Chapter 212: Chapter 212 Jealous
"I hate it!" Drake muttered with his nose scrunched up, making the kind of dramatic face only a little dragon could manage.
Alina chuckled softly, leaning closer. "Drake... are you bored with teacher already?" she asked, pretending to sound sad as her eyes curved into a playful smile.
Drake froze, his big amber eyes going wide as though she had accused him of the greatest crime in the world. "No! I am not!" he said quickly, shaking his head in a panic.
Alina couldn’t hold back her laughter. She reached out and patted his arm gently. "Hahaha, it’s alright, sweetheart. You don’t have to sit with me the whole way. You can go and have fun with your friends too."
The moment the words left her lips, Drake’s whole face lit up. His eyes sparkled like two golden suns, and he almost bounced in place. "Really, teacher?" he asked, his voice brimming with hope.
"Yes," Alina said with a nod, and before she could even finish, he was already clapping his hands excitedly. "Then please move, move, move!" he said, waving his arms impatiently for her to make space.
Alina chuckled helplessly and shifted aside, and Drake shot out of his seat like an arrow loosed from a bow. His tiny feet pattered across the floor as he rushed to the back, his laughter echoing through the space.
The whole vehicle suddenly came alive. Boo popped out from under a seat and started spinning in midair around him. Luna growled playfully, pretending she was about to chase him. Rocky peeked nervously from behind Kelpie but ended up giggling when Drake patted his head. Even Vlad Jr. sighed, adjusting his little cape as though trying to hide his smile while watching his energetic friend.
Alina leaned back in her seat, shaking her head fondly. Her heart warmed as she watched Drake bring so much life into the space. His energy seemed to ripple through everyone, chasing away the silence and replacing it with giggles and shouts.
And just across from her, Dante leaned back in his chair, his red eyes locked not on the children this time, but on the woman smiling so brightly at them.
"Sir, how much time will it take to reach there?" Alina asked, her eyes darting between the happy, bouncing babies at the back and the imposing man seated so close to her.
"One hour," Dante replied simply, his voice calm, deep, and absolute, as if even time itself obeyed him.
Alina nodded quickly, pressing her lips together. Her fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap, twisting at the fabric of her sleeve as the silence between them stretched. It felt heavy and charged, as though the space inside the luxurious vehicle had suddenly become too small.
Her eyes wandered without her permission, betraying her. She noticed the way the light from the transparent roof caught the sharp curve of his jawline, how his perfect brows framed those deep crimson eyes, and how his Adam’s apple shifted slightly each time he spoke. Every detail of him radiated power, the kind of power that wasn’t just seen but felt. His aura was strong, superior, and utterly dominating, pressing against her senses like an invisible weight.
She swallowed, trying to look away, but her gaze flickered back to him again. And when it did, she caught him already watching her, his red eyes steady and unreadable, as if he could sense every thought crossing her mind.
Her breath hitched, and she quickly shifted her attention to the babies’ chatter behind them. But no matter how much she tried to focus elsewhere, she could still feel his gaze on her, his presence filling the air around her, making her heart thump a little faster than it should.
That was when her phone rang, breaking the tense silence.
Alina frowned when she glanced at the screen. An unknown number. She hesitated, then swiped to answer.
"Hello?" she said cautiously.
"Lina!" came the voice on the other end.
Her breath stilled. That voice... it was Riccardo.
Her brows knitted instantly, and her whole expression darkened. Why was he calling her? What did he want now? Her jaw tightened as her grip on the phone grew firm. The sting of how he had twisted her aunt’s trust still burned inside her chest. She cared deeply about what her family thought of her, and Riccardo had taken advantage of that, filling Lyla’s ears with poison, trying to tarnish her name. That was something she could never forgive.
Her voice dropped low, quiet but laced with anger. "What do you want, Riccardo?"
Dante, who had been lounging in his seat with an unreadable face, turned his gaze to her sharply. His crimson eyes flickered, cold and focused. He didn’t need to guess who was on the other side of that call. He had already heard the man’s voice. His hearing was sharp enough to catch every word, even without trying.
The demon lord’s aura shifted ever so slightly, heavier, darker. He had already ordered a few of his men to teach Riccardo a lesson. A few bruises, broken bones, nothing life-threatening, but enough to make the fool crawl. And yet, the audacity of this weakling to dare call her again, to disturb her peace, made his hands twitch with the urge to finish what he had started.
His eyes lingered on Alina’s face, on her anger, the way she held her phone with trembling fingers, the pain hidden beneath her fury. Something hot twisted in his chest. He didn’t just hate Riccardo for daring to approach her. He hated the fact that this pathetic man had the power to upset her at all.
"Lina, I broke up with Celeste!" Riccardo’s voice carried through the phone, loud and self-satisfied. "I know you were always jealous of my relationship with her, but look—for you, I broke up with her, okay? So come to the hospital and take care of me! You can even post it on social media and make her jealous..."