Sorry I'm Mated To The Commander novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 A Clean Break

“Layla, if you need money, just tell me,” Nolan said, his tone serious. “But whatever you do, don’t get involved in anything shady.”

Layla sighed.

She couldn’t very well tell him about her side gig as a top-tier mech designer, so she just said she was busy and ended the call.

She then transferred three hundred thousand starcoins to Harper’s account, considering it repayment for the last decade of expenses.

With that settled, she headed to Everdom Commons, one of Imperial Academy’s most famous restaurants.

In an interstellar era where most people substituted food with bio-engineered gel, the delicious dishes served at Everdom Commons were a rare delicacy.

And an expensive one.

Nolan had brought her here once when he was a student at the academy.

Today was a day worth celebrating.

She had finally cut ties with the Sullivans, her mech designer persona “Hades” had officially started selling blueprints, and… she’d gotten married.

They’d probably divorce soon, but regardless.

All of it called for a celebratory feast.

Layla ordered eight different dishes and sat alone, a strange yet magnificent sight.

Just as she was digging in, Caleb and his roommate, Leon Baker, walked into the dining hall, both wearing the blue-and-white uniforms of the new freshman class.

Leon nudged him with his shoulder. “Hey, isn’t that your fiancée, Layla?”

Caleb narrowed his eyes. While they had an engagement, he’d never really liked her.

Layla was always too cold and aloof, not gentle in the slightest-probably because she was a wolf shifter.

Their engagement had been arranged by their parents and had always been in name only.

Then Xanthe had returned, and Caleb was immediately captivated by her sweet, gentle nature.

Not long ago, his rut had hit, and Xanthe happened to be with him.

They’d spent three wonderful nights together.

Now, their families were already planning to meet and discuss his engagement to Xanthe.

As for Layla, she was just the Sullivans’ adopted daughter.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Caleb said coolly. “She’s not my fiancée anymore.”

“What? Seriously? Why not? Layla’s really pretty,” Leon said, confused.

Caleb pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Layla heard their conversation but paid it no mind, continuing to enjoy her meal.

The honey ribs were sweet and savory, the savory braised fish melted in her mouth, the garlic shrimp were perfectly crisp, and the spicy beef stew was a fiery delight.

Watching Layla eat so much, yet so gracefully, Leon was astonished. “She’s got a hell of an appetite. No wonder she’s a wolf shifter. Oh, right, I heard her shift tier is higher than yours, right?”

That was the second thing Caleb disliked about Layla.

Her shift tier and psychic force were both stronger than his.

Reading that last comment, Annie’s cat-like eyes widened.

Holy crap. Caleb was ditching Layla over a rut?

What a scumbag.

But even though Caleb was a jerk, since Layla was just an adopted daughter, most people online agreed that it was only right for him to marry Xanthe.

The more Annie read, the angrier she got, and she ended up deleting her own post.

After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to go find Layla.

That poor wolf was probably in her dorm room, crying with her tail between her legs.

She told herself she wasn’t going to comfort her.

She just wanted to see her cry.

Layla was indeed back in her dorm room, but she wasn’t crying.

She was on a call with Harper, who had just received the transfer of starcoins and had immediately called in a panic.

“Layla, where did you get this much money? Did you do something illegal?”

Layla’s voice was calm. “The starcoins are perfectly legal, Harper. You don’t have to worry.”

Harper didn’t believe her. “How could anyone just ‘get’ such a large sum of money?” she said, agitated. “Layla, I know you’re stubborn, but you need to take this back! Return it to whoever gave it to you! Don’t you dare bring trouble to the Sullivan family!”