Chapter 71

The hallway was packed, and all eyes were on Natalie's mom losing her temper.

Her daughter clearly tried to hurt someone, ended up hurting herself, and yet here she was, making a scene instead of reflecting on her parenting.If anything,her outburst only proved the saying: like mother, like daughter.

Nancy,already humiliated, was now seething with rage.With shaky hands, she pulled out a glass bottle filled with concentrated sulfuric acid from her bag, twisted the cap off, and hurled it forward.

At that split second, a tiny silhouette shot out from the side pouch of Megan's backpack like a bullet-it was Nova Tech.

The little robot darted towards the bottle, pushing it mid-air, flipping the liquid's path. Instead of hitting Megan and Rachel Reid, the acid splashed straight back at Nancy herself.

A blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

The bottle shattered into shards on the floor, fumes rising.

Everyone turned and saw Nancy's hair smoking, hands trembling as she tried to shield her face, only to realize she didn't dare touch herself. Her face was already beyond recognition-skin blackened, one eye melted, grotesque and terrifying.

People around either shrieked and bolted or whipped out their phones to record.

Nova Tech zipped back onto Megan's shoulder, voice steady and heroic, the usual sweet tone gone. "Nova's brave! Protecting my princess!"

Megan looked at Nancy, whose twisted face reflected her own twisted heart. The warmth in her eyes was instantly replaced by coldness.

Sure, a mom loving her daughter was natural. But blindly defending her when both mom and daughter had crossed the line? That wasn't love-it was madness.

If Nova hadn't jumped in just now, she and Rachel would've been the ones disfigured today.

Soon,the whir of sirens filled the air. Paramedics and police arrived.

Nancy was rushed to the hospital while Megan and Rachel were taken to the station for questioning.Police also randomly picked witnesses among the crowd.

Tristan was still in a meeting when Ryan, the head of Criminal Investigations, called with the news.

The second he heard someone had thrown acid, he dropped everything and rushed to the station. As Megan stepped out of the interview room, she was instantly pulled into a familiar, firm embrace.

"Why didn't you call me?" Tristan's voice was low.

Just as Megan tilted her head to answer, he pressed it back to his chest. "Do you think I'm just furniture to be ignored?"

Megan glanced sideways at Rachel, who raised both hands in mock innocence. "Don't look at me! I didn't say anything!"

So,clearly Ryan spilled the beans.

Damn that tattletale!

She wrapped her arms tight around Tristan's waist and murmured, "I'm fine, really. Didn't want to interrupt your work."

Tristan leaned closer and bit gently on her earlobe."So,I was too gentle last night,huh?"

That slight huskiness in his voice almost made her knees give out.

Just thinking about how they'd gotten heated last night but stopped right at the edge made even her ears blush.

She reached back and pinched his muscled back-but ugh,he was way too solid to even squish.

Rachel,watching this public display of affection from the sidelines, cleared her throat. "You two are shameless.Animal abuse, I'm reporting you."

Megan smirked, cheek resting against Tristan's chest. Don't act like you're all alone. Your man's here."

Rachel turned to see Kai standing there, cool and aloof like always. She immediately dashed toward him.

His lips curled just a little-barely noticeable-as he said in his calm voice, "Come on. I'll take you home."Watching Rachel hop along after Kai like an excited bunny, Tristan said, "When Rachel was six, she went on a road trip with her parents. But their car was hit head -on by a truck. The driver? Drunk. Had 90mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Her parents died instantly.Somehow,Rachel survived. Her aunt later adopted her from an orphanage and renamed her Rachel."

Megan felt a wave of compassion wash over her."She's had it rough, but also kind of lucky in her own way. Really hope she and Kai work out."

Tristan gently patted her back, his voice soft. "Don't worry,they will."

After dropping Megan off at Dreamscape Manor,Tristan had lunch with his grandfather and then headed back to work.

With only two days leftto submit her designs, Megan planted herself at her desk all afternoon. She created six dress styles and one pendant- seven sketches in total. After scanning them, she attached the files in an email with a note: [These are the new LX pieces. All materials are marked out. Finish in 3 days. There's a fashion and jewelry design competition this Saturday - come to Verduria.]

The reply came instantly: [At your service, my Queen LiMo

Megan selected three dress sketches and the pendant rendering, slipped them into a kraft paper envelope for submission. The first round required initial designs;only those selected got to compete in the finals. But with her skills? She was already prepping for the finals ahead of time.

She leaned back, stretching with a small smug smile

But as soon as her back touched the chair, she jumped up in surprise. Eyes wide, she blinked at the unexpected presence. "Weren't you playing chess with Grandpa? When did you sneak in?"

Zeta Prime gave a creepy little chuckle. "Zeta's just too clever. Grandpa bailed on the game. I went silent mode. You were so dialed into your work, you didn't even notice me."

Megan suddenly remembered sending that email earlier. "You saw my screen, didn't you?"

Zeta waved its robotic arms frantically, "Nope, nope!Zeta didn't see anything! Promise!"

Yeah,right!

Are you kidding me?!

Megan narrowed her eyes, knowing Zeta's loose lips could blurt outanything at any time.

She circled the bot, arms crossed. "Zeta, do you know what happens to traitors around here?"

Zeta nodded with dramatic seriousness. "They get dismantled."

"Exactly."

Zeta's survival instincts kicked in: "C'mon, just let me off easy, okay? I'm blind as a bat, didn't see a thing!"

Megan chuckled inwardly. This annoying hunk of metal was way too clever.

Just as she was about to tell Zeta to scram, Nova Tech popped out of a side pouch.

"Nova's scan indicates Zeta's filled with mutiny. Based on data analysis, there's a high risk this guy's gonna snitch! Best course of action: dismantle immediately!"

Zeta's round head spun with a click, red lights glowing in its eyes. "Nova's just jealous! Jealous of Zeta's genius and cuteness! Zeta will dismantle you first,you drama queen!"

And just like that, in the soft, pastel-colored room.the robot war was on.

Megan looked at the two clunky tin cans threatening each other and let out a long sigh.

"Stop!" she yelled.