The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68 : The Heart That Refused to Break

A long, tense silence followed the splat.

The entire cafeteria froze.

Forks hovered mid-air. Conversations died mid-sentence. A hush as profound as a vacuum settled over the room as everyone turned to witness the aftermath.

Pink, gooey sauce and semi-melted cheese slid from Alex's silver hair like a war crime in progress.

Ava stood trembling, wide-eyed, her brown hair equally dripping with the evidence of culinary violence. Her lower lip quivered.

Alex didn't move.

His hands hung at his sides, fingers slightly curled. The air around him trembled faintly—as if space itself was too nervous to breathe. His expression was unreadable, but the faint pressure that leaked from him was unmistakable.

Ava flinched. She had spent the entire day with Alex—laughing, joking, and witnessing his carefree, happy-go-lucky self. The person before her now? This wasn't the Alex she had come to know.

They both turned toward the origin of the flying food.

And what they saw wasn't a haughty noble or an arrogant upperclassman trying to provoke them.

What they saw was a scrawny first-year kid—so thin he looked like the cafeteria breeze might knock him over. But in his eyes… was fear. Raw, bone-deep fear.

The moment the boy locked eyes with Alex, his breath hitched. As if he'd just glimpsed death in casual clothing.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice! Please forgive me!" he babbled, shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm.

Ava gasped, recognizing him. "Henry? What are you doing?! Why—why would you do that?"

Her voice was filled with concern as she rushed toward him. She knelt beside him, checking him over even as he kept mumbling the same apology, his hands and feet trembling.

Alex didn't say a word.

But his mind was already racing.

It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

Henry had been put up to this.

Bullied.

Coerced.

But It didn't matter.

In the slums, Alex had faced far worse. He'd been beaten. Starved. Mocked. Sometimes he'd come home with more wounds than food, and his sister would stitch him up with trembling hands while trying not to cry.

He had been beaten, mocked, starved—sometimes passed out in alleyways with broken bones. But he had never surrendered. He had stood his ground, fought back, and when he grew strong enough even if it was only a little—he repaid the torment, one by one.

He never gave in.

He fought back. Slowly. Painfully. One tormentor at a time.

That was how he survived. And now?

He could see it in Henry's eyes. This wasn't the first time. The boy had already accepted his fate. Someone powerful had made him do this. Someone probably wanted Alex to snap and retaliate—to paint himself as the villain.

'How did this guy even survive the entrance exam?' Alex wondered.

And judging by Ava's concern, she knew Henry. That made things more delicate.

Any misstep here, and he'd be the bad guy.

Across the cafeteria, Ethan, Alden, Charlotte, Seraphina, and Draven were already on their feet, approaching.

Alden's lips were pressed into a thin line. "This isn't good. If Alex reacts wrong here—"

"He'll be the one in trouble," Ethan finished grimly.

Draven cracked his knuckles. "So what's the play? We intervene?"

Charlotte smirked. "No need. Alex isn't stupid. He'll figure it out."

"I hope so," Seraphina muttered, quickening her steps as she noticed Ava drenched and Henry still on the ground.

As they reached them, Seraphina knelt beside Ava, casting a swift cleaning spell. In seconds, the goo and sauce vanished from Ava and Alex alike.

Ava looked up, startled. "T-Thank you."

Seraphina smiled gently. "Of course. Are you okay?"

Ava nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on Henry.

Henry, meanwhile, was still trembling.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Someone put you up to this, didn't they?"

Henry didn't reply.

Charlotte knelt beside him, her voice soft. "We just want to help. Who was it?"

Still, nothing.

Only shaking.

Only fear.

Then Alex stepped forward.

His voice was quiet.

"Everyone, please. Let me talk to him. Alone."

Ava immediately interposed herself between Alex and Henry. "Please, don't hurt him. He didn't mean it!"

Alex blinked.

Then, slowly, he softened.

"Ava, I promise. I won't hurt him. I just want to talk."

Seraphina put a comforting hand on Ava's shoulder. "Remember what I said. He's not a bad guy."

Ava hesitated… then stepped aside, nodding.

Within this very world, shadows exist everywhere. Darkness that seeks to diminish, to hurt, to isolate.𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

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