoyering at Layla’s side. The chill around him had dissipated entirely. On that cold-blooded creature, there was now something resembling warmth.

It was unsettling. Liam shuddered.

“Did you hit him?” Layla looked up at Liam. Her eyes went straight to his rumpled collar.

[Oh ho! General Hartwell actually lost?]

[Good heavens! Is Prof. Slater that strong? I thought scholars were useless in a fight?]

[Prof. Slater isn’t the same as other scholars. You see the genius mecha designer title on his head and forget he’s actually a King Cobra?]

[Good point. In that case, the fact that General Hartwell can still walk proves Prof. Slater held back. Otherwise, he’d be unconscious right now.]

“I didn’t hit him,” Shane said, feigning some grievance. “Who knows how his collar got wrinkled?”

“You grabbed it!” Liam, who was supposed to play along with Shane’s act, ignored the script entirely. He opened his mouth and punctured Shane’s lie, then lifted his chin smugly.

His eyes said, “Let’s see you keep up the act now.”

Then he turned to Layla, his expression telegraphing. “You see? This is the man you chose. He lied to you. He has two faces.”

However, Layla had long since been utterly bewitched by Shane. She couldn’t see Liam’s grievance at all. And even if she did, she was equally blind to it.

“Then why would he only grab you and no one else?” Layla asked, perfectly righteous.

She wasn’t deliberately favoring Shane. Shane had always been forthright. Cold by nature, but never one to resort to physical force.

If Liam hadn’t provoked him past his limit, Layla would never, ever believe Shane would raise a hand first.

Liam never expected that even with the evidence laid bare, Layla would still shield Shane.

“Seriously? Listen to yourself. Does that even make sense?”

What kind of logic is that?

There’s no one else there!

He huffed, glaring at Layla, then cast a deeply meaningful look at Shane. “Why didn’t George come today?”

The two standing together stiffened simultaneously.

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16:04 Wed, Jun 3 M

Battles of the Heart

Challenge me? You’ve picked the wrong person!

“Who knows why he’s not here?” Layla replied, her annoyance evident.

Shane glanced at her and then at Liam. “If you’re going to keep mentioning George, why not bring him back to Stella’s cabin? I’m sure Stella likes him. She was always around him yesterday.”

Layla had also been stung by Liam’s remärk. Her mood soured, her temper even worse. Already irritated with Liam, her words now aimed straight for the rawest wound in his heart.

“By the way, you were here yesterday, yet Stella barely noticed you. She couldn’t stop thinking about George. Aren’t you even a little jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?” Liam arched an eyebrow. He wasn’t looking at Layla, but locking eyes with Shane. “My heart was never set on Stella either.”

A ripple of tension filled the air.

Shane’s eyes instantly narrowed to vertical slits. The deep green irises held murderous intent.

Layla, still unaware of the undercurrents, asked with genuine curiosity, “You don’t like Stella?”

“I don’t.” His verbal engagement with Stella had only been a means to an end. He’d needed the Grant family’s influence.

The Grant family was essentially an Imperial Merchant.

He couldn’t find a more powerful ally. The Grant family’s mecha processing plant was responsible for nearly a quarter of the Empire’s mecha production.

If he could bring the Grant family under his wing, adding equipment to his forces in the future would become significantly easier.

And the Grant family, at that time, was looking to climb higher.

Stella was already close to Carson and George. The outside world all said these two were destined to be Stella’s mates.

But Carson was a merchant. No matter how vast his business empire, he only had wealth, no power.

George was an entertainer. Even as the young chieftain of the merfolk clan, the merfolk never participated in land wars, useless to the Grant family’s aspirations.

So the Grant family approached him.

A fallen Empire General, and a merchant family seeking to climb, to grasp true power, to shed the label of “merchant,” and rise to the Empire’s highest echelons, struck a deal.

They used each other, but in a way, they also helped each other succeed.

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