CHAPTER 95: EMBARRASSING SITUATION

When the whistle blew, Suzy moved. Her strokes were powerful, precise, honed from years of swimming for fun. She sliced through the water, passing one, then another, the sneers turning to gasps of disbelief as she surged ahead.

She touched the wall first, a clear, decisive victory. The crowd erupted, a mixture of stunned silence and surprised applause. She pulled herself out of the pool, water streaming off her form, revealing the sleek, toned physique beneath the clinging fabric. She looked pale, her breath coming in ragged gasps, but it wasn’t just exertion. A sudden, unsettling churn in her stomach made her heart pound for an entirely different, mortifying reason.

Even as an organizer rushed over, medal in hand, Suzy was already backing away. "Later!" she gasped, shaking her head, her eyes darting frantically around. She had to leave. Now.

Gavin, watching from the stands, saw the frantic darting of her eyes, her desperate retreat. Suspicious.

Her sudden, desperate exit was too blatant to ignore.

Suzy was dying inside. Her stomach cramped violently, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. She needed a restroom. Now. She fought her way through the lingering spectators, her legs twisting, a frantic prayer on her lips. The first public restroom sign she saw, on the ground floor, read: "OUT OF SERVICE." A groan escaped her.

She darted for the elevator, stabbing the ’up’ button repeatedly, as if her frantic tapping could summon it faster. It remained stubbornly on an upper floor. "Come on, come on!" she muttered, hopping from foot to foot. What had she eaten? What had she drunk? Was it last night’s meal? Or that blue drink she’d taken a few minutes ago? It had been the same drink others had, right? She’d only left hers for a second to go find Aurora and returned. Did a bug pollute it? What the hell was wrong!?

She couldn’t wait for the elevator.

The thought of the stairs filled her with dread, but there was no other choice. She practically flew up them, her urgency pushing her to reckless speeds, almost tripping on the last step.

Finally, the second floor. She burst through the door, only to find a flock of her frenemies blocking the entrance to the ladies’ room. They looked up, all eyes on her, their faces a mixture of feigned concern and thinly veiled amusement. This was the group she’d publicly scolded for trash-talking Aurora earlier, a moment that had probably cemented their animosity if they didn’t already hate her for being an undignified B.

"Oh, Suzy, are you alright?" one simpered, a saccharine smile on her face. "You look a bit... green."

"We were just talking about your amazing win!" another chirped, not an ounce of sincerity in her tone. "So unexpected!" The girl flashed her phone screen, which had the updated event report.

Suzy just wanted to push past them, her entire being focused on one desperate need. "Excuse me, I need to—"

"Oh, oops!" the first girl said, exchanging a triumphant glance with her friends. "It’s all full! Every single stall. Are you okay, though? You look really, really uncomfortable." They were having a field day, clearly enjoying her misery.

Suzy could only whimper, her face contorting. She stumbled backward, bumping into the wall, praying to all the gods she knew and didn’t. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead, her vision tunneling slightly. Her eyes, frantic, fell on the men’s restroom sign just across the hall. After all the mental struggle, leg twisting, and desperate looking around, she took a shaky step towards it, trying to peek in, to see if any man was in there.

And then, a hand clamped down on her shoulder from behind, firm and unyielding. She flinched and turned quickly, her stomach grumbling awfully at the same time.

"Is this what I think this is?" Gavin’s voice, cool and laced with undisguised distaste, cut through her misery. He looked down at her, his eyes narrowed, as if he had just caught a pervert on the loose. The cold disdain in his gaze was palpable, making her embarrassment burn to her bones. He clearly saw her as a nuisance, a weird woman he was unfortunately tasked to observe.

And then... the first, unmistakable slip. A tiny, horrifying release, warm and insidious, that she knew, with sickening certainty, he must have heard the gurgle as it slipped out her gut. Her eyes widened in utter mortification, the blood draining from her face as the full horror of her situation became terrifyingly clear.

