The Girl They Ignored Returned as the Woman Seven Men Would Die For novel Chapter 10

Being an athlete with a solid build, Jude effortlessly carried Seraphina on his back, leading the way.

Two steps behind him walked Mika, who kept adjusting Seraphina's dress so it wouldn't ride up.

Trailing at the very back, Xanthe and Lily exchanged another loaded look as they watched the bizarre trio.

They both saw the exact same absolute certainty in each other's eyes.

Jude was definitely still obsessed with Seraphina! Definitely!

Xanthe looked down at her phone and shot Lily a private text: [So sad. Ugly girls really don't get true love.]

Lily glanced at her screen without changing her expression and quickly typed back.

[But whatever the truth is, Jude is Mika's boyfriend now. Is Seraphina acting like this... really okay?]

-

Jude carried Seraphina right to the entrance of the women's dorm, unable to go up any further.

Looking intensely reluctant, he carefully set her down and turned to Mika with a deep frown.

"Mika, make sure you carry her up the stairs carefully. Don't let her fall."

Mika stood on the steps, not immediately reaching for Seraphina. She just stared at him quietly before speaking.

"Jude, were you happy today?"

It was late. Under the pitch-black sky, the warm, yellow glow of the streetlamp cast a soft hue over Mika's features.

It made her usually impassive expression look as though it was laced with a profound, unspeakable sorrow.

Jude froze, completely failing to process what she meant by the question.

After a long, heavy pause, he hesitantly replied,

"Yeah. I'm happy."

"As long as you're happy," Mika's voice was impossibly soft, almost swallowed by the night.

She pulled Seraphina from his arms.

That faint, intoxicating fragrance hit his nose again, but before Jude could fully register it, Mika had already turned and walked into the stairwell.

But that final, haunting look in her eyes just now planted a terrifying thought in Jude's head.

Did Mika... still love him?

Did she realize he was hopelessly in love with Seraphina, and force this toxic arrangement just to find a twisted way to stay near him and help him get the girl he actually wanted?

Even though it broke her own heart, she just wanted him to be happy.

As long as he was happy, she was satisfied. Was that it?

Were the extreme demands for gifts just a desperate, painful way to lash out because she was hurting?

Standing outside the dorm for a long time, Jude's mind was a complete mess of guilt and confusion.

Frustrated, he pulled out his phone and transferred a $100 tip to Mika, desperate to shake off the suffocating wave of guilt sitting on his chest.

It was impossible for him to like Mika.

She was just... far too plain.

He would just send her money. That would make up for trampling on her feelings.