His Smokescreen Is Now the Woman He Can’t Have Chapter 09

His Smokescreen Is Now the Woman He Can’t Have Chapter 09

The cadet flinched at his sharp tone. His hand shook, nearly dropping his terminal. His face was white, as if he’d seen a ghost, and it took him a long moment to squeeze out a single sentence.

“It’s… it’s Elara Vance.”

“What?”

The entire office went silent.

The next second, chaos erupted.

Caleb moved before he could think, snatching the terminal from the other cadet’s hand. His eyes locked on the screen. On West Point’s internal system, the official announcement was there in black and white, cold and clear.

[Annual Overall Academic Ranking: First Place, Elara Vance, GPA 3.98]

Elara Vance.

The girl who was always a step behind on the training field, always making mistakes in formation, always looking at him with those wide, shining eyes?

Caleb’s mind went blank.

“That’s impossible!” a cadet shouted. “The system has to be wrong! Elara Vance? She almost failed her physicals!”

“Could it be someone with the same name?”

“Don’t be an idiot! The cadet ID is right there. It’s her!”

“My God… how did she do it? I thought all she did was chase Caleb around.”

The room was in an uproar. Every face was a mask of disbelief, as if a fundamental law of their world had just been shattered.

In all the noise, only Isabelle said nothing. Her lips were bloodless, her face a ghastly white, her fingers digging into her palms.

Just then, the office door was shoved open. The company officer walked in, his face grim.