This Time Hi Be the Villain’s Favorite Daughter novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77 The Girl Who Shouldn’t Be There

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For a brief second, Raymond caught his attention.

Not because he stood out, but because he didn’t fit. There was something too careless about him, almost rough around the edges, the kind of presence that felt out of place in a setting like this.

But it was only a glance. Thomas quickly dismissed him as not worth noticing and turned away.

It wasn’t until the moment replayed in his mind that something clicked. There had been someone else. A girl. Back there.

Her face had felt… familiar. Strikingly so.

Like… like who?

When it finally hit him who she resembled, Thomas’s heart started pounding hard, his vision dimming. The surge of emotion hit all at once, a sharp, electric numbness shooting up his spine.

She looked like Lawrence.

He turned abruptly, almost on instinct, eyes locking onto that spot. Trying to see her again.

But the seat was empty. The girl who had been sitting there, chin propped in her hand, quietly spacing out,

was gone.

Raymond had already left. The second the meeting was about to wrap, he grabbed both kids and walked

out.

That seat by the door hadn’t been random. He was the first one out. He hated parent meetings.

The announcement came. Meeting adjourned. Chairs scraped. People stood. The room dissolved into movement. Parents headed for the exits. It got crowded fast.

Thomas shot to his feet. His heartbeat was loud in his ears. He didn’t even look at Kaia. Didn’t register anything else.

He pushed forward, almost frantically. “Excuse me. Sorry, let me through.”

He spoke as he pushed through the crowd, brushing people aside with little regard for politeness, his gaze sweeping the back rows and aisles like a searchlight.

But everywhere he looked, it was the same. Children in identical uniforms, similar in height and build, their moving figures blending together until they were impossible to tell apart.

Where is she? That girl…

The school was simply too big. Too many exits, too many stairwells leading off in different directions. Searching like this in a crowd was basically hopeless.

Thomas forced himself to stop, his breathing uneven as he steadied for a moment. Then he remembered Kaia.

He turned and hurried back to the conference room. She was still sitting where he’d left her, staring blankly

ahead.

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12:54 Sat, May 2

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