Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses Chapter 89: The Interrupted Date

[A/N: Please re-read previous Chapters, I edited them. Also, drop reviews and powerstones!]

"ASHER!"

The sharp voice cut through the peaceful afternoon, instantly shattering the comfortable silence that had settled between Asher and Tracy as they made their way toward the teleportation zone. Both of them turned in unison, their eyes landing on a girl sitting rigidly in a wheelchair.

"Natalia," Asher replied, his voice carrying a note of ’surprise’ as he offered her a gentle smile. But the smile faltered slightly when he noticed she wasn’t looking at his face at all. Her gaze was fixed firmly on their interlaced fingers, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of their joined hands.

It had been Tracy who had initiated the contact, her fingers sliding between his as they walked, but that detail seed irrelevant now. What mattered to Natalia was the obvious intimacy of the gesture, the kind of public display that typically ant only one thing.

"Oh, it’s that junior," Tracy murmured under her breath, recognition dawning in her voice. She rembered their first eting clearly—how Natalia had been with Asher when Tracy had practically thrown herself at him in what she now realized was an embarrassingly obvious attempt to get his attention.

Asher’s hand slipped away from Tracy’s as he stepped forward, and she couldn’t help the frustrated click of her tongue that escaped her lips. Her arms folded across her chest as she watched him approach the younger girl. Of course, sothing had to interrupt, she thought bitterly.

"What are you doing here alone?" Asher asked, crouching down so he was at eye level with Natalia. His voice carried genuine concern as he glanced around the area. "Where’s Nora?"

Natalia’s lips pressed into a thin line before she answered. "She’s... not here."

Asher’s brow furrowed with ’worry’ as he continued scanning their surroundings, as if expecting Nora to materialize from behind one of the nearby buildings. "I see," he said finally, his voice soft with ’understanding’. After a mont of ’contemplation’, he asked, "Where were you headed?"

He asked, but she just stared at him blankly.

"Hey there!" Tracy finally approached, her voice bright and cheerful as she waved enthusiastically. She had plastered on her most infectious smile. But Natalia didn’t even acknowledge her presence. She continued staring at Asher with that sa dark, unreadable expression that was beginning to make even Tracy annoyed.

"Natalia?" Asher prompted gently, ’concern’ evident in his tone.

Finally, she spoke. "Can you help back to my dorm?"

The simple request hung in the air between them. Asher glanced back at Tracy, who was trying her best to hide her frustration behind a mask of understanding. Her eyes rolled skyward briefly before she caught herself and forced a resigned smile.

Of course, Tracy thought, her internal monologue growing more agitated. Of fucking course there had to be sothing.

The pattern was becoming painfully familiar. First, it had been right before the team assignnt test when his group mbers had appeared out of nowhere and whisked him away. Then there was that incident with the girl who had nearly killed him, landing him in the infirmary for two weeks. After that, so other drama she still didn’t fully understand had gone down in his dorm room, earning him another extended stay in the dical wing. Next ca Carlla, that unstable girl who had nearly succeeded where the first attacker had failed.

And now, just when Tracy had convinced herself that nothing would stop them from having this date... THIS.

"Sure," Asher said.

Tracy sighed deeply, but managed to maintain her smile. What’s wrong with ? she chided herself internally. She’s disabled and she’s a junior. I should be helping her, not resenting her.

The self-reproach only added to her frustration. She wasn’t sure why she always seed to react this way when it ca to situations involving Asher. She’d like to believe it was love at first sight—it sounded romantic and justified her intense feelings. Any other explanation would make her seem crazy, which she definitely wasn’t. Right?

But she couldn’t deny the truth of her reactions. Whenever she heard that sothing had happened to Asher, a deep, primal fear would grip her chest. It felt like she was about to lose sothing infinitely precious, like a piece of her very soul was at risk. It was the sa overwhelming sensation she’d experienced when she first laid eyes on him, which explained why she’d acted like such an obsessive stalker in those early days.

She had never felt anything like it before in her entire life.

That intense connection was why she seed to lose all sense of normalcy when he was involved, and if she was being honest with herself, it was getting worse. When that girl had attacked him before the team assignnt test, Tracy’s first instinct had been to kill her. She had barely managed to restrain herself, settling for knocking the attacker unconscious instead. With Carlla, when Tracy had learned what had happened, it had taken every ounce of her self-control not to do sothing she might regret.

But she was beginning to realize that her protective instincts were growing stronger, more possessive with each passing day. The scary part? She didn’t hate the feeling.

I’m not insane, she told herself firmly. I’m just a normal, lovable girl who happens to be in love.

"Let’s go," Asher announced, moving to grasp the handles of Natalia’s wheelchair. He began pushing her toward the second-year platinum building, the wheels making soft sounds against the pathway.

Tracy fell into step beside them, her hands clasped behind her back as she adopted a cheerful skipping gait. She was acutely aware of the curious stares they were attracting from other students, but she maintained her bright smile despite the awkwardness of the situation.

"Asher," she said suddenly, her voice cutting through the ambient noise of campus life.

"What?" he responded, glancing over at her while continuing to navigate the wheelchair.

"Do you... Still rember nothing?" The question ca out more hesitantly than she had intended.

He nodded, his expression growing thoughtful. "No, nothing’s co back yet. Why do you ask?"

"I just..." she paused, searching for the right words. "I wanted to know more about you, I guess." She offered him a smile, but there was sothing strained about it, as if she was holding back more than she was revealing.

Without warning, Asher stopped pushing the wheelchair. "What?" Tracy asked, confused by the sudden halt.

Instead of answering imdiately, he reached over and gently stroked her head, his fingers threading through her hair with a tenderness that caught her completely off guard. The simple gesture sent an overwhelming wave of comfort washing over her, so intense that she nearly stumbled from the emotional impact.

"Well, isn’t that sweet?" he said, his voice warm with genuine affection.

Tracy felt her heart rate spike so dramatically that she was genuinely concerned she might be having a cardiac event. The blood rushed to her cheeks, and she had to fight to keep her breathing steady.

Oh god, she thought, her eyes widening as the full implications of her feelings hit her. I don’t think there’s any escaping this anymore.