Chapter 14 Explaining The Situation
But this time, nobody stepped in to cover for her.
“Game over!” The referee’s whistle cut through the arena. “Victory goes to-”
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Mike yanked off his headphones, his expression thunderous. He shot a glance at Taylor, who was still sobbing, then turned on his heel and walked straight off the field.
“Mike!” Taylor ran after him, but he snapped without turning back, “Don’t follow me.”
Up in the stands, a girl next to Jesse suddenly leapt to her feet and pointed accusingly. “How did you know Taylor’s drone would crash?”
The crowd shifted, curious eyes all swiveling toward Jesse.
She sat there coolly, meeting their stares without a flicker of panic.
“Don’t play dumb!” the girl pressed, voice rising. “When the drone hit the net, you called it and even made a ‘bang‘ sound!”
Jesse’s lips tilted into a faint smirk. “Did I?”
“You totally did!” Isadora cut in, her voice shrill. “You all heard her, right?”
Murmurs rippled through the stands–some nodded, some shook their heads, others said they hadn’t noticed anything.
Just then, Mike stormed back onto the field, his glare fixed on Jesse like blades. “Was this your doing?”
Taylor rushed in between them, still sniffling. “Mike, don’t blame Jesse! Losing hurts, but you can’t just accuse her.”
Mike’s voice dripped with venom. “She’s heartless and cruel! She’d love nothing more than to see me lose! She knows how much this match matters, so of course she’d pull something like this!”
The more he spoke, the more certain he sounded.
Taylor’s heart leapt with secret joy seeing Mike lash out at Jesse, but on the surface, she forced a worried look, pretending to soothe him.
“Jesse… she wouldn’t do something like that. Besides, even if she did, how would it benefit her?”
Mike’s jaw tightened, his expression like stone.
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Chapter 14 Explaining The Situation
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“She’s always been spiteful–hurting people just for the thrill of it. Think about what she’s done. to you before. It never helped her, but it sure messed with you! Now she’s desperate to impress Lyman. She’d stoop to anything.”
Jesse was ready. She didn’t flinch or rush to defend herself, no longer falling into the explaining too much.
If someone wanted to pin the blame, they would always find an excuse.
trap of
Her voice was steady, sharp as glass. “Mr. Mike Spencer, unless you have solid evidence, I’ll see you in court for defamation.”
“You had the key,” Mike shot back coldly. “You could’ve tampered with it.”
Jesse turned to Taylor, her gaze cutting right through her. “I handed you that key ages ago. Didn’t you bother telling them?”
Taylor’s face was drained of color.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mike frowned, his suspicion turning on her.
“Didn’t you say Jesse refused to give it to you?”
Taylor bit her lip, tears welling up again. “I… I don’t know. That day, she gave me a pile of her things. I thought it was all hers, so I didn’t check carefully. I just put it aside. I never noticed a key inside.”
“Really?” Jesse’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Strange, because the very next day you were wearing that meteorite crystal necklace.”
Her eyes narrowed, fixed on Taylor’s throat. “You’re still wearing it now, aren’t you?”
Taylor’s hands flew to her collar, clutching it tight as she shrank back.
Her reaction said it all. She hadn’t tucked the necklace away like she claimed–she’d kept it close all along.
Mike’s jaw tightened, his face dark and stiff. He looked pissed, but his pride wouldn’t let him admit Taylor had lied.
Instead, he turned his frustration on Jesse, thinking she was being too harsh and cornering Taylor.
With her lie cracked wide open, Taylor flung herself at Mike, clutching his arm and sobbing harder.
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Chapter 14 Explaining The Situation
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“I’m sorry, Mike, I really didn’t mean to! I didn’t check carefully. I just cared too much about the necklace… and about you guys. I only wanted to wear it for a bit–it’s not like I’d break it.
“Later, when I asked Jesse for the key, she said she’d already given it to me. I was so scared you’d think I wasn’t working hard enough, not good enough compared to her. So I didn’t dare tell you when I found the key. I just wanted to improve in secret, hoping I could be as amazing as her…”
Her tears streamed like rain, voice trembling with guilt. Mike’s heart softened instantly.
Of course, Mike would never admit fault. He swung his glare back to Jesse, teeth clenched.
“If you didn’t mess with it, then explain–how did you know Taylor’s drone was gonna crash into the net?”
Jesse’s smile was cool, disdain flickering in her eyes.
“Simple. Just observation. Her drone’s battery was weak, and it lagged by 0.1 seconds. She got impatient and pushed too hard. If you calculate her drone’s speed against the distance to the net, and add in her reaction time… the result speaks for itself.”
She spoke with such calm certainty, laying out the numbers with ease, that her skill was undeniable. Even just talking theory, her confidence shone through.
The other team members glanced at each other, replaying the match in their minds. Slowly, heads began to nod.
“Yeah… I noticed Taylor’s controls felt sluggish too.”
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