As soon as we stepped near the water’s edge, the sun glinting off the surface like a thousand little daggers, Sheela sprinted ahead, her beach scarf flapping behind her like a battle flag. 

“Hey, Ru! Come here,” she called, waving Rubina over. “I want Thor to be in our team.” 

“Fine,” Rubina said with a sweet, casual smile. She drifted across the sand like she owned it and planted herself right beside Kaiden–who just so happened to be standing beside Thor. 

And just like that, my stomach twisted. 

Of course. Of freaking course. She had to stand beside Kaiden. She has to. She will die if she doesn’t, right? 

Now, Rubina, Kaiden, Sheela and Thor were on one side while Jackson and lan were on the other. 

“Even better,” Clara chirped beside me, her voice bubbling with innocent sarcasm. “I’m just glad we’re on the single boys‘ team. Hate flirting with someone else’s boyfriend.” 

She winked and laced her fingers through mine like it was girl–code solidarity and tugged me toward Jackson and lan’s side. 

I was glaring at Rubina before I even knew it. What’s wrong with Rubina? And what the hell is wrong with the universe? How is it always her? Why is it always Rubina who ends up beside Kaiden, orbiting around him like she’s gravity itself? 

“Hey.” Jackson greeted me with a soft, easy smile. 

“Hey,” I returned the smile, though inside I was practically breathing fire in Rubina’s direction. 

“You know the basics, right?” he asked, nodding at the net strung loosely between two poles in the water, the ball bobbing nearby like a challenge waiting to be accepted. 

“I’m an athlete, Jackson,” I said, tossing him a grin. “What do you think?” 

“I’m an athlete too,” he countered, one brow rising in amusement. “State–level swimming champ. Still don’t know a damn thing about golf. So… you tell 

me.” 

I laughed, but my voice carried a competitive edge. “Then you’re not a true athlete.” 

He chuckled, and just like that, the tension in my chest unraveled a little. Rubina wasn’t in my mind anymore. Not her voice. Not her smirk. Not her standing beside Kaiden like she belonged there. Instead, I had that electric rush–the competitive thrill of a real game. The kind of fire that had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with winning. 

1 seized the ball and launched it with power. 

Sheela leapt forward and hit it back–right to lan. 

“Nice one,” Jackson said with a low whistle, raising his eyebrows. “Finally. First time it’s gonna be fun teaming with girls.” 

“Oh, it’s gonna be hella fun,” I shot back, surging forward and striking the ball again with a grin tugging at my lips. 

For a while, we played like a well–oiled machine. Hits. Dives. Splashes. The water churned around us with energy and laughter. Rubina’s tear missed th ball twice, the rhythm of their coordination offbeat. And we–me, lan, Jackson, and Clara–were locked in, Smooth, Focused. Powerful, 

Until Clara missed. 

The ball smacked the water behind her with a hollow slap. 

Rubina and Kaiden turned toward each other instantly and did high five. That damn high five. Their smug little celebration. The contact of 

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09:13 Tue, 24 Jun 

Chapter 139 

was like a gunshot through my resolve. 

That simple moment, that was it. The switch flipped. 

The girl who had been enjoying a team game vanished. 

86% 

What rose in her place was the girl who had something to prove. Something personal. A girl who was no longer just part of a team, but on a battlefield. 

Rubina and Kaiden stood in front of me. Two against one. That’s how it felt. 

Everyone else blurred. Clara. Jackson. Ian. Thor. Sheela. Their voices faded into background noise, like a radio tuned to the wrong frequency. 

All I could see were those two. And the idea–no, the truth–that if I missed their next hit, if I let the ball drop even once… I wouldn’t just be losing a 

game. 

I’d be losing everything. 

I hit the ball. 

Then again. 

And again. 

Each strike was fiercer than the last. My arms moved on instinct, fueled by something raw and untamed. I wasn’t playing volleyball anymore–I was waging war. 

Kaiden also disappeared from my vision now. 

Only she remained. 

Rubina. 

It was no longer team versus team. It was me versus 

her. 

And she met me head–on, like a mirror reflecting my fire. Hit for hit. Glare for glare. Her movements grew sharper, more aggressive, as if she too had peeled away the pleasantries and was baring her claws underneath. 

We were no longer playing a game. We were proving something. 

To each other. 

To everyone watching. 

To ourselves. 

My chest heaved, water sloshing around my legs as I lunged again and again. The sun beat down on our shoulders, but it was nothing compared to the heat in my veins. 

And then- 

I hit the ball. 

Harder than ever before. With every ounce of fury, every crack of jealousy, every unanswered question that had boiled inside me all day es 

The ball soared like a missile and slammed into Rubins’s hand with a sickening thud. 

She yelped, staggered back. 

“Motherf Ow!” she shrieked, clutching her wrist. 

09:13 Tue, 24 Jun 

Chapter 139 

Everything stopped. 

“Rubina!” The shout rang out in unison–Clara, lan, Sheela, Jackson, Thor… and Kaiden. 

They all rushed toward her, cutting through the water like it was air. But it was his voice–Kaiden’s–that pierced deepest. He reached her side, eyes scanning her arm with concern before his gaze snapped toward me. 

And then it came. 

That voice. Sharp. Accusing. 

“What the hell, Introvert?” Kaiden barked. “Is this any way to play with your friend? What’s wrong with you?” 

My lungs collapsed inside my chest. My throat dried. My jaw locked. 

Kaiden scolded me. 

He. Scolded. Me. 

I could practically hear the sound of my heart shattering into a billion pieces. He scolded me for Rubina. How could he? It wasn’t only me who was playing rough–Rubina was too. So how come it’s only my fault that she got hurt? 

The inside of me–my heart, my brain, my blood, my soul, my bones–was boiling so hot with anger that its vapor rose into my eyes, making my vision wet and blurry. 

To be continued…