The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 226

Fated Pair 11-T

“It is impossible,” Attta said, his voice barely above a whisper. His dark eyes were fixed on Iva, searching her face for any sign of deception, any crack in her certainty.

Iva did not waver.

“It is not,” she replied, her voice steady despite the pounding of her heart. “The Messenger is not wrong.”

Attia’s voice was almost choked when he spoke next, as if the words were being pulled from somewhere deep and reluctant.

“Who is the matched?” he asked.

Iva met Attia’s gaze.

“It is a first-year medical student,” she said. “Her name is Lorelei Thompson.”

Attia froze.

The name landed like a stone dropped into still water, sending ripples through his carefully constructed composure. His mind raced backward, dragging up an image he had tried to forget-the red-haired girl from his classroom. The one who had stared at him with those wide green eyes. The one who had frozen when he called her name.

*Lorelei.*

He remembered the way her cheeks had flushed. The way her hands had trembled. The way she had looked at him-not with fear, like the others, but with something else entirely. Something he hadn’t been able to name.

*Impossible,* he thought. *It cannot be.*

“Impossible,” he said aloud.

Iva shook her head slowly. “I can assure you that it is not.”

Attia felt his throat close. He couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t breathe. The walls of his office seemed to press inward, suffocating him. He pushed back from his desk and stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor with a sound that grated through the silence.

Iva looked at Caleb, her face etched with worry.

Caleb’s hand found hers beneath the arm of the chair. Squeezed.

“Miss Thompson will be informed by Iva,” Caleb said carefully. “As coincidence would have it, they are friends. The Messenger thought it would be easier that way-for her to hear the news from someone she trusts, considering the implications.”

Attia said nothing. His back was to them now, his broad shoulders rigid.

“Once she will be informed today, the next steps regarding this bond,” Caleb continued, “are up to you two. The Messenger does not interfere beyond revealing the match. What you do with the knowledge… that is

12

Fated Part

your choice.”

Attia turned.

His face was pale, his dark eyes wild, his composure cracked beyond repair.

“It must be a mistake,” he said harshly.

Iva rose from her chair, her spine straight, her chin lifted.

“The Messenger was sure,” she said. “The bond does not lie.”

Attia stared at her.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Claim

Then Caleb stood, pulling Iva gently to her feet beside him. They moved toward the door, but Attia didn’t seem to notice. He stood frozen in the middle of his office, his expression blank, his eyes fixed on something none of them could see.

Caleb paused with his hand on the door handle.

“I know this is not an easy situation,” he said quietly.

Attia let out a laugh-sharp, bitter, devoid of humor.

“Not easy?” He turned to face them, and his eyes were blazing. “You are joking. I am the headmaster of this academy. And I am mated with a student. A first-year student.” He began to pace, his long legs eating up the floor. “This will cause an uproar. The scandal alone- the age gap…”

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