CHAPTER 274: 274-NOT ALLOWED TO COMPLAIN

Clementine:

I didn’t entertain her and told her that everyone was waiting for us, and we shouldn’t delay.

Thankfully, we made it back to the hall before Ian could come out of his room again. Of course, I was going to see him in the hall, and that’s exactly what happened.

When we were waiting for him, he arrived wearing a black shirt and black pants, looking rather cocky. My eyes immediately went to Oriana, noticing how she shyly shifted in her seat.

Ian gave her a cheesy smile before his eyes landed on me, pretending to be worried that I had caught them. I hated it–every second of it.

I had no idea how everything got this messy. I thought things were finally going well–that the Crusaders were on the same page, or at least our squadmates were.

But I should’ve known we couldn’t trust Ian or Oriana.

When did I ever say she was my best friend?

Sure, I might’ve introduced her as a friend, but when did they think I’d let her walk all over me like that?

I sat there, pissed off, feeling like I was about to lose my mind. Somehow, my mates must’ve noticed because they finally decided to speak up.

"You seem really upset," Troy said first. I scoffed and shook my head.

"You guys were talking about how nice and sweet she is, right?" I whispered.

Oriana wasn’t sitting with us this time. I guessed Miss Lenora wanted her to remember she belonged to the red squad, so she made her sit at her own table, even if it was lonely.

It didn’t matter anyway, since Ian was sitting apart from us too.

"Okay, what happened now?" Yorick asked.

"I found her in bed with Ian."

The moment I said that, the three of them exchanged glances and pulled their chairs closer to the table.

"Wait, wait, tell us again, what did you see?" Troy asked.

"Did you not hear me the first time, or are you too shocked to realize what I just said?" I snapped at him, noticing how hurt he looked. I guess I really had lost my mind then.

"I went back to get them, like the ringleaders asked, and I found them fucking in my bed," I explained. This time, there was no room left for doubt or excuses.

The three of them leaned back in their seats, glancing at Oriana, who was busy eating without lifting her head. Her arms were crossed over the table.

"So, what exactly is wrong here? Are you angry because she slept with Ian?" Troy asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"You’re not getting it. It’s about code. If she’s really my friend, why would she go and sleep with my mate?" I argued.

"The last time we checked, she didn’t even know there’s anything going on between you and Ian. So how exactly is she in the wrong? And why the hell are you so mad about it? It seems more like your problem than hers. Besides, didn’t he mark you by force? Shouldn’t you hate him?" Haiden shot back bitterly.

I didn’t expect them to start calling me out. All three of them stared at me, looking upset. This time, it was Haiden who spoke up, pointing out my fault.

"They were doing it on my bed." I guess that was the only excuse I could use, because somehow I wasn’t even allowed to show irritation without getting questioned about everything.

I couldn’t be upset with Oriana for lying so bluntly before. I couldn’t be upset with Ian for marking me and then cheating on me.

And then, I just didn’t know what to do. What were my options? So I went silent. But from the looks of it, the three of them were the ones upset now.

When dinner ended, everyone started getting up and collecting their dishes. Miss Rue tapped the back of her spoon on the table to get our attention.

"Clementine, can you please come see me for a minute?" she asked, making me leave my plate behind with a sigh.

I walked over to her, where she stood in the corner of the hall. The other ringleaders had already left.

"What’s going on?" she asked softly.

"Nothing," I replied with an awkward smile.

"No, that’s not nothing. You look pale. This isn’t like you," she said. At least my ringleader knew this wasn’t me being myself.

"It’s really nothing," I tried to brush her off. It wasn’t like I could tell her anything anyway.

"Okay," she said slowly. "I think I know what’s going on, though I’m not completely sure."

I frowned in confusion, watching her face. What did she mean by that?

"Oriana came to me earlier today," she continued. The moment she said her name, my heart skipped a beat. So she noticed. That’s why she called me.

"Okay," I said, pretending not to understand.

"She was asking if it was possible for her to transfer to our squad."

The moment Miss Rue said that, my whole body froze. I stared at her with wide eyes, unable to hide how much it bothered me anymore.

"She also said that since she couldn’t attend her father’s funeral, she wanted to use that as a reason to request a transfer, to get at least something in return," Miss Rue explained.

I clenched my jaw, then lowered my head and nodded.

"Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads-up," she said.

"Is Ms. Lenora going to let her go?" I asked, swallowing hard and keeping my tone neutral.

"I’m not sure what she’ll do, but if she finds out that Oriana wants to leave her troop, I think she’ll either let her go out of pride and anger, or keep her in the troop even if she doesn’t want to stay."

Miss Rue was being honest, and honestly, I didn’t even know what I wanted.

Oriana coming to my room had opened my eyes to many things, especially to how fragile my friendship with my squadmates really was.