บททั้งหมดของ The Girl He Wasn’t Supposed to Want : บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

He sank into the chair and flipped open his laptop. The screen cast a blue glow across his face. The first thing he pulled up wasn't contracts it was Cassandra’s schedule. She was still in Korea. And it hit him again he couldn’t keep her there. Not with Anando making threats and Richard stirring up the past. If something happened, he wouldn’t be able to reach her in time. If something happened, he would lose her the same way he lost Joseph. And that was a loss he wouldn’t survive. He started typing, fast. Transferring all her credits. Sorting out housing. Paperwork for the New York campus. Every click was sharp, decisive. It had to be done today. Having her here, in New York, close to me. That’s the only way I can protect her right now. Having done that, he opened the SoundWave internal group chat. The “Personal Announcements” channel. His fingers hovered for a second over the keyboard, hesitating only once. Then he typed with finality: “All new application are to report

Morning light cut through Columbia University like a spotlight, The campus was alive with noise Soundwave banners stretched across the main quad, students huddled in groups, phones out, whispering about the announcement that had been trending since midnight. Rebeca and her crew were in the middle of it, chaos personified. “Put the red one on! No, the black it makes you look thinner!” Rebeca shouted, tossing dresses at her friends like confetti while trying to fix her own hair in her phone camera. “Do you think he’ll actually show up?” one of them squealed. “Alex Maradona in person? I might faint.” Jessica lay on her bed, calm as always, headphones in, legs crossed over her blanket. She wasn’t even looking at the chaos. Her eyes were closed, but the small smirk on her lips said she was watching everything anyway. Emma sat on the edge of her bed, knees pulled up, phone clutched in both hands. Benji’s message glowed on the screen “Emma. We need your voice. Soundwave need

Lena’s smirk dropped. For the first time, real surprise flashed across her face. “I am broke,” she said quickly, like it was a defense. “ please leave contestants 001 the manager said you’re going to hear from my mom.” Lena said as a threat Alex’s expression didn’t change. If anything, it got colder. “That’s exactly the problem, Lena,” he said. “You’re relying on your mom’s name instead of your own ability. Soundwave isn’t a place for connections. It’s a place for talent. And right now, you don’t have it.” Lena’s cheeks flushed red. She opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, but the look in Alex’s eyes shut her down instantly. She swallowed hard, pride cracking. “Thank you… for your time,” she muttered, grabbing the mic and stepping off stage. The click of her heels was faster now, hurried, like she wanted to disappear before anyone else could see her. The stage manager stepped in quickly, voice a little too bright. “Thank you, Lena. Next up is Contestant #002…3 ,78

Contestant #5 dropped to her knees, pressing her palm against the blood on the floor. Her voice was barely a whisper now, but it carried. “Charlotte… please be alive…” The tremble in her hands, the tears she refused to let fall it was real. You believed she’d known Charlotte for years. Contestant #7 moved to her side, knelt down, and gripped her shoulder. Not comforting. Grounding. “We don’t cry yet. We fight first.” Her eyes were dry, but her jaw was clenched so tight you could see the muscle twitch. Contestant #4 stepped forward, voice steady now, the anger hardening into resolve. “Fine. We split up. Two minutes. If we don’t find anything, we call the police.” Contestant #6 pushed himself off the floor, wiping his face with his sleeve. “I’m not leaving her alone.” The four of them stood together for a beat four different kinds of fear, four different kinds of strength, all pointed in the same direction. Then the sound cue cut. The lights held for three seconds. Silence.

Then Alex looked away and went back to his notes on the table. “Hm,” he muttered, like he’d already moved on. Emma exhaled without realizing she’d been holding her breath. She nodded once and turned back to the stage.She scanned the crowd for something, anything, that would steady her. And then she saw Rebecca.Rebecca was standing at the side, arms crossed, watching Emma with a small smirk. The kind of smirk that said What is she doing here? How did she even get on this stage? She’s timid. She doesn’t belong here. It hit Emma . The reminder that she was out of place. That everyone here had earned their spot through months of work, while she’d been pulled in at the last second. Her chest tightened. She almost looked away. Then she saw Maya.Maya was standing near the back, watching her with a soft, genuine smile. No judgment. Just encouragement. The same smile they’d shared backstage minutes ago. That was enough. Emma took a breath and nodded to the sound tech. The music sta