<b>Chapter </b><b>137 </b>
Briar pretended not to notice the nces and subtle gestures exchanged among the others. She sat there obediently, wearing a “whatever <b>you </b><b>say </b><b>goes </b>expression and didn’t offer any opinion.
Frank raised his hand to speak. “Ashton, Hamish, we don’t need to make thisplicated. Since Sawyer is our university’s campus doctor, why <b>don’t</b><b>! </b>just approach him?”
Ashton frowned at Frank, and even Hamish looked disapproving.
Brandon was more direct. His contempt was nearly carved into his forehead. “You?”
Frank was about to explode. He shot up angrily. “You’re just judging me through a keyhole! I’m not the same guy who used to get knocked out by a random punch anymore!”
Brandon stepped to the side and hooked a finger at Frank. “Come on then.”
Brandon was a massive, muscr man with explosive strength. Frank looked at the bulging muscles on his arms and quietly swallowed. “I<b>… </b>I’m not fighting you. I’ll pick someone else.”
“Who do you want to fight then? Me? Or your Ashton?” Hamish askedzily, arms crossed, watching the show. “Or do you want
Frank was speechless.
Hamish was a king of the battlefield, and even Ashton couldn’t beat him. The only person left he could challenge was Briar.
Briar noticed Frank’s eager eyes settling on her and calmly said, “Don’t even think about it. You can’t beat me.”
Frank didn’t believe it. “Impossible! I’m pretty good at boxing!”
to challenge Briar<b>?</b><b>” </b>
He couldn’t beat Brandon or his other brothers, but surely he could take on Briar, a delicate little girl who looked soft and easy to bully.
Ashton nced at Briar, who had a yful and dangerous smile on her lips, and asked, “Feel like stretching your limbs a bit?”
Briar arched her brows withzy confidence, sat up straight, and replied offhandedly, “If he’s not afraid of getting instantly taken down.”
Frank jumped up. “Briar, don’t underestimate me! Come on! I’m not scared of you!”
Briar stood up from the couch leisurely, straightened out imaginary wrinkles on her clothes. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Frank warned, “Ashton, let me just say this first. If I identally hurt her, you can’te after me for it.”
Ashton, Hamish, and Brandon all remained silent. They just looked at Frank with nk faces and mocking smiles, like he had just funniest joke.
Frank was speechless.
‘Enough is enough!‘ he thought. ‘I can’t take this anymore!
He had to prove himself no matter what.
Even though bullying Briar seemed a bit unmanly.
said the world’s
Briar stood across from Frank, one hand behind her back, the other gesturing politely, “I let you use one hand. Go ahead and strike first.”
As soon as the words fell, thezy aura around her shifted sharply. Her beautiful eyes turned ice–cold. Frank was startled by her sudden <b>change </b><b>in </b><b>energy </b>and became serious too, throwing a powerful punch at her.
<b>1/3 </b>
The tense battle began.
<b>But </b><b>before </b>his punch even touched her, Briar had already grabbed his wrist with a sudden move. Before Frank even realized <b>what </b><b>had </b><b>happened</b><b>, </b><b>his </b>^– entire body was flipped over her shoulder and mmed hard into the floor.
The pain ofnding on his back hit him a momentter, and he let out a miserable cry. “What the hell?”
But that was just the beginning.
Before he could react, a shadow shed before his eyes. He was yanked up by the cor with brute strength, mmed against the wall, feet off <b>the </b>ground, staring wide–eyed at Briar’s cold, gleaming eyes.
The whole thing was over in just a few seconds, leaving Frankpletely stunned and helpless. Cold sweat trickled down his temple <b>as </b>his mouth opened and closed, but not a single sound came out.
Briar curled her lips into a cocky yet charming smile. “Still wanna fight?”
Frank, trembling, his face pale, stuttered, “No more…”
He thought, ‘Damn! Is Briar even human? With moves like that, she could probably take me out for real in
seconds!
Still suspended in the air, Frank didn’t dare meet her eyes. He turned his head with difficulty, looking toward the three guys on the couch <b>like </b><b>a </b>monkey at the zoo begging for help. “Ashton, save… save me!”
Hamish, impressed by Briar’s clean and brutal technique, whistled yfully. “Wow! That was hot!”
Ashton also smiled warmly, but his words were ruthlessly cold. “You provoked her first. You should beg her.”
Frank whimpered, “Briar! Briar! I won’t do it again, please let me go!”
Briar stared at him for a few seconds before finally releasing her grip. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, turned around, and with her usualzy calmness, sat back down on the couch like nothing happened.
Frank’s feet touched the floor, but his knees were still weak. He nearly copsed on the spot in a dramatic kneel, barely catching himself by grabbing <b>the </b>wall. That was close. Any more embarrassment, and he might as well dig a hole and disappear.
This wasn’t even a challenge. It was a one–sided massacre by Briar.
She wiped the floor with him in just a few seconds.
Hamish pped andughed. “That over–the–shoulder throw is beautiful! Perfect angle! Briar, you’re a total gem!”
Ashton smiled with warmth on his lips and undisguised pride in his eyes. “That kid just has no strength.”
Frank curled into a corner of the sofa, burying his face in his arms. He was too ashamed to face anyone.
Brandon patted his shoulder reassuringly. “I know this might make it worse, but… I might not have been able to dodge that throw either<b>. </b>But <b>if </b><b>it </b><b>were </b><b>us </b>fighting back, at least we wouldn’t be picked up with one hand and pinned to a wall.”
In the end, <b>it </b>came down to one thing. He was just too weak.
From overconfidence to shattered in under ten seconds. All it took was one over–the–shoulder m from Briar, and one line of cruel <b>honesty </b>from Brandon.
Frank wailed, “I wanna go home…”
Hamish couldn’t take it anymore and turned his head <b>to </b>Ashton. “Ashton, what now? Are we still letting this kid approach <b>the </b>school <b>doctor</b>, <b>or </b><b>should </b><b>we </b>just nab him ourselves?”
<b>14:17 </b><b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>16 </b><b>Aug </b>
Ashton looked at the weeping Frank. “One more chance to redeem your pride?”
<b>Frank </b>whimpered, “Redeem myself how? I can’t even take down Briar…”
Ashton said, “You approach Sawyer. Get evidence that he’s a killer. You in?”
Frank looked at Briar. She smiled. “I can help you.”
Frank replied, “Alright, I’ll do it! That Sawyer can’t be as terrifying as you guys. I might not be able to beat you, but I’m sure I can take on a <b>campus </b>doctor!”