Chapter 11: Seraphina’s Private Office Interrogation
Tessa had walked the path from the athletic field to the entrance of Room 407’s dorm building countless times, but never had it felt as long and torturous as it did today.
Riley Summers carried her with unbelievable steadiness, holding her securely in her arms. Every gaze along the way felt like a high-powered spotlight, landing on them with merciless precision and exposing Tessa’s unbearable embarrassment in broad daylight.
“Um… Riley, I’m fine now. Really. I can walk by myself,” Tessa pleaded in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
She buried her face deep into Riley’s shoulder, trying to escape reality like a very committed ostrich.
Unfortunately, showing weakness had the exact opposite effect on Riley.
“Don’t move,” came the firm command above her head. Riley’s arms tightened around her. “Your ankle is swollen, and you were scared half to death. What if you fall again? Stay still.”
Her tone was forceful, but hidden inside it was a clumsy concern even Riley herself did not seem to notice.
Tessa gave up resisting completely.
At last, the familiar dorm building appeared ahead.
Riley carried her straight past the resident advisor’s stunned, frozen stare and went up the stairs without hesitation. Finally, she stopped in front of the closed door of Room 407.
She seemed to have developed a taste for kicking doors open. Just as she raised one sneaker-clad foot, the door creaked open from the inside.
Three figures stood in the doorway.
On the left was Vanessa Rose, all curves and smiling mischief.
In the middle was Chloe Hart, petite, cute, and wide-eyed with curiosity.
On the right was Iris Lane, cool, expressionless, and calm as ever.
The three of them stared at the high-impact princess-carry scene at the door and collectively turned to stone for three seconds.
The air seemed to freeze.
The first to break the silence was Vanessa, the resident temptress of Room 407. Leaning against the doorframe, she took out her phone. On the screen was a high-definition close-up from the campus forum, showing Riley carrying Tessa in her arms.
Vanessa waved the phone, then lifted those dangerous, teasing eyes and looked Tessa up and down. Tessa, still in Riley’s arms, looked like she wanted to die on the spot.
“My, my. What happened to my little Tessa?” Vanessa drawled, her voice sweet enough to be deadly. “You went out once and came back in someone’s arms? We barely looked away, and you already found yourself a new big sister outside?”
“Wow! Riley is so strong!” Chloe finally snapped back to life.
She completely missed the trap in Vanessa’s words. Her eyes sparkled as she stepped forward, boldly poked Riley’s firm arm muscle, then looked at Tessa’s soft, boneless state with sincere admiration.
“Tessa, being held by arms that strong must feel super safe, right? Compared to Seraphina’s gentle hug, which one made your legs weaker?”
The words “legs weaker” struck Tessa like lightning directly to the top of her head.
Help. Please stop talking.
Tessa wailed inside.
Being princess-carried by another girl was already embarrassing enough. Now they were making her publicly compare the “user experience” in front of everyone. This was no longer social death once or twice. This was her corpse being dug up, beaten again, and scattered to the wind.
Riley clearly understood the hidden meaning in Chloe’s words too. A rare, unnatural blush appeared on her handsome face, but she quickly forced it down.
Frowning, she carefully set the thoroughly cooked Tessa down, then said to Tessa’s three roommates, “She twisted her ankle and got scared by a soccer ball. Watch her. Don’t let her run around. I already treated the injury. Don’t let it get wet for the next couple of days.”
After giving those instructions, Riley looked deeply at the “porcelain doll” standing there with her head lowered and her ears red enough to bleed. Something complicated flickered through her eyes.
In the end, she said nothing.
She turned and strode away, clean and decisive.
The moment Riley left, the door to Room 407 shut with a bang. Tessa instantly felt as if she had fallen into a spider’s den.
“Come here, my little darling. Let me see where you got hurt,” Vanessa said, pulling her into a chair. Her words sounded caring, but her eyes were full of delighted amusement.
“Yeah, Tessa, Riley was so cool!” Chloe flailed excitedly beside her.
Only Iris crouched down and carefully checked Tessa’s ankle. After confirming it was only slightly red and swollen, she stood back up.
Vanessa laughed softly and brushed one finger over Tessa’s terrifyingly hot cheek. “Now be honest. What exactly is your relationship with Riley, and with our dear Seraphina? The campus forum is about to start a war over you, you know.”
Under the three roommates’ repeated interrogation and shameless teasing, Tessa’s face burned red. Between weak protests of “It’s not like that,” “I didn’t,” and “Stop making things up,” she finally gave up resisting completely and let them tease her.
Her whole body radiated the air of someone who had been thoroughly bullied into surrender.
