Sorry I'm Mated To The Commander novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Layla said calmly, “He had something to take care of, so he left early. We can still go up on stage!

“Oh, okay, Wallace and Annie replied, not thinking much of it.

But Alex kept glancing at November. He could tell their command that November was kind of mysterion.

When it was time to go up on stage and receive their awards, four out of the five members of the Crown Squad had made it into the top ten, but none of them were smiling.

In contrast, Layla’s team only had her in the top ten, but everyone was beaming with joy.

After all, they’d taken first place as a team.

After handing out the awards, Antony spoke up. “This training was your first real lesson after stepping into the world of stellar rangers.

“I hope every one of you got a lot out of it. Someday, when you leave school and officially become stellar rangers, you’ll look back and see just how crucial this first lesson was.

“Alright, everyone, take a two-hour break. After that, we’ll head back to Alpha Prime.”

“Yes, sir, the students replied.

On the way back aboard the spaceship, everyone had their eyes glued to their optical computers. After being cut off from the outside world for so long, everyone was dying to reconnect.

Annie was sitting next to Layla, showing off to her family about how she’d managed to beat her cousin, Kierra.

The entire Knight family didn’t believe it

Annie snorted, “Just wait till you get home and ask Kierra yourself.

While everyone else was busy checking in with their families and friends, Layla sent a message to Celia, the head of the orphanage, and another to her master, letting them know her training was finally over.

Her master still hadn’t replied, but Celia got back to her almost right away.

Celia: [Layla, you’re incredible. Whenever you get a chance, come visit. The kids all really miss you.]

Layla: [Sure.]

Layla set her optical computer down and watched Annie next to her, still chatting animatedly with her family. Layla pressed her lips together, her gaze drifting over her contacts list until it landed on Nolan’s name.

The Sullivan family wasn’t her family anymore, but at least Nolan was still her brother.

Layla: [Nolan, my training is over.]

Nolan’s leave had just ended. He’d barely checked in at the military base when he got Layla’s message.

He frowned right away.

That was because Layla’s package was still in Xanthe’s hands.

Xanthe and Harper had been off on an interstellar vacation for over twenty days and had just gotten back today.

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No matter how many messages Nolan sent her about the package while she was away, Xanthe just kept dodging the question.

Now that Xanthe was finally back, Nolan made up his mind to confront her about the package in person.

He replied to Layla, telling her they’d meet up once she got back. As soon as he wrapped up his work, Nolan grabbed his things and went straight home.

His coworkers joked, “Wow, you’re really attached to home, huh? What’s up? Your little sister’s getting married, and you just can’t let go? Trying to squeeze in some extra time with her before she’s gone?”

Everyone knew that they had found Xanthe and brought her home.

And the news of Xanthe’s engagement to Caleb had already spread like wildfire among the upper crust.

But Nolan couldn’t bring himself to smile. He didn’t agree with Xanthe marrying Caleb at all.

Plus, thanks to Xanthe, Layla hadn’t been back home even once since the semester started.

And now, there was the whole package drama piling onto everything else.

There was one headache after another.

Nolan hurried home, weighed down by worries, and found that Xanthe and Harper had just gotten back.

The living room was filled with an impressive array of packages, everything they’d bought stacked up and on full display.

Plenty of the items were elegant. Unsurprisingly, they were clearly meant for Xanthe’s wedding.

And every single thing had been paid for with the money Layla had given them.

Nolan found the whole scene an eyesore, but he didn’t want to stir

up any drama.

He lowered his voice and said to Xanthe, “Xanthe, now that you’re back, hand over Layla’s package. I’ll drop it off for her when I get the chance.”

Xanthe’s smile froze for a second, then she played dumb. “Nolan, what package are you talking about?”

“The package someone sent to Layla, the one you signed for,” Nolan said quietly.

“When did I ever sign for a package for Layla? Besides, hasn’t she been out of the Sullivan family for ages now?” Xanthe replied, acting all clueless.

When he saw Xanthe play dumb, Nolan’s anger shot through the roof.

He couldn’t hold back and raised his voice. “The butler said you took Layla’s package. Why are you acting clueless now?”

Harper’s face darkened as soon as she heard the noise. “Nolan, what’s wrong with you? Can’t you just talk things out calmly?”

Nolan was about to respond when Xanthe suddenly started sobbing out of nowhere.

Her eyes were all red, and she kept sniffling, looking like she was the most pitiful person in the world.

“Mom, I really don’t know what’s going on. I just got back, and Nolan’s already yelling at me because of Layla. I didn’t even do anything.

