?Chapter 1096:


    A small crowd started gathering, hungry for drama. Most of them could tell the curly-haired girl was being extra, but no one stepped in. She had a reputation—queen bee of the school, a total hothead, and messing with her usually didn’t end well. Everyone figured Elena was screwed.


    But right before things could escte, Javier approached. The second he spotted Elena, he closed the distance and took her hand. “Hey! You made it. Why are you still out here? I’m about to go on stage.”


    The curly-haired girl noticed how close they were and stiffened. “Javier… Wait, who’s she?”


    Javier blinked, finally realizing something was off. “Oh—she’s my cousin.” Then he looked at the guy on the floor. “Armando? What the hell are you doing on your knee?”


    Armando scrambled up, clearly rattled. He hadn’t expected thedy he was crushing on to turn out to be his best friend’s cousin. “Nothing,” he muttered, awkward and flushed.


    Everyone at school knew Javier never shut up about his cousin—totally a huge fan. If Javier found out Armando had hit on her and got shut down, he’d probably ghost Armando forever.


    The curly-haired girl, who just moments ago looked ready to fight, suddenly went quiet after realizing who Elena was. Everyone knew Javier was part of the Harper family from the. So naturally, his cousin had to be one too.


    Javier shot Armando a cold look. “I’m too busy to deal with your crap right now. But you better stay in yourne.”


    Armando slinked off, tail between his legs, with the curly-haired girl rushing after him.


    A staff member popped up and waved Javier toward the stage.


    Elena settled into a front-row seat while Javier jogged backstage to get ready. When Javier performed with his band, the ce went wild. He drew the biggest apuse of the night, hands down.


    After the show, Elena made her way backstage and handed Javier a bouquet. Javier scratched the back of his head, a little bashful. “Damn, no one’s ever given me flowers before. Thanks, Elena.”


    Elena smiled warmly. “You were incredible out there.”


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    Javier lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He looked like he could explode from happiness. He’d put everything into this performance—hours of practice after long nights at the club. He’d been running on pure adrenaline and willpower. For him, this show wasn’t just a performance—it was a thank-you to Elena. She was the one who’d saved his club from getting shut down. He couldn’t afford fancy gifts or jewelry, so this performance was all he had to give her.


    Javier looked her straight in the eye and said, “One day, I’m gonna get you something real nice. Like actual jewelry. Promise.”


    Elenaughed softly. “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”


    Once the show wrapped up, Elena tagged along with the band for ate snack. All of them were in their third year of college, buzzing with spirit and high on youthful charm.


    One of them poured a ss of beer and remarked, eyes locked on Elena, “Javier never stops iming his cousin could outshine any celebrity. I used to think he was stretching the truth, but now I’ve got to admit, I owe him a sincere apology. You’re even more dazzling than he said.”


    They had only ordered beer with low alcohol content, so there was nothing to worry about.


    Soon enough, the rest of them joined in, tossingpliments at Elena like confetti.


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