Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161 The New Elite

Chapter 161 The New Elite

TESSA PRESENT TIMES

I sat there, staring at the untouched lunch I had prepared, already cold.

+10 Free Coins

My nails dug into the wood, and I realized I hadn’t moved for a while. I thought making lunch would distract me, maybe even comfort me, but all it did was drag me back. Back to that moment–to the mess of everything.

So, that was what happened.

After that day, I tried.

I tried to explain to Rowan again, over and over, hoping he would finally hear me. But he never listened. He always turned away before I could finish. He’d walk off, dismissing me like I was some nuisance. I poured myself into words, explanations, tears–but it was always futile. He’d already decided what to believe.

The last straw was the day I went to his house. I thought maybe cornering him in his own space make him listen. Instead, I walked straight into a wall I wasn’t expecting.

His parents were there.

The memory hit me hard; it was so vivid that it felt like I was standing in that house again.

would

My heart was hammering, not because of the grandeur of their home–it always felt cold to me anywa but because I was desperate. Desperate enough to show up uninvited.

Rowan wasn’t the one who greeted me. It was his mother. Luna Mila. Her presence alone was enough to make me feel small, and the way her eyes landed on me made me want to retreat.

“What are you doing here, Tessa?” she asked.

“I… I need to talk to Rowan, Luna, ” I said, forcing my voice not to shake. “Just for a moment. Please.”

She shook her head slowly, pity seen in her gaze, though it wasn’t out of kindness. It was the kind of pity that stripped you down and made you feel unworthy.

“Stay away from him,” she said. “You’re not good enough for him, Tessa. You never were. Don’t drag him down with your mess.”

I opened my mouth, trying to defend myself, trying to say I wasn’t what she thought, that she didn’t know the whole story. But she didn’t stop.

“Don’t make him suffer,” she continued. “His brother already suffered because of his mate. I won’t let that happen to Rowan.”

Karl also came out of the house, and he looked at me with a cruel, mocking smirk.

“I hear you’ve been running after him,” he said. “I suggest you don’t do that again. You might be Zaria’s sister, but that won’t protect you here. We won’t take punishments lightly, especially with your track

record.”

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17:03 Mon.

Chapter 161 The New Elite

Track record. The word dripped with accusation, with every mistake I had ever made thrown in my face.

“Now, leave,” Luna Mila said firmly. “And don’t do this again.”

I shook my head, dragging myself back to the present, though the pain of that day never really left me. It was the day I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I was already condemned in their eyes.

I asked her to send me to Elite. At first, she laughed in my face and said I wouldn’t last a month. She emphasized that she’d enjoy watching me crawl back home in failure. But she did it anyway, probably just to amuse herself.

Arden’s eyes flew open, and she jerked back, cheeks flushing crimson. She turned in her seat, guilt written) all over her face. “Sorry,” she said quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

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Mon, 18 Aug

Chapter 161 The New Elite

I shook my head, laughing quietly to lighten the tension. “Don’t be. I’m just… here, that’s all.”

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She gave me a smile, but I could see the blush still staining her skin. Cade didn’t even look ashamed–he leaned back in his seat, utterly unbothered, like the world could burn around him as long as Arden was next to him. That was Cade for you.

I wasn’t a stranger to this, of course. I’d witnessed this with Rowan and Ellana before.

Maybe this was just who I was meant to be–the eternal third wheel. Watching love bloom around me, but never tasting it myself.

Now that I worded it out, it sounded quite pathetic.

“Let’s go?” Arden’s voice was soft, breaking into my thoughts.

I turned to her, dragging my attention back. She was looking at me, her eyes still glowing faintly from the bond’s flare.

I managed a small smile. “Let’s go.”

Cade started the car, and the engine purred to life. I leaned back, my hands folded in my lap, my heart steadying itself as we drove forward into the new Elite.

The new chapter of our lives.