Chapter 354
They were all begging for mercy, but couldn’t even manage to spit out a full sentence between the blows.
Who would’ve thought they’d run into Mr. Ashcroft today?
And without a word, he just started swinging!
Their previous injuries hadn’t even healed, and now they were getting roughed up again.
Jasper was off to the side, munching on a bag of peanuts and chuckling at the spectacle.
He’d heard they saw from the security footage that Elian had shown up, so he skipped dinner just to catch the action.
And boy, was it worth it.
Sure, Elian was rough, but he knew where to hit.
The kind of hits that hurt like hell but didn’t cause any serious damage.
That was the mark of a professional.
Just like Miranda, from what Hugo and the rest had griped about, she had a similar style when she dealt with them.
Though, to be fair, Miranda didn’t hit quite as hard as Elian.
But this?
Oof, just watching it made one wince.
“Mr. Ashcroft, we messed up. We’re good with Ms. Lancaster now!”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re in the same group chat! Stop hitting us, please!”
“We didn’t know you guys actually knew each other!”
Before that day’s race, they thought all the online gossip was just that–gossip.
Celeste had told them that Miranda was the one trying to cozy up to Elian and Sebastian.
In their minds, any woman who’d do that couldn’t be up to any good, oblivious to her own place.
They looked at her with disdain and ridicule.
Those prejudices only evaporated after the racing incident.
In the past few days, they had pieced together Miranda’s history from the internet.
Only then did they realize how utterly wrong they had been.
They couldn’t believe they’d taken Celeste’s word over the mountain of evidence online.
After learning the truth about Miranda, they almost wanted to slap themselves for how they’d treated her.
So today, they had specifically called Miranda over, intending to apologize properly, with gifts in tow.
But they hadn’t been waiting long before Elian showed up.
And with him, a flurry of punches.
They were too stunned to react.
Just then, a cool, questioning voice cut through the air.
“What are you guys doing?”
As he heard that voice, the fist that was about to drop hung suspended in the air.
10:06
He slowly straightened up, turning to look at Miranda who had just arrived.
Hugo and the others turned to look too, their eyes lighting up as if they’d seen a savior.
Miranda frowned, seeing that Hugo and his buddies‘ eyes practically screamed “Help us.”
Did they call her over just to watch them get beat up?
Elian’s lips curled into a smile, his previously fierce eyes now glowing with delight.
He let go of the guy he’d been holding and made a beeline for Miranda.
He moved so quickly that before she could even say “Eli.” she found herself wrapped in a warm embrace.
The heat from his broad chest seeped into her skin, spreading through her entire body.
She froze for a moment.
But the man holding her only tightened his grip.
She felt like her entire body was being enveloped.
She had no conscious desire to resist; she just let herself be held tight. The relaxed state rendered her an opportunity to scrutinize; she felt so small in his arms, like she could be easily crushed under his strength.
Meanwhile, the others around them were gaping.
Hugo stammered, completely floored, “They… they really… they’re…”
The rest of the guys were just as dumbstruck.
“So the rumors are true.”
“Oh man, we’re so screwed. They’re a couple, we’re gonna get double–teamed, aren’t we?”
Miranda tried to push away from the man holding her tight, but he wouldn’t budge.
Those strong arms felt like they were welded onto her.
“I knew you’d come find me.”
His warm breath brushed against her neck, each word filled with unrestrained joy.
