?Chapter 307:


    Once her thoughts crystallized into rational order, her heartbeat gradually found its natural rhythm. Armed with unwavering resolve, she could avoid repeating history’s cruel patterns. Surely, even someone as powerful as Merlin couldn’t simply bend her to his will through sheer force of authority, could he?


    Elliana had positioned herself as a silent observer, cataloging each micro-expression that flitted across Hailee’s face like pages turning in an open book.


    Elliana asked, her voice threading through the air with deliberate care, “Hailee, something transpired between you and Merlin on that yacht, didn’t it?”


    The question hung between them, weighted with Elliana’s genuine concern rather than idle curiosity. Merlin’s vtile nature, coupled with the vast chasm separating his social position from Hailee’s, had nted seeds of worry that now bloomed into protective instincts. Hailee’s trust in Elliana ran bone-deep, dissolving any…


    Barriers between them dissolved. She chose honesty, her words carrying the weight of remembered shock. “He wanted me to be his woman, not asked but told.”


    Elliana’s eyes contracted into sharp points, absorbing this confirmation of her darkest suspicions. So her instincts had struck true—Merlin had been circling Hailee like a predator selecting prey.


    “And what did your heart tell you?” Elliana probed, her tone deliberately neutral. Personal autonomy deserved respect above all else. She wouldn’t y puppet master in Hailee’s life, regardless of her own protective urges.


    Hailee’s head moved in decisive negation. “I wanted nothing to do with him. Made that crystal clear on the spot.”


    Relief escaped Elliana’s lips in a barely audible exhale. “Understoodpletely. Should he ever attempt to override your choices through force, you have an ally in me.”


    Hailee’s nod carried profound gratitude. “I’ll remember that.” Elliana’s pledge wrapped around Hailee like armor, transforming anxiety into steadied resolve.


    Hailee had witnessed Elliana’s formidable capabilities with her own eyes—few adversaries could match that particr brand of fierce loyalty.


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    While their hushed conversation continued, the Craig and Sampson families maintained their suffocating circle around Merlin, pouring honeyed words over him like sacrificial offerings. Merlin absorbed their praise with the enthusiasm of granite facing rain, utterly unmoved by their desperate attempts at ingratiation.


    Boris approached with practiced diplomatic grace, his movement calcted to project confidence despite the tremor in his hands. Merlin’s response shattered the evening’s carefully maintained veneer. His fist crashed into Boris’s jaw with the precision of a sledgehammer meeting ss.


    “Ugh!” The sickening sound of impact reverberated through the hall as collective gasps erupted from the witness circle. Bodies instinctively retreated, creating a widening arena around Boris’s crumpled form.


    Years of disciplined training had transformed Merlin’s hands into weapons that could splinter bone. The single blow left Boris retching crimson onto the pristine marble, his body convulsing in waves of agony.


    “Boris!” Bonnie’s anguished wail sliced through the stunned silence, her voice fracturing under the weight of maternal terror.


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