“Why is he treating me like this? Is Layla talking badly about me behind my back or something?” Xanthe cried.

Nolan’s temples were pounding with rage. “Layla never said a word to me,” she said.

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Chapter 41

Xanthe shot back, “So why are you coming at me like this?”

Nolan snapped, “Because you took her package.”

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Harper looked confused, not really getting what was going on, but she still shot Nolan a reproachful look. “Nolan, why are you yelling at Xanthe? You’re her brother. Know your place, okay?

“What’s this about a package? Maybe the butler just got things mixed up. Xanthe is your own sister. Can’t you be a little nicer to her?”

Seeing his mom take Xanthe’s side no matter what, Nolan felt a pang of sadness.

He turned to Xanthe and said, “I don’t know what kind of spell you’ve cast on Mom, and I’ll let the rest slide. But you stole Layla’s package, and you have to give it back to her.”

Xanthe burst into tears, clinging to Harper like she was about to faint any second, sobbing so pitifully that it was almost theatrical.

Harper immediately started comforting Xanthe and scolded Nolan. “Nolan, go upstairs right now. Stop picking on Xanthe.”

“No, Mom.” Nolan protested.

“What? You’re not even going to listen to me now?” Harper snapped.

Nolan stared at his mom in disbelief. He shot one last, lingering look at Xanthe, who was putting on the most pitiful show of tears, then turned and stormed upstairs in a rage.

Meanwhile, Layla was still on the spaceship, heading back to school, completely unaware of the drama unfolding at Sullivan Manor.

Her optical computer had been silent the whole time.

After Nolan replied to her earlier, not a single new message had come in.

Atlas hadn’t reached out, either.

‘Guess his rut must be over by now,’ Layla thought. ‘His Highness is so proud. Just imagining how he almost let his rut drag on. He must be furious and mortified right now. Bet he’s losing his temper as we speak.

Layla leaned back, turning her head to look out at the midnight-blue starry sky beyond the window.

Her own reflection stared back at her in the glass, her eyes looking a little lost and lonely.

A few hours later, Layla rolled back into Imperial Academy with the whole school crowd.

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19:44 Fri, Jan 9 G

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

After a grueling thirty days of training, the students finally scored a three-day break.

$350 vouche

Naturally, those living on Alpha Prime were heading home, while the ones whose families were off-world mostly chose to stick around campus.

When Annie found out Layla wasn’t going home for the break and planned to stay on campus, she jumped at the chance to invite her. “Come on, come with me. I’ll show you all the best eats. Trust me. You’ll love it.”

Annie was still buzzing with excitement from beating her cousin Kierra in the competition.

Layla shook her head. “Nah, I can’t. Alex’s mech suit got wrecked during the match, and it’s still not fixed up. I promised I’d help him hunt down some parts to get it working again.”

“Where are you going to look for parts? I know an undergstreet market where they trade rare stuff. Seriously, hit me up when you guys go. I want to come too,” Annie said eagerly.

Layla’s eyes lit up at the mention of the undergstreet market, and she nodded in agreement.

With most of the students gone, the campus had quieted down. Layla was on her way to the library to do some reading and research when a woman in a military uniform, looking icy and distant, suddenly stepped in front of her.

Layla didn’t recognize her at all.

“You must be Layla, right?” the woman asked.

“Yeah, that’s me. And you are?” Layla replied.

“I’m Mollie Clark, Captain of the Queen’s Guard. Her Majesty wants to see you. She’s got something to discuss,” Mollie said.

There was no way Layla could refuse Leilani’s summons, so she just nodded and followed Mollie without a word.

Layla was surprisingly calm about heading to the palace. She didn’t ask a single question and just walked along like it was no big deal. Her unfazed demeanor actually made Mollie a bit curious.

Mollie couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you scared?”

Layla shot back, “Why would I be? I haven’t done anything wrong. Her Majesty’s not going to punish me or anything, so what’s there to be scared of?”

Mollie had never met a kid so chill and self-assured for her age.

Mollie had just heard that Layla had made a real splash during training. Layla even managed to beat Tomas, which was no

small feat.

‘Getting Her Majesty’s attention and having His Highness interested in her? Yeah, that’s not something a regular girl pulls off, Mollie wondered.

Layla glanced down at the leather armrest, not bothering to ask anything. She knew she wouldn’t get anything out of Mollie

anyway.

Layla guessed this was probably about Atlas.

‘Ugh, this is such a pain,’ Layla thought to herself.

Layla couldn’t help but regret not just playing nice with Atlas back in the lounge and getting the divorce sorted. ‘Seriously, that would’ve saved me so much trouble,’ she thought.

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