All Chapters of Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ARDENDoes he know? Those words echoed in the back of my mind as I made my way out of the Silver building. The others had laughed it off when Elias insinuated he had a clue about who the virgin was. I had to force myself to smile in response, not wanting to raise any suspicions. Elias didn’t glance at me even once after that, yet I couldn’t help but wonder if he had said it as a passing, irrelevant comment.I glanced back to see Elias swarmed by the other members, who eagerly asked for his number and fawned over him. With that scene in front of me, I hastened my steps, eager to put as much distance as possible between myself and their gaze. There was no way he could know. Aside from Tessa, no one else had the slightest clue. Kieran had never shown any interest in me, but I was fairly certain that Jaxon had already informed him of my transformation from the prude he once knew.I checked my phone and noted that I still had about half an hour before my shift began. It seemed like a good

ARDENI continued dragging Owen away with no final destination in mind, muttering curses under my breath. It was only when he pulled his hand away that I finally came to a halt. I let out a deep breath and turned to him. He didn’t say a word, but I could clearly see the relief in his eyes. With that, I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes, attempting to steady my breathing. “Are you always this courageous?” he asked, breaking the silence that had settled around us. A small smile crept onto my lips. “No,” I muttered, “not really.” “That’s hard to believe,” he replied. “You really didn’t have to do all of that, you know?” he added. “I told you—I don’t need help.” “Let’s just say I didn’t do it to help you,” I clarified, “but because I was genuinely annoyed by Kieran.” He sighed, crossing his arms defensively before turning to the side. “There’s no use arguing with people like him. It’s only going to make things worse. I promise he’ll come back even stronger than ever.

ARDEN“Oh crap,” I muttered under my breath when I noticed a notification from Silver Quill. It appeared that we had an activity scheduled for tomorrow, and I needed to buy a book from the local bookstore. Owen halted in his tracks and turned to me, one eyebrow arched inquisitively. “Do you know where this place is?” I asked, holding up my phone to show him the name of the bookstore. “Haven? It’s that one,” he replied, pointing towards a shop not far from us. It was only a few blocks away, which caused me to sigh in relief. “Why do you ask?” “I need to buy something from there,” I explained. “You should go ahead first.” I stepped back and noticed the hesitation in Owen’s eyes. Confused by his expression, I tilted my head slightly. He glanced up at the skies for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “It looks like it’s going to rain soon.” “What do you mean?” I chuckled, following his gaze to the heavens. “The skies are dark, but they’re perfectly clear, and the stars

ARDENWhat happened at the bus stop yesterday still lingered in my mind. The conversation had taken a downturn so suddenly, and even then, I couldn’t help but wonder what I had said so wrong for Cade to react that way.It was strange how I was more fixated on his response than on the fact that he now knew I was a virgin. I didn’t know what he would do with that information. Would he treat me differently? That was how I predicted things would go. However, much to my surprise, he seemed to ignore my presence altogether.“Earth to Arden!” Tessa exclaimed, cheerfully nudging my shoulder. I turned to her, still somewhat lost in thought.“Yeah?”She narrowed her eyes. “Alright, something is definitely wrong,” she finally said. “I thought you were just under the weather, but you’ve been in this absentminded state since the first class.”I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that. Yeah, there’s a lot on my mind.”Tessa sighed in concern. “You can tell me whenever you want to.”Feeling grateful, I

ARDENI arrived at the swimming pool and noticed that the class had already begun. The men were shirtless, clad only in their swim shorts, while the women sported tankinis in the school’s colors. Spotting Tessa, I waved at her, and she smiled back.Mr. Thompson merely glanced in my direction before gesturing toward the bleachers, silently indicating that I should check the papers there. Nodding, I quickly got to work, stealing glances at my classmates from time to time. Surprisingly, the process of checking papers proved to be quite enjoyable, and I found myself breezing through them with ease. I was on the last set when Mr. Thompson’s voice caught my attention.“Alright, now we’re going to hold a competition,” he announced. “You’ll have the chance to win 30 points for this. One winner from the boys and one from the girls.”Excitement buzzed among the students, and I couldn’t help but look more frequently at the unfolding scene than the papers I was meant to be checking. The boys were