Jay thought this would be enough to push her away, but what he didnât expect was the result that came from his decision.
"Victory! For the first time, the undefeated duo, Evelyn Lavender and Isabella Slavina, finally lost to Jay Envien. And surprisingly, the partner of Jay Envien is actually a freshman called Melissa. How is this possible?"
Jay was speechless. He had never won against Evelyn individually. Bella might not be the top student, but she was extremely good, especially in supporting her childhood friend.
That was why no matter who he paired with, he never won against Evelyn.
Yet, he actually won once he paired up with someone who wasnât strong.
He couldnât help but look at Melissa in disbelief. The image of the fight kept flashing in his mind. There was a lot of excitement, making him feel like wanting to fight again.
When he attacked, he didnât have to worry about his attack because it would still be advantageous to their team even if the attack didnât succeed, as Melissaâs traps would hinder them in one way or another.
When he wanted to protect Melissa, there would be a trap that blew up, giving him another opportunity.
In every single action he took, Melissa would be there.
At the last exchange, he was completely fooled by Evelyn by going to the right, but for some reason, Melissa had already prepared something on the left, which sealed their victory.
It was a crushing defeat. It felt like he was being spoiled by Melissa.
As long as she was with her, he felt like he could win against Evelyn at any time.
Jay simply couldnât believe it. He was supposed to reject her by using the result of this match, but how was he supposed to reject her after all this?
"You really..." Jay clenched his hands into fists as if finding another resolve in his mind.
After that battle, everything changed for him. Evelyn still dominated the individual match, with him being in second place.
However, when it came to a pairing match, he would always come out on top. No, it would be more accurate to say that he never lost once in the duo match after pairing up with Melissa.
It was to the point where Melissa became the most sought-after person. Jay obviously wouldnât let her go because they were already a couple, as he promised.
Without him realizing it, he had already fallen so hard for her. He felt invincible as long as they were together.
Finally, the day of the Rising Star Banquet was approaching.
Melissa was smiling from ear to ear, thinking about the date that they had scheduled for the next day. She wanted to help with the student councilâs work so that Jay wouldnât be bothered with work when they were together.
Besides, spending time together while working was also a good thing.
That was when she overheard Jayâs conversation with Evelyn.
"Evelyn... I am thinking about proposing to Melissa after this banquet."
Evelyn was quite surprised by the sudden revelation. "It looks like you have made your decision."
"Yes."
"Does your family have the same opinion? Noble families like ours donât look kindly on commoners. For me, sheâs not a commoner. Sheâs my junior, so if your family bothers her..."
"Donât worry." Jay waved his hand. "I have handled this matter carefully. I have managed to convince my father for the time being."
"Really?"
"Yes. I just told him that Melissa has talent. If you think sheâs not capable, just train her yourself. Donât let your incompetence in training someone with talent limit your decision!"
"Arenât you basically challenging him?" Evelyn shook her head helplessly.
"Canât be helped." Jay chuckled. "To think that a junior whom I once saved would end up making me like this..."
"It looks like you really canât get over her. I wonder what kind of feeling you have right now... Itâs something I never have."
"You will probably find someone like her. At that time, you will definitely be enjoying it every day. Every day, I just canât get enough of her." Jay thumbs up as if he were already a victor in life. "No matter what, we will be together. Though, my father ends up making a requirement. To be the top duo in the Rising Star Banquet."
"Sounds like... an easy task. Looking at your track record."
"I hope so. Still, I donât wish her to be burdened by this. Even if we fail to be number one, we will just elope."
"Whatâs this? The Jay Envien I know is someone who can keep his promise."
"For her, I will do anything... whether I turn into a monster or turn the whole world into my enemy." Jay chuckled.
"I hope I can confidently say the same thing to someone in the future."
"I hope you do. When you find that person, even that unchanged face of yours will be filled with smiles every day."
"Weâll see about that." Evelyn patted his shoulder. "Still, I wish you luck."
"No need to pull your punches if we meet in the arena. We will show that weâre stronger even without that." Jay waved his hand while smiling from ear to ear.
Melissa just melted. Her legs became weak as she ended up dropping to the ground. Her face flushed red as she covered her cheeks, unable to believe what she had just heard.
Sadly, the perfect story in their minds never happened.
She was determined to prove herself until the Bloody Banquet happened.
Even though they could win against Evelyn, they simply couldnât do anything in front of absolute power.
The gap between them was simply too big.
"For her, I will do anything... whether I turn into a monster or turn the whole world into my enemy."
Jayâs voice and determination echoed again in her mind as she sat helplessly while Jay fulfilled his own promise.
"Melissa... Are you alright?" Jay couldnât help but have a relieved smile as he saw his fiancee not hurt. "Iâm glad..."
Unfortunately, that relief was only for a brief moment as his body was sliced into pieces, slowly sliding down to the ground as Melissa could only stare at her fiancee helplessly.
"JAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"