Chapter 104: Selena
Chapter 104: Selena
Selena’s POV
The car shrieked to a violent stop right in front of the gates of West Sterlingo High, the tires screeching so loudly it rattled the bones in my body.
Before the engine even finished coughing into silence, I shoved the door open and stumbled out, my heels skidding against the asphalt.
The world tilted violently.
Without a second’s dignity, I bent over and puked right there on the sidewalk, the contents of my stomach splattering the pristine curb. My hands gripped my knees, my head swimming, the bitter taste burning my throat as I heaved again, the aftermath of the reckless ride still tearing through me.
I barely managed to wipe my mouth with the back of my trembling hand, my body shuddering from the shock.
But when I dared to glance back-
Kaiden wasn’t even looking at me.
He was already out of the car, the door swinging wide open behind him, forgotten. His hands were fisted so tightly they trembled, and his chest heaved with frantic breaths but not beacuse for me.
His eyes, wild and fierce, darted over the school building like a wolf searching for a lost pup. There was no flicker of concern for me in his eyes, no pause, no second spared.
I could’ve been choking to death right behind him and he wouldn’t have noticed. And he wants me to trust my daughter with such a careless lazy ass like him? What a joke!
The ride here was a nightmare. As expected from rich dad’s spoiled brat.
Kaiden drove like a demon possessed–blazing through every red light, cutting through traffic as if the rules of the road were merely suggestions. He didn’t ease up on the speed even once, not even for god’s sake. Not even when horns blared. Not even when other cars swerved in sheer terror. Not even when I screamed at him to slow down.
I wonder if I’d damaged the seat when my nails were digging into it like a desperate lifeline, trying to hold on as if the car might send me hurtling off the edge of a cliff at any moment.
For now, I could only be grateful he hadn’t listened because nothing mattered much than the singular need burning through
But for the “aving my daughter. Finding Lucy.
I made a silent, carved–into–stone mental note: Never. Ever. Get into a car Kaiden Sterwalt is driving again. Never.
Not even when I had a death wish. There are far better ways to die than being found drenched in your own puke and urine.
“Check the classrooms!” Kaiden barked, his voice breaking with panic as his frantic eyes scanned the towering school building. “I’ll check the practice field!”
I grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at me.
“Why would you go to the practice field?” I snapped, my voice sharp with accusation.
If someone has to find her first then it would be me. Not him. Lucy was my daughter.
Mine.
The practice field was where she would most likely be–probably alone–and I will not spare any chances for that silver- spooned playboy to be alone with her.
“I’ll go to the practice field,” I said, already stepping back toward the open path. “You go search the classes.”
“Wh-” Kaiden blinked, momentarily stunned, confusion flashing across his face–but the panic quickly swallowed it whole. He hesitated for barely a heartbeat, torn between arguing and the desperate urgency pounding between us. Then, with a raw breath, he gave in. “A–um, okay… fine. Gó!” he stammered, his voice cracking under the strain.
He didn’t waste another second arguing.
Maybe he really was worried about her.
Maybe, for once, the storm raging in his chest was due to worry and not just another aftermath of relentless sex.
Either way, I was already running.
My heels clattering against the ground, my heart slamming against my ribs, fueled by nothing but the need to find Lucy first. The moment I crossed the gate, my footsteps faltered in hesitation.
Panic prickled the back of my neck.
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I realized I didn’t even know where the practice field was.
“Ah–um–where’s the practice field?” I called out after Kaiden, my voice embarrassingly small, my cheeks flushing with heat. “For Christ’s sake, it’s on your right!” he snapped, his arm slicing through the air as he pointed before disappearing into the building, running like his life depended on it.
The second he was gone, I bolted.
My heels skidded on the concrete as I turned sharply to the right, my heart thudding vigorously with each desperate step.
The cool evening air sliced into my lungs as I sprinted, my hair whipping around my face in wild tangles.
Each breath felt heavier than the last, my legs screaming in protest, my chest tightening painfully.
Still, I pushed harder, fueled by pure fear.
By the time I reached the edge of the practice field, I was a complete mess-
Huffing, puffing, my mouth dry, my chest heaving as if I’d just run a marathon.
I doubled over, clutching my knees, my vision swimming from the sudden exertion.
When I finally straightened, dragging in a shuddering breath-
My heart sank.
The field was empty.
Utterly, heartbreakingly empty.
