Juniper shot up from the sofa. The fruit was forgotten. The game was abandoned.


    Her clear, bright eyes were fixed on Shanley, an icy mask quickly settling over her delicate features as she waited for an exnation. If he didn''t provide a good one...


    She nced at the fruit knife on the table. It was gleaming, and undoubtedly sharp. Perfect for putting a couple of holes in someone.


    "Jealous?" Shanley set down the fruit tter and reached for her hand, a grin spreading across his face. He was always the one getting jealous of her. He never thought he''d see the day she was jealous over him. He had to admit, the feeling was rather satisfying.


    "Smack!"


    Juniper dodged his hand and pped it away, her anger genuine.


    "I. Am. Not!" she retorted, her defiance not quite masking her insecurity. They had


    an understanding. There were no other messy entanglements. And now? He invested in a team because of some woman? She felt like aplete joke!


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Fearing she might actually grab the knife, Juniper stood up, ready to storm out.


    But Shanley caught her wrist before she could take a step. “It''s not who you think," he said with a helpless smile, his expression softening as he exined, “The woman was my mother."


    "Your mom?"


    "Yes."


    Shanley pulled her into his arms, wrapping them around her slender waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.


    "My mother is a huge fan of Demon,” he exined with a soft chuckle. “When Demon announced his hiatus from the Neverfall Navigators, she was heartbroken for days. Her eyes were swollen from crying. To cheer her up, I signed the team. I figured she''d be even happier when Demon eventually returned."


    Juniper''s feelings were a whirlwind of confusion. His mother? She''d never even seen Shanley''s parents. If he hadn''t just mentioned them, she might have assumed he was an orphan.


    "I never expected..." Shanley squeezed her hand, his voiceced with gentle amusement, "that you and my mom would share the same idol. It must be fate


    Juniper shot him a look, utterly speechless.


    Right. Fate. Not only was their idol the same person, but that idol was also her.


    "My parents have been busy working abroad due to the nature of their jobs, but they''ve wrapped things up and areing back soon. Shanley turned her around to face him. "I''d like you to meet them. How about


    it?"


    Juniper was even more stunned and couldn''t answer right away. How long had they


    been official? And now he wanted her to meet his parents?


    "Don''t worry, my parents are very easygoing," Shanley soothed her. "They''ll


    absolutely love you when they meet you, especially my mother."


    "How can you be so sure?" she challenged.


    Shanley didn''t answer directly, instead offering a cryptic smile. "You''ll see when you meet her. You two will get along just fine."


    "We''ll see," Juniper mumbled, sinking back onto the sofa and closing her eyes.


    “Okay.” Shanley''s smile widened, his mood visibly brightened. At least she hadn''t said no. That was a good sign.


    ...


    Time flew by, and the WKL eSports finals were less than two days away.


    In the preceding match between


    Batonia Country and Ynia


    Country, Orient Country had


    emerged victorious. The final would


    now be a showdown between Orient


    Country an


    Batagia Country Given


    the bad blood between the two


    teams, the atmosphere at the venue was guaranteed to be explosive.