<h4>Chapter 14: Setting Up Trap For Protagonist</h4>


    Maria wanted to spend the night at my ce, and I didn''t object, but I know her parents would never let her spend the night outside, let alone with a boy.


    Not long after, Maria''s phone rang, and just as expected, it was her mother, whom Maria hung up on without a second thought.


    "Do you really not want to answer the phone? She may be trying to make amends for her actions."


    "No, I don''t want to, she will only nag me toe back, but tonight I want to spend time with you, Leo."


    "Alright, then let''s go to our home."


    To be honest, letting Maria stay at my house tonight was dangerous.


    If she didn''t go home, I knew her conservative parents would start searching for her all over town and show up at my door with the police the next morning, using me of kidnapping their daughter.


    Nheless, I had no fear, more so now that I had full control over Maria.


    It was all part of my master n, and I was set on carrying it out—until Maria''s phone rang again, of course.


    It wasn''t her parents this time, but rather the protagonist.


    After taking a look at John''s name shing on the screen, I suddenly had a brilliant idea, and immediately dropped my original n.


    "Don''t hang up his call, Maria, I have a wonderful n to take our revenge."


    Naturally, Maria would continue to stay with me tonight.


    However, the ns for the days that followed would be very different.


    ''Khe Khe Khe... Hahahaha...''


    * * * * *


    General POV:


    Ever since they were young children, John has had a secret crush on Maria.


    He thought she was adorable, pure, and untainted, like a lotus flower that bloomed with pride despite the muddy conditions of this world.


    Unfortunately, John''s overseas studies forced them apart.


    But when John came back, he was shocked and overjoyed to find that the innocent Maria he remembered was not only the same, but better, thanks to her mature body, which had the right curves to give her a sensual, mature charm that only added to her allure.


    John always felt a jolt of excitement whenever he caught sight of her.


    And the best part? She wasn''t taken.


    Despite this, John was unable to approach Maria because he had always been a weak-willed individual with a low backbone, and never had the courage to have a flirtatious rtionship with her.


    Instead, he consoled himself by thinking that having her in his life was sufficient.


    Sadly, that joy was short-lived, and it was all because of that one individual.


    "Leo!"


    A delinquent with a terrible reputation in the ssroom who suddenly intervened in their rtionship.


    From the very first day John saw that boy, he instinctively hated him, but that time Leo came out as a hero who saved Maria from the molester, and John couldn''t say anything about him.


    Unfortunately for John, it was on that day that everything changed.


    Because of his fear of the molester, John was unable to intervene in time to save Maria, and he now regretted that decision more than anything.


    In the aftermath of that incident, even though John was relieved when Leo was suspended from school and he finally had Maria all to himself, but instead of progressing, his rtionship with Maria degraded.


    Without knowing why, John had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with Leo, who had been happily chatting with Maria before being suspended, and they seemed to have made some promises to each other.


    Their proximity bothered him, but he could do little to change the situation.


    However, what really broke his mentality was when Maria was absent for a whole week.


    At first, he thought she was sick or something, so he tried to call her and ask, but she always hung up or gave excuses.


    But one day, when he identally saw her in school uniform in Leo''s car, his mind clicked, and only then did he understand everything.


    Mad in rage, envy, and jealousy, John med that guy Leo, thinking that he was either seducing or ckmailing the sweet and virtuous Maria, causing her to skip ss.


    Therefore, without giving it much thought, he went to Maria''s house and disclosed the situation to her parents.


    Nheless, that too backfired, as John came to his senses and began to regret what he had done after he returned home and Maria''s mother called to tell him that Maria had run away and was not picking up calls.


    Which was another reason why John was so worried: he thought Maria had run away because something big had happened, and he was afraid she would me him for everything.


    Worried that Maria might hate him or do something she shouldn''t out of anger, he dialed her number anxiously.


    Beep! Beep!


    Click!


    Thankfully, the call was connected just as he was beginning to worry that she wouldn''t take it, and John anxiously inquired.


    "Maria, where are you? Are you okay?"


    "..."


    However, all he heard in return was silence, which only served to agitate and unnerve him further as he worried that Maria was still upset with him.


    "I am sorry, Maria, I should have talked to you first, but I thought "


    "I am alright."


    Maria rudely cut John off in the middle of the sentence, but John didn''t mind.


    On the contrary, he was ecstatic that she had responded to him despite ignoring her parents'' calls.


    ''As expected, Maria still has me in her heart and treats me as an important friend.''


    He couldn''t help but think so as an involuntary smirk appeared on his face.


