“You’re a university security team member, Bonnie. Since they’ve entrusted you with keeping that painting safe, you’ll have to ensure it does not come in harm’s way. People are about to arrive, and you can’t afford to make a single mistake.
“After all, you can’t pay for it if it gets lost or something,” Selina spoke in a highly unfriendly tone as she stared at Bonnie.
The latter smirked and gazed into Selina’s eyes, saying, “Don’t worry. I might lose interest in you, but I won’t lose the painting.”
Selina grunted and mocked Bonnie, “Hmph, confident, are you? Watch out, or your confidence might be your undoing. When that happens, you can’t return from it.”
י
“Thanks, but I don’t need your concern.” Bonnie raised her chin. “I’m just that confident in myself. If I say the painting won’t go missing, it won’t.”
Selina was stumped. She gritted her teeth, wishing to rip Bonnie to pieces. “Don’t celebrate just yet. If you end up losing the painting, the university will expel you.”
“Again, I don’t need your concern. If you have time to poke your nose in my business, you should use it worrying about yourself.”
Immediately after, Bonnie’s phone rang. She looked at it and saw Terry’s name.
‘He wouldn’t call me if it weren’t urgent. Did something go wrong at the research institute?’
With that in mind, Bonnie answered the call, “What’s wrong?”
Terry immediately replied, “It’s about the augmentation research for the latest nanomaterial. We ran into some severe issues here.”
Bonnie glanced at Selina sidelong before looking away and saying hushedly, “I can’t speak now. Give me a minute. I’ll find a place to talk.” “Understood, Ms. Bonita,” Terry replied and waited for Bonnie on the call.
Meanwhile, Selina watched Bonnie leave and then gazed at the painting, which was worth a fortune. Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed her mind.
‘I can steal the painting and make the Knights think Bonnie screwed up. Then, they’ll punish her severely. Better yet, they might kick her out of Pyralis and ban her from returning for the rest of her life.
‘Still, the university might be able to track it back to me if I do that. If that happens, I can’t escape the Knights’ wrath.’ Selina was wrestling with her thoughts when she realized something vital.
‘The university needs to safeguard the privacy of every collection from the various families. That’s why they formed a security team of students instead of installing security cameras. That means I just have to tread carefully, and no one notice.’
Although she thought about it that way, she was still conflicted. Then, she saw Coleman approaching in his university uniform, looking stunning and elegant.
Adoration filled Selina’s eyes as she stared at him. She blushed and waved to greet him, “Hi, Coleman. Are you—”
To her surprise, he walked past her before she could finish her sentence. In the past, he would at least greet her and smile out of courtesy. However, he regarded her as a stranger now.
