Chapter 298: A way to cheat.
There was a quiet grace and confidence in Adelyn’s every movement.
Her long, slender fingers calmly undid the buttons on her cuffs —one at a time, before moving to the collar.
She wasn’t dressed to impress. A simple white shirt paired with denim trousers gave her an effortlessly casual appearance. There was nothing about her attire that suggested someone formidable ... nothing that would make anyone feel intimidated at first glance.
The more Zeke looked at her, the more irritated he became.
She actually dared to challenge him in front of so many people.
Did she not know her own limits?
Steve Orlow wasn’t someone anyone could casually provoke.
Yet this woman actually believed she could defeat him.
If that wasn’t overestimating herself, then what else could it possibly be?
He watched as she calmly unfastened the remaining buttons before smoothly slipping her shirt off, revealing only the fitted sports bra beneath.
Her fair skin looked flawless and smooth.
Without realizing it, Zeke’s eyes lingered on her.
His doubts remained, but another thought quietly crept into his mind.
Tonight ...
This woman would belong to him. Then, he would deal with her properly ... teach her the lesson for offending him publicly.
The mere thought was enough to make excitement surge through him, pushing every trace of caution out of his mind.
He glanced at Karl with a mocking smirk before finally turning toward Steve.
"Taking her down should be even easier," he sneered. "She’s nothing more than a pretty woman."
He casually rested a hand on Steve’s shoulder before looking back at Adelyn again.
"Looks like I wasted my opportunity. I should’ve asked you for something better than fighting on my behalf."
His lips curled with disdain.
"As for her..." He scoffed. "I think I would’ve been more than enough for her."
Tressa, who had been silently watching and listening the entire time, frowned.
Without warning, she stepped into the ring, grabbed Zeke’s arm, and twisted it behind his back.
Before Zeke could even react—
A sharp jolt of pain shot through his arm, making every nerve scream in protest.
"Ah—!" He winced immediately. "What are you doing?"
He looked at her in complete confusion.
Meanwhile, irritation was written all over Tressa’s face.
"I’m reminding you," she said coldly, tightening her grip just enough to make him hiss again, "that women aren’t just pretty faces."
She leaned slightly closer.
"They’re capable of much more. I hope you understand that now."
She twisted his arm a little further, and the pain doubled instantly.
Denis and Pete stepped into the ring as well.
"Tressa." Steve’s calm voice sounded. "Let him go."
The moment she heard him, Tressa immediately released Zeke, almost as though following his words had become instinct.
Zeke hurriedly rubbed his aching wrist, trying to ease the lingering pain.
Had it been anyone else, he would’ve exploded long ago.
But these people ...
They were from Talon.
Meeting them at the club the previous night and convincing them to help him today had been nothing more than pure coincidence.
But his father was currently trying to establish a collaboration with Talon’s academy.
If he offended any of them and his father found out ...
He would be dead.
Suppressing his frustration, Zeke forced out an awkward smile.
"You misunderstood, Ms. Margot," he said in a flattery tone. "You’re different from her."
His tone immediately became much more respectful.
"You’re not someone anyone can trifle with."
He glanced dismissively toward Adelyn.
"But she..."
He scoffed.
"How could she possibly compare to you?"
He didn’t know who Adelyn was. He had never seen her before. Not at parties. Not at business gatherings. Not at social galas ...
As far as he was concerned, that could only mean one thing—
She wasn’t part of their circle.
So what value could someone like her possibly have?
Karl was probably just fooling around with an ordinary woman.
Without bothering to verify a single one of his assumptions, Zeke had already convinced himself that his conclusion was correct.
Tressa, however, ignored his explanation completely. Instead, she turned toward Steve.
"Senior ..." Her expression became unusually serious. "I don’t think she’s just an ordinary woman."
Steve glanced at her. "What makes you think that?"
Tressa looked toward Adelyn again.
"Something about her..." She hesitated. "...feels different."
She slowly narrowed her eyes.
"The way she looked at you earlier, it didn’t look like someone pretending to be confident. It looked..." She paused. "...real."
Steve remained expressionless.
"Other people’s confidence doesn’t determine my capabilities, Tressa."
Though he seemed calm and disciplined, Steve was arrogantly proud of himself. And Adelyn’s words earlier had offended him. If she was capable, then he wanted to see how capable she was.
