(Author’s POV)
A thunderous roar erupted, drawing everyone’s gaze, "NIGEL LONG." The very next second, the person approached Nigel, didn’t even give him any chance to even react, and gave him a resounding, tight and crisp slap across his face. The impact was so massive that his head automatically tilted to the other side.
Everyone present was left flabbergasted by what had just happened. They couldn’t help but gasp. Nigel, whose hands were holding his cheek, tasted a metallic taste in his mouth. He soon realized the corner of his mouth was now bleeding.
"Who the hell do you think you~ .... fuc~" Nigel was in the middle of cussing out the person who had the audacity to hit him, but when he saw who it really was, his eyes were about to bulge out as he murmured, still in shock, "MOM?"
The people gathered were stupefied once again the moment he uttered that word. They all looked at the elegantly dressed lady as someone from the crowd spoke, "Did he just call that lady his mother? So, does that mean~ .... she is~ .... she is Mrs. Zara Long, one of the trustees? Woah! What kind of drama did I step into?"
Even Myra and Gavin were stunned to see the sudden turn of events. Their eyes darted between Nigel’s now swollen and flushed cheek and his mother, who had a stiff expression etched on her face.
The one and only person whose expression didn’t change even in the slightest was Alaric Everests. He remained cool as a cucumber.
"Mom, what are you~ .... what are you doing? And why did you hit me?" Nigel questioned his mother point blank. He was the apple of her eye and had never even been scolded by her, let alone got a beating, that too publicly. This was the very first time, so he had conflicting emotions churning up inside him, mixed with anger and confusion.
Zara gritted her teeth and said, "I don’t want a single word from you. You have crossed a line. You have to~ .... come with me, right ... this ... instant." She took his arm and started dragging him. But as stubborn and bullheaded as Nigel was, he shrugged her hand off and said, his voice loud, "I am not going anywhere. Tell me what has happened. What did I do wrong? What did I do to get hit? Tell me~ ..."
"Don’t be an obdurate, Nigel. I am your mother. You will not disrespect me and listen to my words. Now follow me," Zara took a teeny tiny glance at Alaric and then tried to force her son to go with her. But Nigel wasn’t in the mood to listen to anyone at all. He wanted to settle Myra’s matter once and for all.
In Nigel’s mind, he had been tolerating Myra’s impudence for about a year. The topper’s place that had solely belonged to him was snatched away as soon as she, who probably came from some backwater, countryside, came into the picture. The professors in the finance department just adored Myra and were always singing praises about her. Even the stoic and uncompromising Prof. Oswald Mitchell wasn’t left behind. Though he never showed it like others, just after six months of Myra’s arrival, he included her in his most sought-after research study. She had breached that frontier so easily. That opportunity, Nigel has been vying for it all this time, but it was handed over on a platter to that nobody, Myra Miracle. Ever since then, he has always held a grudge.
He thought that this was the perfect time he could disclose her true personality to others. How much of a crass and degrading person she really was. He wanted to take off the façade of politeness so badly that he was in no mood to let this chance go to waste anyhow. He then realized the crowd was looking at him with anticipation. So, he will give them a good show to watch.
"Mother~ .... don’t hinder my business. I will take off her mask and show her true face to everyone present here," he roared as the second time he pulled himself away from her. This time it was more forceful, so that his mother fumbled with her steps.
Zara was dumbfounded by her son’s action, but before she could say something to him, "Whose mask are you going to take off, Mr. Long? Whose true face are you going to uncover?" another person entered the scene. His cold, unrelenting voice crept in, giving a chilly feeling inside Zara’s heart.
The crowd parted, and at the end of it stood Oswald Mitchell; alongside him was Prof. Zachary Johnson. Their penetrating gaze landed on Nigel, then to his gang members, then shifted to Myra, then darted towards Gavin and finally zeroed back to the main culprit of this commotion.
"Prof. Mitchell, Prof. Johnson?" Myra’s eyes widened. She never thought that just a mere rumor would escalate things so much, even getting the professors involved. She wanted to keep a low profile, but things were getting out of hand.
Oswald, with a glacial tone, mouthed, "Mr. Long, Ms. Miracle, and everyone involved, come to my office, right now. Everyone unconcerned, you all may disperse."
"But professor, what did I do? Why should I~ ...." Nigel was still trying to argue, but this time, the ever so kind and easygoing Zachary Johnson reprimanded him, "You still wish to pursue this argument publicly? You have no regard for your professors or your mother, huhh? I won’t repeat it again, Nigel Long. Just do as Prof. Mitchell said."
Zara clutched at her son’s arm and didn’t let him speak any further. With a compliant voice, she said, "We will do as you say, HOD Johnson." She then took her son away, his friend following the pair from behind.


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