Chapter 33

Cliff's POV

I pulled Vanya into the car parked outside the school, the atmosphere inside as cold as an ice cellar.

"Give me an explanation," I demanded, my voice icy with suppressed anger.

Vanya showed no fear, responding candidly, "I want to study finance at Wolfe."

"I forbid it," I blurted out without hesitation, a sense of resistance welling up within me for no apparent reason.

"By what right do you forbid it?" she retorted, undaunted.

"Because I am your mate!" I raised my voice, my tone even colder. "Vanya, don't think I don't know what you're up to!"

"What are you talking about?" she feigned innocence, looking at me with an air of bewilderment.

"Melinda is at this school, and you deliberately followed to make things difficult for her!"

I accused, my mind's eye filled with Melinda's delicate figure, fearful that she might be hurt in any way.

"Cliff, I'm not as petty as you think!" Vanya's eyes betrayed a hint of disappointment.

"Vanya, I know you've never liked Melinda being part of the Silver Moon Pack, and I've ignored it, but you shouldn't go too far. I've said the position of Mrs. Todd is yours. No one can take it away." I tried to soften my tone, attempting to issue a warning.

"Really, no one can take it away? Cliff, would you have married me if I weren't the daughter of the Thunder Pack's Alpha?" Vanya stared at me coldly, her gaze piercing as if to see into my soul.

I was speechless momentarily, at a loss for words.

I knew, and she knew, the answer to that question.

If a woman of higher status and more suitable for the Luna position of the Silver Moon Pack appeared, I might indeed sever our mate bond ruthlessly.

"Wolfe is not a place you can enter just because you want to. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can use your status as Mrs. Todd to bypass the exams, and I will never help you," I broke the silence, trying to dissuade her.

"I will rely on my own strength, not on you," she responded firmly, an unprecedented stubbornness in her voice.

"On you?" I couldn't help but sneer, "Vanya, do you think Wolfe is somewhere you can just walk into? I advise you not to waste your time and give up as soon as possible."

"Thanks for the advice, goodbye," Vanya opened the car door and got out, her nonchalant attitude fueling my anger and making my mood even more gloomy.

I sat in the car, my anger and confusion intertwined, unable to calm down for a long time.

Soon, I dialed Elliot.

"Inform the school office not to relax the requirements because of Vanya's status. If she wants to take the exam, let her do it on her own!" I spoke loudly into the phone, my tone carrying a hint of anger.

Elliot, hearing my furious voice, was silent for a moment.

He must have noticed that my temper had been short lately, and it seemed that the source of it all was Vanya, the enigmatic Mrs. Todd.

Melinda's POV

At noon, I returned to the dormitory, exhausted.

As soon as I entered, I saw several girls in the dormitory waiting like predators for their prey.

"Melinda, you're finally back!" Raven looked anxious.

She jumped off the bed, almost tripping over her slippers in her haste, "We saw that woman get out of your boyfriend's car today, and they spent a long time in the car together."

"Yeah, Melinda, Raven and I both saw it with our own eyes. Who is that woman? Did you ask your boyfriend? What did he say?" Fawn also approached, her face full of gossip, as if she wouldn't let go unless I gave a satisfactory answer.

Looking at their eager and curious expressions, I slowly lowered my head, my mind racing.

I tried to fabricate a plausible lie. "That woman... she has always been infatuated with my boyfriend, but he has no interest in her at all, so she is pursuing him persistently. This time, when she heard that I was at this school, she came here to cause trouble deliberately. My boyfriend, knowing this, rushed to the school to make things clear with her, and it just so happened that you guys saw them."

"I see," Fawn nodded as if enlightened, but I could see a lingering doubt in her eyes.

Raven said indignantly, "I always thought that woman was not simple, looking so seductive and sexy, and she's trying to steal someone else's boyfriend! Phew! Shameless!"

"I think that woman is quite good-looking," Fawn changed the subject, a hint of jealousy in her eyes, "Melinda, you have to be careful with your boyfriend. What if she snatches him away?"

Raven quickly retorted, "No way, Melinda's boyfriend loves her so much. How could a woman like that snatch him away?"

"Thank you for worrying about me, but rest assured, my boyfriend and I have a rock-solid relationship. There will be no issues."

I tried to force a confident smile, attempting to convince them, but inside, I felt like a small boat in a storm, tossed and unstable.

Fawn continued, "But I heard that this woman is also coming to our school, and she's studying finance, too. I guess she's coming for you, Melinda."

"What?" I was stunned by the news, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.

Vanya was coming to Wolfe to study finance?

How could that be possible?