Chapter 273: That Kind of Welcome?

Sierra hid the sarcasm in her eyes. Halfway through lunch, she went to the restroom. Stepping out, she saw Shane waiting; she wasn't surprised. His absence would have been far stranger.

“What do you want?” she asked, cutting straight to the point. “Come to avenge Kason?”

Shane let out a low laugh. “Kason? That idiot got what he deserved. He’s got nothing to do with me. We go way back, you and I—this is the kind of welcome I get?”

His eyes locked on hers, searching. But there was no fear, no hesitation—nothing to feed on. His smile faded.

“You forgot me already? It hasn’t been that long. I’m actually kinda hurt.”

To an outsider, it might have sounded like exes catching up. But Sierra knew better. She knew what he was fishing for.

“That part of my life is over,” she said coolly. “So are the people in it.” She knew what he craved: panic, dread, humiliation. That used to be her reaction every time she saw him. But she wasn’t that girl anymore. All she wanted now was for Shane to join Kason in the ground. That was it.

Shane studied her a moment longer. Finding nothing to his liking, his expression cooled further. Then, to her surprise, he smiled.

“You know what? This version of you isn’t bad. See you around.”

He waved, as if they were old friends, then turned and walked away. Sierra watched him go, frowning. She had no clue what his next move would be, but he definitely wasn’t done.

The next morning, she found out exactly what he was planning. She barely made it into the lab building before security stopped her.

“Hey! These flowers are for you.”

“For me?” she asked, confused. A giant bouquet of roses sat at the front desk. Autumn came walking up and gasped. “Damn, Mr. Yeager really went all out. These are gorgeous!”

“I didn’t know anything about this,” Sierra said with a strained smile. She picked up the bouquet and glanced at the card. Her face turned to stone. Without a word, she walked over and dropped the entire thing straight in the trash.

“Hey, what the hell? Why would you—” Autumn stopped, seeing Sierra’s icy, unmoving gaze. She kept quiet after that.

Later, when Sierra’s expression softened slightly, Autumn asked, “That wasn’t from Mr. Yeager?”

“Nope,” Sierra said. She didn’t explain further, and Autumn didn’t push. Sierra thought that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.

Day after day, the roses kept coming—bigger, more extravagant, imported. On day seven, the bouquet contained 999 stems. Every single one ended up in the trash. Of course, it didn’t take long for the whole school to start talking.

“Who’s trying to chase Sierra? Don’t they know who she’s dating?” “Does Jonathan even know about this?” “I mean, Sierra’s amazing. It’s not that weird. She’s not married—people are allowed to shoot their shot.”

Apparently encouraged by the mystery sender, more gifts started piling up: flowers, chocolates, letters. Autumn was gushing. “You’re like a magnet. Honestly, I’m kinda worried for Jonathan.”

Sierra smiled tightly. She knew exactly what Shane was doing. He wasn’t chasing her; he was provoking Jonathan. This wasn’t about love; it was about control. Shane was a lunatic. He’d made it clear that Jonathan was his next target. And now that he knew who Jonathan was, he wouldn’t back off. He’d only become more obsessed.

Sierra exhaled slowly. Then she pulled up the blocked number and hit redial. It rang only twice.

“Sierra,” Shane said smoothly. “Finally. Took you long enough. Did you like the flowers?”

“Don’t you touch Jonathan.” Her voice was flat and hard.

Shane laughed. “What, now that Grandma’s gone, he’s your new savior?”

“Shane,” her voice dropped like ice. “Whatever you’re planning, bring it to me. Leave him out of it.”