Chapter 97- Seed of doubts (3)

::How. dare. you. touch. my. Aria.::

The words echoed through the air, silencing the crowd of students who had been watching the scene unfold.

Avendial's voice, filled with raw intensity, lingered in the courtyard like a storm cloud, drowning out even the sound of Lin's painful collapse.

For a brief moment, no one dared to breathe.

'Oh my God,' thought one of Aria's friends, her hands covering her mouth as if she could hold back a gasp.

Her mind raced, struggling to process the sudden shift from confrontation to what felt like a romantic proclamation.

"Did the professor just say Aria is his?" a student whispered, wide-eyed, too focused on Avendial's words to notice Lin, who was now writhing in agony on the ground.

"Professor and Aria? Together? No way!"

"Woot woot!" a student whistled, breaking the tension, and cheers erupted from the crowd, their enthusiasm infectious as they fed off the potential scandal unfolding before them.