Zeke immediately nodded in agreement. "Exactly!" He looked relieved to hear Steve say that. "Steve has already proven himself countless times. You don’t need to worry about some woman’s confidence."
He then laughed lightly.
"It’s probably all for show."
Tressa still wanted to object, but Denis and Pete stopped her. Seeing that, she eventually swallowed the words she wanted to say.
Instead, she looked back at Steve.
"If she’s only a woman ..." She lifted her chin slightly. "...then let me fight her."
Steve frowned. He didn’t immediately respond. But neither did he refuse.
"Senior, she doesn’t deserve to fight with you. Let me handle her on your behalf."
Meanwhile—
After removing her shirt, Adelyn casually handed it over to Karl.
"Here. Hold this for me."
Karl obediently accepted it without another word. His eyes, however, remained fixed on her.
"Sister-in-law..." His voice sounded unusually hesitant. "Are you really going to fight him?"
She looked at him. "You thought I was joking?"
Karl fell silent.
After a long pause, he asked again,
"But ... didn’t you say he’s from Talon? He has even won international competitions. How can you possibly fight someone like him?"
So ...
It finally got through his thick head.
Adelyn couldn’t help raising a brow in amusement.
At least all the effort she had spent explaining things hadn’t gone entirely to waste. Something had finally entered this brat’s brain.
"Do we have any other choice?" she asked calmly while folding her arms.
Karl nodded immediately. "We do." His eyes suddenly brightened. "Give me some time. I’ll find someone —anyone —who can match him."
Adelyn simply looked toward the ring before dismissing the idea.
"Give up. You won’t find anyone."
Karl’s hopeful expression collapsed.
"Then if you already know that he’s so formidable ... why are you still insisting on fighting him? What if he hurts you?"
His voice gradually became smaller toward the end.
Almost ...
Like he was trying not to cry.
That tiny sniffle made Adelyn turn toward him again.
When she noticed the tears already gathering in his eyes, she couldn’t help smiling faintly.
Still, she deliberately refused to reassure him.
This brat deserved this fear. Only then would he finally learn not to act so recklessly.
Today ...
Would become a lesson he would never forget.
Keeping a straight face, she answered, "If I get hurt, it’ll be because of you. After all, you’re the one who dragged me into this."
"Sister-in-law ..." Karl’s voice cracked. Tears finally rolled down his cheeks. "No ... Please don’t. If it’s because of me, then let me go. I’ll die instead. I deserve it."
Adelyn hadn’t expected that reaction at all. Her eyes instinctively swept across the crowd. And just as she thought, everyone was already staring at Karl.
"You idiot." She grabbed his arm. "Don’t you care about your reputation the most? How can you cry like a child in front of so many people?"
"How are they supposed to respect you after today?"
Instead of stopping, Karl cried even harder.
"I don’t care about my reputation anymore." His voice trembled. "It isn’t more important than you. So what if they laugh at me? So what if they look down on me?"
"I’m just scared something will happen to you. Can’t I even be scared for you?"
Pier was equally stunned. He had never seen Karl like this before. But after understanding why he was crying, even he couldn’t help feeling worried.
He looked toward Adelyn with the exact same concern.
In the end ...
Adelyn simply couldn’t bear listening to him cry anymore. Holding onto his arm, she sighed softly.
"Stop crying. I’m not going to lose."
Karl immediately stopped. He blinked through the tears before looking up at her. "You won’t?"
"How?"
A sudden realization crossed his face, and he quickly asked,
"Have you already figured out a way to cheat?"
Adelyn blinked.
Then stared at him completely speechless.
He actually thought ...
She was planning to cheat?
"Don’t worry, Sister-in-law." Karl leaned in seriously. "Just tell me. Pier and I will help you cheat."
His expression couldn’t have looked more sincere.
Smack!
Adelyn landed another firm slap on his head.
"What exactly is going on inside that brain of yours?" She glared at him. "Who said I’m going to cheat?"
"You won’t?"
Karl became worried all over again.
"Then ... how are you so sure you’re going to win?"
Adelyn quietly looked at him. Her gaze became even clearer than before as she decided to tell him.
"I’ll win ..." She paused for the briefest moment. "...because I’m—"
Onyx.
"Because you have a secret identity, Goddess?" Pier blurted out almost instinctively, catching onto her unfinished words before she could complete them.
Karl immediately snapped his head toward him.
"What secret identity?"