The wide stretch of green sprawled in eerie stillness beneath the darkening sky, the faded white hockey lines now little more than ghostly traces under the heavy, bruised clouds churning overhead.
The cold evening wind howled through the empty bleachers, a mournful sound that rattled the rusted flags along the sidelines, making them slap weakly against their poles, as if even they had grown too tired to stand tall.
The goals stood like silent sentinels at each end of the field, their nets swaying eerily in the breeze.
Not a single soul in sight.
No laughter.
No footsteps.
No Lucy.
“Shit,” I cursed, my voice little more than a broken whisper swallowed by the wind.
“Where the hell are you, Lucy?” I muttered, spinning on my heel again.
I couldn’t waste another second.
If she wasn’t here–she had to be somewhere inside.
Maybe a classroom.
Maybe the locker room.
My sandals thudded against the ground as I took off again, running back toward the building, the angry wind chasing at my heels.
“Did you find her?” I gasped out, nearly collapsing against the doorframe as I reached the classroom, still huffing and puffing from my sprint.
My whole body felt overheated and shaky from running; strands of my hair clung to my damp forehead, and I pressed a trembling hand against the door to steady myself.
My throat burned from the cold evening air I’d gulped down, and a dull ache was spreading through my calves, but none of that mattered compared to the sinking panic eating away at my gut.
Kaiden stood near the center of the room, stiff and wired like a coiled spring. His breathing was shallow too, his chest rising and falling under his jacket in rapid, jerky motions. He didn’t even glance at me.
His hazel eyes, wild and restless, kept scanning the rows of empty desks and chairs, as if Lucy is not a human but a lost geometry box hidden in some tiny forgotten corner.
He gave a short, frustrated shake of his head. “No,”
“Then what the fuck are you searching here like a lazy ass?” I shot at him, my voice low but biting, laced with fury. “A geometry box or a packet of weed?” I couldn’t help the taunt that slipped out; my anger flared in waves, especially at the way he was just… stalling.
Kaiden didn’t even blink. His focus remained locked on the empty classroom, his jaw clenched so tight that it looked like it
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might crack. No response. No acknowledgment. Nothing.
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The silence between us was suffocating. And with every second of him not moving not doing what needed to be done — my frustration spiraled. My blood was boiling.
“Arrogant bastard!” I muttered under my breath, my teeth grinding together. How could he be so calm in this moment? He had no idea what it was like to feel this panic, this helplessness. My hands trembled at my sides, not from exhaustion but from the fire of anger and fear mixing inside me.
I couldn’t stop. I had to push him. “Did you check the girls‘ locker room?” I demanded, my voice cold, biting through the
tension in the air.
“Yeah,” he muttered, barely sparing me a glance. The sharpness of his words only fueled my irritation more. He was so damn detached, as if he didn’t care at all. His focus stayed fixed, not on me, but on every inch of the classroom like Lucy might just appear between the rows of empty desks.
I snapped, my voice turning sharper, colder. “Did you check their bathroom?” I pressed, forcing every ounce of authority, could muster into my words. This was no time for him to be stalling. No time for him to be playing around like it was some
game.
Kaiden froze for a fraction of a second – just a fraction and that was all I needed to know.
“No, I didn’t,” he admitted, jaw tightening in a way that made a muscle jump at the side of his face.
I felt a surge of anger that almost knocked the wind out of me.
“How can you be so dumb?” I snapped, my voice cracking under the weight of my fear. The classroom felt too small, too heavy, the stale air thick in my lungs. “Go and check right now, you fool!”
The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.
My daughter was missing. Every second felt like a hammer driving nails into my skull.
Kaiden flinched at my tone, his whole body going rigid.
For a heartbeat, it looked like he might lash out, some storm gathering behind his hazel eyes – his brow furrowed so deep that angry lines etched across his forehead, and his left eye twitched, a clear sign of frustration boiling just under his skin.
But he didn’t argue.
He didn’t even open his mouth.
He just clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white, spun around sharply, walked past me and sprinted out of
the room.
Lucy is a bitch. She keeps attracting her stepbrothers, but if only Kaiden could have controlled himself, how much happier our lives would be. He used to bring supermodel–level hot girls into the home and fuck them for hours in his bedroom, so hard that sometimes their moans could reach my bedroom. With his money, looks, and stamina, he could have had any girl he wanted. So why, in the unfortunate hell, did he choose my ungrateful, average–looking daughter and made my life more miserable than ever?
To be continued…
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