Chapter 312
Clementine:
“Clementine, we understand what you’re feeling, and honestly, we have no clue,” Troy began, stepping closer again.
This time, Oriana started to cough, and I noticed how quickly he reacted.
“No, you don’t understand. If you did, you wouldn’t even show me your face!” I yelled at him. “You know what, she told me that if it came down to me or her, you’d pick her and you proved it p>
As soon as I said that, the three of them shared a glance and then turned to look at Oriana.
Her posture trembled slightly.
“And it’s not even her fault. She actually helped me see that the people I relied on so much would never make me their priority. Let’s not even talk about priority, I’m not that selfish. But the fact that you knew she was fine and I was the one who needed help, yet you still chose to save her just to impress her, shows how little I mean to you. You’re only hovering around me because I’m your mate,” I shouted, noticing Oriana frown.
So, they hadn’t told her that all of them were my mates.
I saw the way she began scratching her scalp, probably wondering why I was saying this while looking at Troy and Yorick instead of Haiden.
“Look, all we know is that we’re guilty, but we have no excuse. We don’t even know why we left you there,” he tried to explain, though he did nothing to help me.
It was frustrating to hear them keep saying they didn’t know why they did it, when they clearly did.
They wanted Oriana and me both.
I took a deep breath and gestured at them with my hand. “I’m going to take the big step here and let you know that I’ll be rejecting you. I’ll go to the headmaster and tell him officially p>
As I said it, I remembered one of the biggest rules, if a mate bond was formed on the academy grounds, the acceptance or rejection had to happen in front of everyone.
“No. I won’t allow this,” Haiden said quickly, stepping forward.
He knew he would be the first one I’d reject since everyone already knew he was my mate.
I’d take care of him first, then probably lie about the others being second or third mates, enough to avoid trouble for having too many at once.
“And I’m not going to be part of this room anymore,” I announced, watching as their eyes widened.
That’s when the door opened, and one of the crusaders, who didn’t even look like a crusader walked in.
Zian!
My eyes landed on him, and an urge to ask if he’d found out about Ian rose in my chest.
“What’s going on?” he asked, smirking.
“She’s talking about—” Troy started, then stopped suddenly. His eyes flicked toward Zian, then back at me, then at him again. “You’re not Ian, right? She said you’re his evil twin,” he said loudly.
The other two turned to face him immediately.
I could tell Zian hadn’t expected that, he looked completely taken aback, his eyes locked on me, questioning why I had told them about him.
“What? What the heck? Why would you say that, Clementine?” Zian stared at me, his jaw tightening, a silent warning for me to take back my words.
“I’m not going to respond to any of you anymore. You can deal with this yourselves. And as for you three, don’t try to change the subject. I know what I said, and I’m leaving this dorm room and this squad,” I hissed, making up my mind as I walked toward the bed to grab my things from underneath it.
“No, Clementine, please, let’s talk! You’re making a decision in haste,” Troy pleaded, reaching out to grab my hand.
I pushed his hand away and pointed a warning finger at his face.
Oriana tried to pull him back, but he kept shoving her off, still trying to come after me.
“Guys, stop going after her! It’s my order!” Oriana finally screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her hands pressed against her stomach, rubbing it anxiously as if trying to calm herself down.
I watched as all three of them wore the same neutral expression, their eyes resting on me before they stepped back in perfect sync.
It was strange, I noticed it, but I had too much going on to care.
I didn’t care if they were afraid of her, afraid of her leaving them, or whatever else was happening.
I wasn’t going to comfort them.
They had left me there to die, knowing exactly what my fate would have been if they had chosen Oriana over me.
So, I was done too.
I grabbed my trunk, stuffed everything into my bag, and left while the others just stood there like statues facing Oriana.
There was no movement, no words, nothing.
The room was silent.
But I stayed focused on what I was doing, packing my things and heading toward the door.
Still, I kept one eye on Zian.
It seemed like he was waiting to confront me, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t afraid of him.
I needed to ask him about Ian myself.
The moment I stepped out of the door, Zian followed me.
“So you decided to tell on me?” Zian grunted, slapping his hand against the wall to stop me from moving forward.
“Step away, Zian, or I won’t hesitate to fight you like I would a monster,” I warned, looking him straight in the eye without flinching.
He stared back for a moment before letting out a laugh, chuckling as he placed both hands on the wall beside my head.
“Go ahead, tell everyone. You’ll just look like someone starting rumors, because no one’s ever going to find out the truth. How are you even supposed to prove it?” he asked, tapping his fingers against the wall.
“It’s easy p>
Before I could say anything more or give him a sharp response, he cut me off.
“I’m sure it will be. But it is not like all that ruckus will bring back Ian to life?” he asked.
The second he said that, goosebumps rose on my skin.