Suzy gasped, a strangled sound of utter humiliation. Her face, already pale, flushed a violent scarlet. She could feel the damp warmth spreading, a mortifying confirmation of her worst fear. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the floor would swallow her whole.

Just then, the distant murmur of voices grew louder. Footsteps. Approaching. Fast.

Gavin’s eyes, still narrowed in a mix of suspicion and confusion, flicked to the approaching figures. Without a word, he yanked open the men’s restroom door and shoved her inside. He followed, pulling the door shut just as three men in sports gear rounded the corner and continued going ahead, their chatter oblivious.

Inside...

"G-o away!" Suzy hissed, her voice a desperate, urgent whisper. She wrung her hands, her body rigid with shame. "Please, just... go away! Don’t look at me!"

Gavin’s gaze, fixed on the closed door, still hadn’t processed the full extent of her predicament. "This is the men’s room."

"I KNOW!" she shrieked, her voice cracking.

"Why aren’t you using the ladies’ room?" he asked, his voice low, still laced with that irritating, cold logic. His patience, already thin, was fraying.

"Just... just shut the hell up, Gavin!" she exploded, a raw, anguished cry that echoed too loudly in the small, tiled space. She stumbled towards the closest stall, practically throwing herself inside and locking the door.

She fumbled with the clasp of her full-body swimsuit, her fingers clumsy with desperation. The zipper was stiff, the fabric unyielding. It wouldn’t budge. No. No no no—

She couldn’t get it off.

Suzy’s breath came in short, panicked gasps as she realized—

She needed help.

And the only person within screaming distance was Gavin.

With a muffled sob, Suzy pushed the stall door open just enough to reveal her mortified face. "G-Gavin..." Her voice was a barely audible squeak. She extended an arm, blindly, desperately. "I... I can’t... from behind."

Gavin, who was still too slow to catch up with this perverted madness, stiffened. He stared at her, a muscle twitching in his jaw. This was completely beyond his comprehension. He, Gavin, the epitome of control and detachment, was being asked to... help a woman with her bodily functions. A woman he actively disliked. The sheer absurdity of it, coupled with the stench now subtly filling the air, was almost too much. This was something he, in all his years of cold, calculating existence, had never encountered.

"You want me to undress you?" His voice was flat, laced with disbelief, almost bordering on revulsion.

Suzy’s soul left her body. "NO! I mean—just the ties! From the back! Just—just turn around and—"

Footsteps echoed outside the restroom. Voices. Laughter.

People were coming.

There was no time.

With a frustrated grunt that bordered on a snarl, Gavin strode to Suzy’s stall. In one brutal motion, he yanked her out, spun her around, his fingers, perhaps too brutally efficient, finding the resistant fabric. There was a rough RIIIIP as he tore the zipper and a portion of the fabric, freeing her from her full-body prison. He didn’t look at her even her back, didn’t acknowledge the fresh wave of humiliation washing over her or the yelp which escaped her lips.

Then—shove.

Gavin practically threw her back into the stall and closed the door just as the restroom door swung open.

Two guys walked in, chatting—then froze when they saw Gavin just randomly standing guard in there, his expression deadly.

From inside the stall came the unmistakable, horrific sounds of Suzy’s body betraying her. Loud. Wet. Endless.

The men exchanged looks, their eyes wide with confused curiosity.

Gavin’s gaze snapped to them, pure ice. "If you have nothing to do in here," he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, "get lost."

The men, sensing the lethal warning in his tone, muttered apologies and quickly backed out, pulling the door shut behind them.

It was after they left that Gavin began to wonder what the hell he was still standing there for. This was ridiculous. He made for the door.

Just as he turned to leave—

"...Gavin." She said his name, whispered like a broken prayer.

Her voice, quiet, strained, stopped him cold. He paused, his hand on the doorknob. His jaw clenched. He was about to snap, to dismiss her, to leave her to her own devices.

He turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowed, a vein throbbing in his temple.

He reminded himself once again. She was Hades’s cousin. He has to tolerate her.