Chapter 1518:
Corrine didn’t answer. But the faint blush that bloomed across her cheeks betrayed her, and she shot him a glare that lacked any real heat.
Behind them, Irene followed in silence, her eyes locked on the pair ahead. Her jaw tightened, her fists clenched at her sides. Envy coiled in her chest like smoke.
That woman was nothing but a seductress. What did Nate see in her? They continued on, passing through the slope of the mountain trail until it opened into a dense forest beyond.
The trees gave way to movement—people scattered across the training grounds, their bodies weaving between branches, dirt kicked up underfoot. Corrine paused, watching them for a moment. Then a quiet laugh slipped from her lips. “So… their training mission today is to get beaten up?”
Nate glanced toward Jerome, who immediately stepped forward, catching the cue. “These are elite candidates from all over the country. Only the harshest training filters out the best.”
Corrine nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing as something caught her attention—mechanical wings hovering above. “Drones?”
“Anyone spotted by aerial surveillance is disqualified on the spot,” Jerome responded smoothly.
Corrine arched a brow. There was something strangely familiar about it all.
Just then, a low alert buzzed in Jerome’s earpiece. His expression shifted as he leaned closer to Nate and murmured, “Mr. Hopkins, there’s an issue in the design department. They’d like you to take a look.”
Nate’s jaw tensed slightly. He turned to Corrine. “Would you like to come with?”
She shook her head with a faint smile. “You go ahead. The scenery here is lovely—I’d rather take a walk on my own.”
gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰0𝗺; 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝗌𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒𝑔𝓮𝓁
Nate hesitated, clearly unwilling to leave her alone, but when she met his gaze with quiet insistence, he finally gave a reluctant nod. “Alright.”
After Nate departed, Irene’s gaze fixed on Corrine’s slender back. Her eyes narrowed, a faint tension drawing her lips into a firm line. Without hesitation, she stepped forward. “Miss Holland, is it?”
She had attempted to approach Corrine earlier, but Jerome had constantly intercepted her—deliberately or not.
Now that she finally had a window of opportunity, Irene did not waste it. Her eyes roamed over Corrine with unapologetic scrutiny, dissecting every detail without the slightest pretense of subtlety.
Irene had grown up alongside Jerome. They had both survived the rigorous assessments and remained at the experimental base ever since.
Throughout all those years, not once had she seen Nate with a woman at his side.
Not once had he shown the faintest spark of interest in anyone.
Even Elva, the illustrious heiress of the Quinn family—powerful, graceful, and adored by many—had failed to stir so much as a glance from him.
Yet the woman before her… this Miss Holland. There had been no shortage of rumors. Whispers claimed she was exceptional, rare, unlike the rest. But to Irene’s eye, she merely appeared more attractive than Elva Quinn from the Independent Continent.
Nothing more. She could not see what made Corrine special. Not in the way people seemed to speak of her.
Just a pretty face. That was all. And yet—she stood beside Nate, occupying a place no one else had ever touched.
Resentment simmered beneath Irene’s calm exterior, flaring in the quiet rage behind her eyes. Corrine noticed. She tilted her head slightly, offering a faint smile that carried both amusement and challenge. “It seems you have quite the grudge against me.”
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