Dark Lord Seduction System: Taming Wives, Daughters, Aunts, and CEOs novel Chapter 560

Chapter 560: The Art of Hostile Affection

A/N: Oh, guys this is not a mistake in update, read it.

The cafeteria was a goddamn jungle of noise and cheap perfume. Madison’s hand was a warm, proprietary weight on my thigh, a claim staked in public.

Tommy was inhaling his third burger, a feat of human engineering that Mia watched with the mixture of awe and quiet resignation usually reserved for natural disasters. Across from us, Emma and Sarah were locked in a spirited debate with Ashley and Reeves over some TikTok drama that felt like it was being broadcast in a different language.

It was Sofia’s arrival that broke the fragile peace. She slid in next to Madison, all effortless grace. "Sorry, AP Chem ran—"

"Well, well." Lea’s voice didn’t just cut through the noise; it froze it. She stood ten feet from our table, her lunch tray gripped in white-knuckled hands like a shield. "The harem’s assembled. Does Torres coordinate the schedule, or do you all just show up hoping for the best?"

The table went silent. Tommy stopped mid-chew.

Madison didn’t even look up from her phone. "Can we help you, Martinez?"

"Just admiring the efficiency," Lea said, her eyes sweeping over the table like it was a contaminated petri dish. "Sofia Delgado. Madison Torres. Peter Carter. The holy trinity of Lincoln High’s declining academic standards."

Her gaze landed on me, sharp and cold as broken glass. "Tell me, Carter, does fucking your way through Lincoln High’s social registry leave any time for actual studying? Or have you simply accepted that you’ll never be more than mediocre?"

Emma’s fork clattered against her tray. Sarah’s eyes went wide.

"You missed the entire quantum mechanics unit last week," she continued, her voice rising slightly.

"Teach actually asked if you’d transferred. But I saw you. You were just... busy." Her gaze flicked to Madison, then Sofia, a dismissive, contemptuous sweep. "My question is: when you inevitably fail out, which girlfriend hires you? Or is the plan to coast on Torres money until you’re forty and your hairline recedes?"

"Yo, Lea—" Tommy started, a warning in his tone.

"Was I interrupting your front-row seat to the Peter Carter Experience?" she asked him without breaking eye contact with me. A smile that was all teeth and no warmth stretched her lips.

"How does it feel, Tommy? Watching your best friend become everything you two used to mock? One of those guys. The ones who peaked in high school and thought a new car made them interesting?"

Mia, bless her heart, reached over and grabbed Tommy’s hand under the table.

Lea turned back to me, her voice dropping to a low, venomous hiss. "You were actually smart once, Carter. I saw it. Before whatever this is." She gestured vaguely at my clothes, my watch, the entire table. "Now you’re just another rich kid coasting on Madison daddy’s money and cheekbones. It’s pathetic."

The word hung in the air. Pathetic.

I met her eyes, holding her gaze. I saw the lie. Beneath the oversized hoodie and the defensive anger, I could see her chest rising and falling too fast. Behind her glasses, her eyes weren’t just cold; they were shimmering, glassy, like she was holding back a tidal wave of tears with sheer force of will.

"You done?"

She laughed, a sharp, brittle sound. "Yeah. Enjoy your kingdom, Carter. Try not to fail too publicly." She turned and walked out of the cafeteria, her tray still in her hands.

Madison’s hand tightened on my thigh. "Jesus. What did we even do to her one of these days?"

"Existed, apparently," Sofia muttered, her voice soft.

"That was..." Emma started, staring after her.

"Fucking insane," Ashley finished for her. "She looked like she wanted to murder you and fuck you simultaneously." Her eyes glint hiding her own desires. Our shared moment in the car.

Tommy finally found his voice. "Bro. What the hell?"

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. I knew exactly what that performance was about. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

And I knew, with absolute certainty, that it would get a hell of a lot worse before it got better.

****

Two days later, I was in the library during my free period. Alone. Not because I had to be, but because I genuinely wanted relaxing.

The book slamming down on the table was so loud it made the three people in the adjacent row jump. The sound echoed in the sacred quiet like a gunshot.

Lea stood over me, a tower of icy composure. Her dark bun was perfect, not a single hair out of place. Her glasses reflected the sterile fluorescent lights, hiding her eyes.

"Read it."

She dropped a printed manuscript on the table in front of me. It was thick, three hundred pages bound with black clips. The title was stark: Non-Locality and Quantum Information Theory: A Framework Analysis by Dr. Eric Vance.

"Okay?" I said, feigning confusion.

"The annotations are mine," she stated, as if reading my mind. "They explain what your inadequate sex-filled brain failed to cover. Read them. Study them. Memorize them." She crossed her arms. "If you’re going to sit in advanced physics, you will at least pretend to understand the material instead of just looking decorative."

"I don’t care about you," she cut me off, her voice flat. "I care about my learning environment. If you’d ask stupid questions, it wastes class time. When you fumble answers, it will lowers the entire discourse. Teach will slow down for your lack of foundation, and everyone suffers. This," she tapped the manuscript, "is me protecting my education from your presence."

"Three hours," she snapped. "Because fixing your ignorance is faster and more pleasant than enduring another semester of your stupidity." She didn’t blink. "The problem sets are in the appendix. Do them. All. When you inevitably get stuck, which you will, find me in the library after sixth period on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’ll explain what you’re too dense to figure out for yourself."

"I’m minimizing the damage you’re doing to my academic experience," she corrected, her voice sharp. "Don’t confuse that with altruism. You used to try, Carter. Before spring break. Before... whatever happened to you. Now you just coast on looking pretty and hope nobody notices you’re empty."

"Read it," she ordered, turning away. She paused after a single step, not looking back. "And don’t thank me. Don’t apologize. Don’t do whatever pathetic emotional thing you’re planning. This isn’t kindness. It’s pest control."

"Start here, idiot. Don’t skip ahead. Linear progression matters even for brains as slow as yours. —L"

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