<b>Chapter </b>282
Joshua and Xylia walked over to Hudson, who shot Joshua a dismissive nce, making it clear he was trying <b>to </b>put him in his ce.
Then, looking at Xylia, Hudson said, “If you weren’t injured, Joshua wouldn’t even be able to touch you.”
As Xylia’s big brother,
and as the brother of the racing legend everyone looked up to,
there was no way Hudson would ever admit that Joshua could outshine his sister.
Joshua thought to himself, ‘Not sure where Hudson gets all that quirky pride from<b>, </b>but honestly, it’s kind of adorable.‘
He shot Hudson azy nce, clearly couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Xylia couldn’t resist a grin at that.
Xylia said, “If I could get behind the wheel, there’s no telling who’de out on top.”
She wasn’t just being cocky–Xylia could definitely hold her own on the track.
She tilted her head towards Joshua, her gaze filled with an unmistakable mix of yful challenge and spoiled affection.
Joshua indulgently pinched her cheek, the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowing.
“There’s no way I could ever beat you, baby,” he said, his voice full of doting warmth.
It was like watching him flip a switch–hiszy, careless attitude vanished in an instant. When he looked down at her, every sharp edge about him softened, leaving only gentle affection.
Hudson was already used to Joshua pulling this act, and honestly, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes–his annoyance was practically written all over his face.
But as soon as he saw how Joshua treated Xylia, Hudson suddenly felt pretty satisfied. Yeah, this was exactly the kind of attitude he wanted to see from the guy who was chasing his little sister.
‘That’s right,‘ Hudson thought, ‘Show everyone loud and clear just how much you’re head over heels for my sister!‘
Thinking about that, Hudson’s whole vibe mellowed out when he nced at Xylia.
Meanwhile, a few of his racing buddies off to the side couldn’t help but feel a bit sour–they were basically getting force–fed a whole bowl of puppy love.
‘Man, this is kind of embarrassing,‘ Xylia thought to herself.
<b>6:58 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>26 </b>
She nudged Joshua with her elbow and said to Hudson, “Bro, we just came to check out the cars. We’ve already had our fun on the track, so you guys go do your thing. We’ll head up and catch the race for a bit.”
Hudson didn’t try to stop them.
So Xylia grabbed Joshua’s hand and led him up to the stands.
They grabbed some seats, and all around them people were still hyped up and couldn’t stop talking about the wild action from earlier.
“That guy in the ck and gold race car was insane! He was trailing way behind, but somehow managed to overtake everyone right at the finish!” someone said, cyes wide in disbelief.
“Seriously! No one even knows who it was–just as the camera was about to catch a glimpse of the driver getting out, it switched away the second the door opened!” another personined.
“That drives me nuts! Who’s messing with the camera? Someone needs to dock their pay!” someone grumbled.
“1
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Xylia leaned in close to Joshua and whispered, “Looks like Mr. Garcia’s charm is as irresistible as ever.”
“So, have you surrendered to my charm yet, Ms. Sadler?” Joshua teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Xylia nodded decisively. “I gave in a long time ago.”
It was just a casual reply, but Joshua felt totally over the moon inside.
They shared a few lighthearted words before turning their eyes back to the race.
For the rest of the afternoon, Xylia kicked back in the stands, totally caught up in the adrenaline and thrill of the race.
She’d been stressed out for days over that design, but now, watching the action unfold, all the pent–up frustration finally melted away.
Meanwhile, with Grace in charge, the National Dance Association wasted no time investigating all those years Tessa kept snagging the lead dancer spot for herself.
Just like the inte had guessed, Tessa didn’t exactly y fair whennding that top job.
Whenever the lead dancer was up for grabs, Tessa would secretly stir up trouble for every contender behind closed doors.
Her tactics included everything from straight–up cash bribes to organizing intimidation squads–and sometimes, she’d go totally ruthless, making sure her rivals had zero chance, just like she did to Xylia.
The deeper Grace dug, the more it blew her mind.
<b>6:58 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep 26 </b>
CA
She never imagined her own student could cross so many lines and do things like this right under her nose,
Grace’s heart ached so bad she almost couldn’t breathe.
After working with the officials to get the statement out, Grace holed up at home for days, too drained to deal with anyone.
She was in aplete slump, the whole ordeal had really knocked the wind out of her.
When Xylia got the news, she was really anxious.
She knew Grace was all about feelings–no matter how Tessa turned out, in Grace’s mind, she was still her student, first and foremost.
Seeing her own student do something so cruel, Grace was bound to feel guilty and me herself for it.
Xylia called her grandmaster and invited the old couple to Norhill for a little change of scenery.
But her grandmaster told her that Grace had fallen ill and was already hospitalized.
Xylia was really anxious and tried to book a flight to Jupiton that very night.
But all the night flights were sold out.
Joshua tried to calm her down.
“I’ve already booked us tickets for tomorrow morning. We’ll head back together,” he said.
With Joshua reassuring her every step of the way, Xylia found herself slowly settling down–taking things one at a time, her mind gradually at ease.
She shot Kaden a quick message, wrapped up what needed to be handled at work, ande sunrise, she and Joshua were on a ne to Jupiton, ready to face whatever came next.
Meanwhile, Richard learned from Noelle about Xylia’s ex–husband and his son.
Richard couldn’t help but find the whole thing amusing.
When he found out that Xylia and Joshua had flown to Jupiton early in the morning, he reached out to his contacts there and decided to follow them.
Richard shot Holt a chilling look, his eyes shing with an almost predatory glint of excitement Holt had never seen before.
“Honestly, who would’ve thought Joshua would go for used goods? That’s a terrible habit–someone’s got to knock some sense into him,” Richard scoffed.
Holt asked Richard how he nned to do that.
Richard looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Simple—I’m gonna snatch Xylia away. If someone as picky as Joshua thinks she’s worth it, she’s gotta have something special going on. I need to see for myself.”
<b>6:58 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>26 </b>
Holt was silent,
“Didn’t Burke work with Connor before?” Richard asked, squinting.
Holt gave a nod.
Richard went on, “Try to get in touch–once we hit Jupiton, I’m not just gonna sit around twiddling my thumbs. I don’t want Joshua thinking I’m only here to tail him.”
“Burke’s been off the grid for ages. As soon as wend, I’ll hit up Connor,” Holt replied.
Richard shot Holt a nce. “Burke’s missing?”
Holt nodded, all business. “Based on my research, odds are, Joshua’s got him.”
Richard gave a quick, dryugh. “Mr. Garcia never disappoints.”
列
As soon as Xylia and Joshuanded, they headed straight to the hospital.
Grace was really starting to feel her agetely, and after all the stress from everything with Tessa, her body just couldn’t take it anymore–she ended up fainting.
By the time Xylia got there, Grace had been in the hospital for two days and was already on the mend.
She still looked a little pale, though.
Xylia set the flower basket she’d brought on the bedside table and looked at Grace, worry written all over her face.
“How are you feeling now, Grace?” Xylia asked softly.
When Grace saw Xylia, her lips curled into a gentle smile. “I’m doing much better now. You two came such a long way just to see me–thank you.”
“Grace,e on, don’t say that. Once someone’s your teacher, they’re family for life. There’s no need for those formal words between us,” Xylia replied warmly.
“Alright,” Grace said, her voice softening.
Perhaps seeing another one of her star students helped ease some of the pain she’d been carrying.
She looked a lot better than she had the past couple of days.
Grace took Xylia’s hand and let out a sigh. “I always thought Tessa was just a bit too eager to climb thedder, but I never imagined she’d go this far.”
<b>6:58 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>26 </b>