CHAPTER 142: HOW DID YOU STARTED DATING?

Words suddenly felt heavy for him, and Angela wondered why. Just moments ago he was talking fine, yet now he seemed to struggle. She folded her arms across her chest and waited, her mind circling back to that night. Maybe the memory of it weighed him down, making it hard for him to speak.

It had been a horrible and terrifying night. Everyone was worried sick, and when they finally found him, he had been shot. The memory still left her cold. She never wanted to remember the details, but today was different. If they were ever going to reach the truth, they had to know what really happened. Where he went that night, and why he became entangled with such a dangerous family.

Angela had never heard of them until Hiro had mentioned their name. The Malynsters. Dangerous. Not to be crossed. So why did he go near them?

"This is serious. How did you end up with them, bro? I thought you went for that research thing," Renn asked, fear showing in his eyes. It was clear none of them wanted anything to do with that family.

Angela frowned at Renn, confused. He spoke like Hiro had told him where he had gone that night, yet no one had said a word.

"What were you doing with them?" Kaito asked at last, his voice sharp with curiosity. It was the first time he had spoken since they arrived. "If you don’t talk, we’ll never get to the bottom of this. What dealings do you have with the Malynsters?"

"Come on, Hiro," Taros said gently, turning to his brother. "We won’t judge. Just tell us."

Everyone nodded, including Angela, though she did not know why. From the way Hiro was acting, she had a sinking feeling he would disappoint them.

"Go ahead and say it, bro. They were going to find out anyway," Renn added, patting his brother’s shoulder before glancing at the rest. "No judging."

They all nodded again. Hiro swallowed hard. It was clear he did not want to speak, not because he was afraid of what they would think, but because he wanted to keep his business hidden.

"Okay. I’ll talk," Hiro sighed, his eyes landing on Angela. "I went to Angela’s town that night. I was curious about her, so I went to do a little research. It was at her former school that I got shot."

Angela froze. Her heart began to pound in her chest, heavy and wild. She could not tell if it was because he had kept such a thing from her, or because his words dragged her back into the past. "You are saying you got shot because of me?"

Hiro nodded, and Renn quickly asked, "So why keep it a secret?"

"Can you shut up?" Hiro muttered, rolling his eyes, his gaze fixed only on Angela. He saw the disappointment flicker in her eyes, and it stirred a sadness inside him.

"What did you do?" Kaito demanded in shock, stepping as if he might cross over to Hiro. "Why would you go digging for information about her when you could have just asked her?"

"We were not in good terms then. I asked Angela many times but she didn’t tell me anything useful, and I couldn’t stop myself because something about her didn’t sit right," Hiro defended himself, his voice carrying a mix of frustration and stubbornness. "You don’t expect me to do nothing. Kaito was the one who gave her admission, yet he kept it away from us."

"I don’t need to explain myself, just the same way you went on your own and created this mess," Kaito shot back coldly.

"I asked you many times how you got shot but you kept quiet about it," Taros said, his anger rising. He was clearly annoyed by the whole situation. "If you had spoken, this wouldn’t have been so hard."

"I saw no need. I wanted to handle it by myself because I knew you would try to stop me," Hiro replied, his face calm, showing no sign of remorse, as if nothing was wrong.

"Instead of blaming each other, why don’t we move forward?" Angela spoke suddenly. Her words made everyone pause, surprised that she was brushing it aside. But she had to. Too much was already happening and if they kept arguing, it would only slow them down. "No judging, remember? Let’s skip it."

"So what happened? Did you talk to anyone on your way?" Hailey asked, her eyes fixed on Hiro.

"No. Kael was with me. We drove in without noticing anything strange," Hiro said, his brows furrowed as he tried to recall every detail of that night. "When we got to the school, the security guard was standing at the administration block. He didn’t say a word or try to warn us."

"Then why did he end up shooting you?" Kaito asked, moving to Hiro’s side and leaning against the rails of the bridge, his eyes dark with suspicion.

"I got out of the car to talk to him nicely. I thought if he agreed to let me in, there would be no reason for violence," Hiro explained, his voice low but steady. "I had only covered half the distance between the car and the building when it happened. He raised his gun and shot me."

"That’s strange," Taros said, shaking his head with confusion. He didn’t even know what to say at that moment.

"Yes, it may look normal at first, just a guard doing his duty, right?" Renn added, his voice low. "But it’s beyond that."

"Shooting without a word feels too extreme for me," Hailey said, her shoulders lifting in a small shrug as her eyes lingered on Hiro with pity.

"Do you think they already knew he was coming?" Angela asked, her brows drawn together as she thought it through. She had turned it over in her mind again and again, and everything pointed to the same answer.

"Yes. You hit the hammer on the nail, babe," Renn replied with a playful wink. The simple gesture sent a shiver down her spine and made her cheeks warm. She tried to hide it, but the other Alphas saw it and their faces showed a flicker of jealousy. They did not like what Renn had just done.

"How did you two even start dating?" Taros asked, his eyes shifting from her to Renn with clear disapproval. He seemed upset, almost angry.

"Can we talk about it later?" Angela whispered, her voice soft, but Taros didn’t look convinced. His expression only grew more frustrated.

"Taros is right. How did you two start dating?" Kaito asked, his gray eyes sharp and demanding. The weight of his stare left her no space to escape. She knew she had to answer.

Her gaze turned to Renn, silently asking if he would explain or if she should. But Renn gave a small shake of his head. Angela let out a quiet sigh before her eyes wandered to Stales and Alex. The two of them were chuckling as if the matter was nothing more than a joke, making the tension rise in her chest.

"Can you tell us now?" Kaito pressed again, his voice filled with curiosity, his eyes fixed on her.