Halie was still savoring the feeling of her new ability when the lab's battered metal door was shoved open with a violent crash.
Harsh light from the hallway flooded the dim room, shattering the fragile moment of peace.
A red-haired woman in a tight-fitting researcher's uniform, Brenda Vance, stormed in, her heels clicking angrily on the concrete floor.
Coleman's expression turned to ice. He instinctively pulled Halie behind him, shielding her with his body.
Brenda's eyes took in the wrecked lab, Coleman's disheveled state, and the woman he was so fiercely protecting. A fire of pure jealousy ignited in her eyes.
She was a senior researcher at the institute and had been trying to seduce Coleman for months, only to be rejected every time. Seeing another female here, in his private space, made her lose all control.
She pointed a trembling finger at Halie. "Coleman, what is this trash doing here?" she shrieked, her voice sharp and ugly. "Why would you let this scarred-up freak dirty your lab?"
Brenda deliberately shouted out Halie's shame for the whole hallway to hear. "She was kicked out by the Avila family! Her spiritual power is D-Class! She's nothing!"
Coleman's face darkened, his S-Class spiritual pressure beginning to gather like a storm. He was ready to kill the woman who dared to insult Halie.
But Halie placed a gentle hand on his back, a silent command to stand down. She then stepped out from behind him, calm and composed.
She didn't try to hide the scars on her face. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly, her eyes raking over Brenda with the kind of look one gives to a piece of garbage.
Brenda was momentarily stunned by her sheer audacity but quickly recovered. "You're just a washed-up whore who couldn't even keep her fiancé!" she spat.
The words had barely left her mouth when Halie moved. She crossed the distance between them in a blur of motion.
SLAP!
The sound was sharp and vicious. The force of the blow sent Brenda spinning halfway around.
She cried out, clutching her rapidly swelling cheek. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she stared at Halie in disbelief.
A few guards and other researchers, drawn by the commotion, poked their heads in, their eyes wide with shock.
Halie pulled a tissue from her pocket and delicately wiped her hand, as if she had just touched something filthy.
She scanned the crowd of onlookers in the doorway. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority that reached every ear.
"Coleman is my man," she announced. "From this day on, anyone who disrespects him is making an enemy of me, Halie Avila."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. They couldn't believe a D-Class cripple had the nerve to be so arrogant in the Southern District.
Brenda scrambled to her feet, her face contorted with rage. "You're insane!" she screamed. "He's a sterile waste! Only a blind woman would want him!"
Coleman's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into tight fists. The public humiliation of his condition was a fresh wound.
Halie's eyes turned to ice. She struck again, another slap, this one sending Brenda sprawling to the floor, one of her high heels flying off.
"And you couldn't even seduce the 'waste' you're talking about," Halie sneered, looking down at her. "That makes you even more worthless than him."
Brenda was speechless. She could only sit on the floor and sob, her dignity in tatters.
Halie knew she had to do more. She had to shatter Coleman's self-hatred and declare her ownership to the world. She turned to where he stood, frozen.
In front of everyone, she grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him down, and stood on her toes.
She kissed him. A deep, possessive kiss that left no room for doubt.
Coleman's mind went blank, then flooded with a tidal wave of joy and profound gratitude. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him and returning the kiss with equal fire.
The onlookers were stunned into absolute silence, their minds reeling from the raw, shocking display of dominance and affection.