Meanwhile, the storm raging across the forum was felt most clearly by Seraphina Frost in the Student Council office.
She held a cup of freshly brewed hand-ground coffee with textbook-perfect elegance. On her phone screen, however, was a close-up photo of Riley Summers carrying Tessa in her arms and striding away.
The gentle, proper smile on Seraphina’s face froze inch by inch.
Then it cracked.
The springlike warmth in her eyes, the kind that usually seemed capable of melting anything, sealed over in an instant. What remained was a bottomless, chilling cold threaded with possessiveness.
That night, just as Tessa finished washing up and climbed into bed with lingering fear, her phone vibrated softly.
It was a message from Seraphina.
The wording was as gentle as ever, but through the screen, Tessa felt a coldness sharp enough to chill her bones.
[Tessa, I heard you got hurt today. Gym class can get crowded, so accidents happen. Please be more careful from now on. The Student Council was busy today, so I really didn’t have time to come see you. Make sure you rest properly. Also, since you just joined the Student Council, there are still many things you aren’t familiar with. Come to the Student Council office after class tomorrow afternoon. There are some work-related matters I need to explain to you alone.]
The word “alone” made Tessa’s heart pound with dread.
The next afternoon, feeling like she was walking toward an execution ground, Tessa still forced herself to knock on the Student Council office door.
“Come in.”
A cool, gentle voice came from inside.
Tessa pushed open the door. The large office held only Seraphina.
She sat behind a wide desk, wearing a perfectly tailored white women’s suit. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. Her long legs, wrapped in sheer black tights of excellent quality, were crossed with effortless elegance.
The moment she saw Tessa, a gentle smile bloomed on her face. She removed her glasses, stood, and walked gracefully over.
“You’re here. Come sit.”
She naturally took Tessa’s hand and led her to the guest sofa. Then she sat beside Tessa and looked at her with soft concern.
“How is your ankle? Let me see.”
Before Tessa could answer, Seraphina crouched down and gently rolled up Tessa’s pant leg, revealing the ankle that was still faintly red and swollen.
She took an expensive-looking ointment from her bag, scooped out a little with her slender fingers, and carefully applied it to Tessa’s injury. Her voice remained casual, as if they were simply chatting.
“That girl from the athletics department yesterday… Riley Summers, was it? I don’t think I know her very well. How did you become so close to her, Tessa? She seems very good at taking care of people.”
Here it was.
The judgment had finally arrived.
Tessa stiffened all over. She could clearly feel that Seraphina was smiling, but the air around them had nearly dropped below freezing.
At this critical moment, her survival instinct screamed.
A flash of inspiration struck her.
She remembered the new skill she had unlocked but had not yet used.
[Sweet Whisper], activate.
“Seraphina…”
In an instant, Tessa’s voice changed.
Her clear voice seemed to be dipped in the sweetest honey, carrying a trace of heartbreakingly wounded softness. It sounded like a kitten abandoned in the rain at night, and just hearing it made the heart ache.
She lifted her watery amber eyes. Tears gathered there, trembling on the edge of falling.
“I was so scared… When that ball flew toward me yesterday, all I could think about was you. I thought… I thought I might never see you again…”
With the powerful boost from [Sweet Whisper], those words landed like a sugar-coated missile aimed directly at the softest part of Seraphina’s heart.
But that still was not enough.
Tessa hardened her heart and reached out with both arms. Under Seraphina’s stunned gaze, she hugged Seraphina’s slim waist and buried her burning face against the soft, flat curve of her stomach beneath the suit.
Through the thin layer of fabric, she could smell that familiar, comforting gardenia scent.
Her final and most lethal strike came in a muffled voice thick with emotion.
“I’m not close with her… She helped me on her own. No matter how warm someone else’s arms are, they don’t smell like you.”
“I… I only want you to hold me.”
Seraphina’s body went completely stiff.
The eyes that had been flashing with coldness just moments ago lost all reason, all jealousy, all possessiveness. In an instant, everything was overwhelmed and melted by a tidal wave of one emotion.
Tender care.
She only has me in her heart.
Riley Summers really was just an accident.
When she was scared, all she thought about was me. She only wants my embrace.
Seraphina’s powerful ability to convince herself, catalyzed by [Sweet Whisper], reached a height it had never reached before.
She could no longer maintain her composed, superior calm.
Lowering her head, she looked at the girl in her arms, clinging to her like a frightened little animal and trembling slightly all over. Only endless tenderness remained in her heart.
Seraphina reached out and hugged Tessa tightly.
So tightly.
She pulled Tessa fully into her arms, as if she wanted to fold her completely into her embrace.