Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 6

The driver stepped out of the car and opened the door to the passenger's seat. Hayden had set a rule that no one could sit beside him in the vehicle, regardless of who they were. They could only sit in the passenger's seat.

As Violeta was about to enter, the man in the back seat unexpectedly opened the back seat door and said in a deep voice, "You can sit at the back."

Violeta had one leg in the car, and she froze. The driver widened his eyes in surprise and looked at Hayden. "Sir?"

Hayden ignored the driver and said to Violeta, "Sit here."

"Oh, okay." Violeta went to the back seat. Surprised, the driver silently entered the car and started driving.

Violeta politely thanked Hayden in the car. "Thank you for picking me up."

Hayden leaned back in his seat, raised his brows casually, and looked at Violeta as if he were eyeing his prey.

Violeta felt a little uncomfortable at his gaze. Is something wrong with Zoren... Are my clothes dirty? Why does he keep staring at me? Violeta looked at her clothes uneasily but found nothing out of place.

"You're welcome. You can return the favor by buying me a meal."

Violeta was taken aback. In any case, we're cousins. He's just picking me up to go to school together. It shouldn't be out of his way. Isn't he being too pushy by asking me to buy him a meal? Does he think we're very close?

"Okay, let's have lunch together later."

"Are you in the performing arts department?"

"Yes."

"I'll come find you at noon."

"Okay." Violeta blurted out each word. She didn't particularly want to say much to him.

Hayden wasn't a talkative person. Since Violeta didn't say anything else, he didn't either. Instead, he took out his cell phone and texted Zoren.

Hayden: 'Your cousin is quite impressive.'

Zoren: 'Hade, have you picked her up? I haven't seen my cousin since she came back. How does she look like?'

Hayden glanced at Violeta. He pondered briefly before replying. 'Stunning.'

On the other end of the phone, Zoren was slightly taken aback. Stunning? What does he mean? Is she stunningly ugly? D*mn it. No wonder there are rumors about her being too ugly, which is why the White family doesn't want to present her publicly.

Zoren quickly sent another message to Hayden. 'Hade, she's my cousin, after all. You must be nice to her.' Please don't leave her behind just because she's ugly! Otherwise, how can I explain it to my old man when I return?! D*mn it!

Hayden put his phone away. He couldn't be bothered to text Zoren further.

The car arrived shortly at Toland University's entrance. Violeta was about to get out of the car when she turned to look at Hayden and asked, "Zoren, are you coming with me?"

Hayden didn't like entering through the main gate because there were too many people, and he disliked how noisy it got. The driver quickly spoke up politely. "Ms. White, he doesn't like entering through the main gate..."

"Alright. I'll come with you." Hayden interrupted the driver before he could finish. Carried away by a whim, Hayden wanted to get out of the car with Violeta and walk through the school gate together.

What the two men were saying was conflicting. Violeta felt that her cousin was very peculiar.

The driver looked like he had seen a ghost. What's wrong with Hayden today? Why has he suddenly changed his mind?!

Hayden got out of the car with Violeta. Upon seeing the familiar school gate, Violeta couldn't help but feel it had been a lifetime since she had last seen it. Just as she was about to enter, she heard voices around her.