Chapter 171:

Elyse's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Jayden. He returned her gaze calmly. Had he really just bitten her like a dog? Refusing to be outdone, Elyse pinched his thigh again. Despite the pain, Jayden, frustrated by her boldness, bit her lip once more. Tears welled in her eyes, and she groaned, struggling to free herself.

Just then, Freddy arrived with a notice, only to find Elyse moaning in the muscular man's embrace, their lips locked in a kiss. The sight was shocking, especially in a public place. Stunned, Freddy turned away, but remembering the notice, he hesitantly turned back.

"This is a new notification, Elyse. I think it's important. You should take a look," Freddy said, one hand shielding his eyes, the other holding the notice as if ready to flee.

Elyse felt mortified. Her mind went blank, and she remained frozen in Jayden's embrace. Jayden released her, took the notice from Freddy, glanced at it, and handed it to Elyse. "Take a look," he urged.

Peeking through his fingers, Freddy watched closely. Why were they both still dressed properly? Realizing his misunderstanding, he sighed in relief. Elyse stiffly took the notice, read it, and snapped to attention. "Gary Hank has pulled out of the competition."

"Completely unexpected," Freddy responded. "I heard Grace Fuller and Bart Gino visited Merlin. Although I'm close to Bart, he wouldn't share details about his meeting with the director. I suspect something suspicious is going on."

Standing, Elyse murmured, "The notice was released because Merlin worried Gary might change his mind. This prevents Gary from backing out and continuing to campaign, ensuring Darren Reynolds faces no further rivals." She couldn't let Merlin's plan succeed. She needed to talk to Grace and Bart.

"Jayden, I have something to do. Go to the lounge and wait for me." Noticing her determination, he waved, dismissing her. With a smile, Elyse hurried off.

Seeing her go, Freddy touched his nose awkwardly and said to Jayden, "I know you two are together, but could you keep it down? This is a public place. Save it for home."

Jayden glanced at him. "You're overthinking it. Consider yourself lucky I saw that. Someone else would have started rumors by now."

Jayden said calmly, "You should be grateful it was you. Otherwise, someone else would have had the chance to gossip." Freddy felt a chill as Jayden's gaze lingered before he left. He realized how precarious the situation had been.

After some time, Elyse found Bart in the lounge, cradling a violin and lost in thought. She sat across from him. Bart looked up, recognized her, and asked, "What's up?"

"I know Merlin asked you to drop out of the election. I want you to refuse," she said.

"How do you know? I think he suggested it for my own good. Besides, I'm not even sure I can win."

"Can you promise you'll be concertmaster next year? Gary has already withdrawn. He agreed to Merlin's terms, thinking he'd be concertmaster next year. All he got were empty promises," Elyse explained.

Stunned, Bart realized Merlin had spoken to Elyse as well. "Did he say the same to you?" he asked.

"There was no guarantee either of us would be concertmaster next year," Elyse's expression hardened. "Yes, but I refused. I want to compete. I want Cody to choose me."

Jayden interjected, surprised, "So the rumor about Cody scouting for new talent isn't baseless?"

"It's true. That's why Merlin is so concerned about this competition. He wants us out of the picture so Cody doesn't notice us," Elyse concluded firmly.

...