    "That''s good to hear. Can you tell me where you are?"


    "At the park."


    It was a t reply without any emotion, but John was just delighted and eager to meet her.


    "I aming there."


    Yet another rejection came before he could even stand up.


    "No need, I will sleep at Shreya''s house tonight."


    "But Maria You should go back home, your parents must be..."


    "Are you telling me what to do?"


    Once again, she interrupted him in the middle of a sentence, but instead of being annoyed, John became worried because he could detect an ounce of anger in her tone.


    "No, of course not."


    "Then, if there isn''t anything else, I will hang up."


    Click!


    She informed him, and hung up the phone without even waiting for his response.


    Beep!


    The beep of the disconnected call fell on John''s ear, and some worries began to settle in his heart.


    ''Was Maria really telling the truth? What if...''


    Unsettling thoughts and a foreboding feeling prompted John to pick up the phone and call Shreya to confirm Maria''s words, but he couldn''t bring himself to do it.


    ''What am I thinking? Maria is not that type of girl, and I am sure she will manage it. She might even start hating me for meddling so much.''


    In the end, he decided against confirming his suspicions and instead called Maria''s parents to inform them that she would be spending the night with a friend, who happened to be a girl.


    Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the night passed uneventfully, and John was relieved to see Maria in ss the following day.


    Maria lied to everyone, saying that she was sick, and John didn''t say anything to contradict her story.


    However, there was an intuition that came from deep in his heart when he saw Maria—that something had changed in her, but what it was he couldn''t tell.


    ''She hase back to school, that''s all that matters, maybe she still hasn''t recovered from yesterday''s incident.''


    John began to reassure himself after dousing his mind in a cocktail of delusions.


    ''Maybe I should say sorry in person, maybe she''s still angry about it.''


    When he came to this realization, he immediately went to Maria, who was sitting in the front row, in the right corner seat by the window, and bowed down before speaking slowly.


    "I am sorry, Maria, for what happened yesterday, I shouldn''t have done that."


    His sudden actions startled Maria and drew the attention of other nearby students. Upon noticing this, Maria couldn''t help but get angry and reprimand him.


    "Are you nuts? Why are you shouting like this? Didn''t I say it''s alright?"


    With a rare expression of rage on her face, Maria wanted to p this moron, but she resisted the urge when she thought of her n with Leo and how John''s demise would be.


    Consequently, she made a fake sigh.


    "Forget about it and don''t mention it ever again."


    After receiving a reprimand from her and observing the various observant looks from other students, it appears that John also noticed his error, and he broke out in a cold sweat.


    "Yes, yes, I understand, please don''t be mad."


    ''Tsk! Pathetic.''


    Maria couldn''t help but inwardly curse him.


    She was now seriously perplexed as to how she had been so deluded as to regard such a spineless guy her friend.


    ''Only Leo-Kun is the best... Oh, I want to see him again.''


    ...


    Just like that, time flew by, two days passed, and things went back on track for John.


    Although Maria was a little on edge, annoyed, and a little rude these days, but John didn''t mind it.


    Simply put, he was d to have herpany at school, where she was safe from that hateful Leo.


    However, just when everything was going smoothly, he "identally" overheard a conversation that made him tense up and be extremely agitated.


    In front of him, two girls were talking to each other, one was Maria, and the other was a blonde beauty famous in the school for her "open mindedness."


    John was hidden in the corridor while the two girls were talking in front of the ssroom gate some distance away.


    He couldn''t help but eavesdrop on their conversation.


    "So it''s done then, you''re alsoing with us to the Bar."


    The blonde said it slyly, and Maria replied with a ''shy'' expression.


    "I don''t have a problem, but Leo also goes to that bar, right?"


    "Yes, you have my word, get ready tonight at 7 and meet us at the park."


    "Okay." Maria agreed, excited to meet Leo.


    But John, who overheard the exchange, was utterly shocked.


    To a virgin like John, a bar was a ce where men preyed on vulnerable women by getting them drunk.


    Because of this, he was extremely worried, and he couldn''t allow his pure Maria to go to such a ce, more so to meet that delinquent, Leo.


    ''God knows what he will do to Maria, my Maria is innocent, no, I must save her.''


    Having made up his mind, he walked away, but not before Maria had turned to stare at the spot he had just vacated.


    An evil smile, the pr opposite of her usual pure smile, appeared on Maria''s face for a brief second and then disappeared before anyone could notice it.


    ''Enjoy as much as you can, John, because after tonight, what awaits you is pure hell.''