Chapter 149: My Brother Is A Coward

Aria looked up at him seriously.

"I’m going to be your support system."

West studied her expression for a moment before nodding.

"I’ll be glad to have you on board."

She smiled with a delighted expression.

"Good."

After watching her enter the building safely, West turned and began the walk back toward his own apartment.

The streets were quiet this late at night.

Streetlights cast long shadows across the pavement while distant traffic buzzed faintly in the background.

West kept his hands in his pockets as his thoughts drifted once more.

The week had been overwhelming and graduation was fast approaching but thankfully, he was sure some of the stress will reduce once Aria gets on board.

West didn’t doubt her capabilities.

Life was accelerating faster than he expected...

Just as he turned a corner into a dimly lit street, a voice spoke from the darkness.

"...It was you, wasn’t it?"

West stopped walking as a figure stepped out from the shadows.

It was a tall, slender and feminine figure with long dark hair swaying lightly in the night breeze.

West’s eyes narrowed slightly and for a split second he thought he was about to be attacked... after all, it was always one thing after the other since he became an awakened...

Then, the woman spoke again.

"The residential ruins incident, two months ago..."

West’s eyes widened very slightly but the expression disappeared almost instantly as he shrugged.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Then he began walking again.

However, the woman didn’t move aside... instead, she followed him.

Her footsteps were quiet but persistent.

"You cleared it, didn’t you?"

West kept walking.

"Wrong person."

"You saved those neighbors."

"Still wrong."

"You let him take the glory."

West stopped again and slowly he turned his head toward her.

"Stop following me."

The woman’s eyes gleamed strangely in the dim light.

"You’re making wild assumptions," he stated before resuming walking.

Unfortunately, she kept following him step after step.

The silence stretched for nearly a minute when suddenly...

THUD!

West felt his back slam against a wall.

The woman had moved with terrifying speed and pinned him firmly against the brick surface with one hand.

Her strength was shocking completely catching West off guard but despite that, with his current strength, West knew he shouldn’t have been moved so easily...

He immediately realized something... she was incredibly powerful.

She leaned closer and her eyes carried a strange, hungry intensity.

"I’ve been watching you."

Her voice was soft but unhinged.

"You’re really something."

West didn’t respond... for some reason he could tell that she wasn’t exactly trying to harm him but what she did next left him stunned...

She leaned forward and slowly licked the side of his face.

West’s eyes widened.

"What the— what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Tell me the truth."

Her voice was almost playful.

"You helped him, didn’t you?"

West narrowed his eyes.

"Helped who?"

"My brother."

That single sentence made West freeze internally.

Brother...

He studied her face more carefully and then, the realization struck him.

"...Timothy."

The youngster who had taken the credit for the residential ruins incident...

The girl smiled.

"So you do know him."

West quickly shook his head.

"I know the news story. That’s it."

She leaned even closer.

"You’re lying."

West’s voice remained calm.

"What is the daughter of a mafia family doing here? Don’t you have better things to spend your time on rather than ambushing some newly awakened 18 year old in the dark?"

"Matters like this is more than worthy of my time. Just tell me the truth," she stroked his face.

"You’re imagining things," West stated bluntly.

The girl tilted her head slightly.

"Really?"

Then she began listing things.

"Everyone who survived that accident..."

"The neighbors you saved..."

"They all told the exact same story about how they were saved by Timothy."

Her eyes sparkled with unsettling amusement.

"Word for word."

West said nothing.

"It sounded rehearsed."

"Fake."

She tapped his chest lightly.

"And then there’s you."

West frowned.

"What about me?"

She grinned.

"You just happened to be an awakened who was also there."

She leaned closer again.

"And then suddenly you start making waves everywhere."

She continued listing them calmly.

"You beat up a bunch of Tier 1 awakeners all by yourself..."

"You get sought after by multiple gangs and a famous gang leader."

"You saved your father from an unfortunate incident involving a misguided awakened gang leader..."

"The Eternal Ruins."

"The rumors about the third layer. I know it was you who cleared it because I have been watching this whole time."

"And now you’re forming a new gang."

West back broke out into cold sweat upon hearing all this but he maintained composure. She wasn’t kidding... she literally knew everything... and for someone as strong as this, it somehow made sense how she had been following and he never noticed.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"My brother is a coward."

West raised an eyebrow.

"He doesn’t have the guts to do something like that."

Her smile turned sharp.

"He just used your glory."

"To impress our father."

West pushed against her arm slightly, trying to free himself but she didn’t budge.

"Wrong again," West said calmly.

She stared at him for several seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Fine."

Her expression suddenly softened.

"Your secret is safe with me."

West blinked.

"...What?"

She smiled.

"Originally..."

Her tone turned disturbingly casual.

"I was going to kill you."

West’s eyes narrowed.

"And bury your body somewhere no one would ever find it."

She tilted her head slightly while studying his face.

"But after watching you all this time..."

Her eyes sparkled with something crazier.

"You’ve really piqued my interest."

West felt an unpleasant chill as she ran her finger down his chest slowly.

"You’re perfect."

"Strong."

"Talented."

"Feared."

"Confident."

She licked her lips.

"And surrounded by beautiful women."

Her voice lowered.

"You’re exactly the kind of man I want... the kind of man that can truly handle someone like me..."

She suddenly leaned in and kissed him, aggressively pressing her lips against his.