Chapter 6 Recognizing Her

Ayden stared at Nicole in disbelief, still reeling from the audacity of this woman, who dared to hit him like this.

Heat flooded his face as outrage surged inside him.

Never in his life had he felt as humiliated as he did today.

He could hardly believe it-he failed to defeat a woman twice in one day.

Drawing in a sharp breath, he leveled a glare at his opponent, his eyes cold.

It was only now that he took a real look at her.

Her face remained hidden behind a mask, but the eyes watching him sparked a strange sense of recognition.

Her remarkable strength, too-it tugged at something deep in his mind.

Ayden's instincts snapped into place, connecting the dots almost instantly.

"It's you!"

He nearly spat out the words, jaw clenched tight.

Nicole's surprise flashed in her eyes.

How had he recognized her?

A quiet curse escaped Nicole as she realized things were about to go south. Her eyes darted to a window nearby, calculating the jump to a third-floor balcony.

Ayden wasted no time, advancing quickly with every intention of catching Nicole.

Nicole hesitated for only a heartbeat, then spun on her heel and made for the window. But before she could escape, Ayden let out a cold laugh, closed the distance, and caught her by the belt, hauling her away from the window.

"You really think you can beat me twice and slip away like nothing happened?"

Ayden's icy words echoed right by Nicole's ear.

Taking a slow breath, Nicole suddenly let herself go limp, falling straight into Ayden's arms with no resistance.

Ayden faltered for a second, surprised by her sudden submission, and his grip eased instinctively. Seizing the chance, Nicole spun and drove her knee up, aiming straight for his most vulnerable spot.

Ayden's reflexes kicked in, and he jerked out of harm's way just in time.

The narrow escape left a gap, and Nicole wasted no time. She darted to the window, climbed up swiftly, and paused only to throw Ayden a playful kiss. Then, she jumped.

The mockery in her smile was unmistakable.

Ayden was furious, calling his bodyguards over.

His bodyguards burst through the door at his shout.

"Mr. Hayes?"

"Find that woman who just jumped out of the window!"

Ayden's order came out sharp and cold, every word practically trembling with barely controlled anger.

When had a woman ever made a fool of him like this?

This was outrageous!

The club owner slipped in behind the security team, saw the chaos, and quickly realized what had happened.

This was bad for him.

He cursed himself for ever assigning Nicole as Ayden's sparring partner.

"Tell me, who was that woman?" Ayden fixed the club owner with a cold glare.

The question hit like a slap, leaving the club owner scrambling for words as he dabbed at his sweaty brow. "Mr. Hayes, I keep full records on all our staff. I'll bring them to you right away."

With so many staff members, he couldn't remember all his employees' information clearly. It was better to get Ayden the files.

But before he could leave to get the records, one of his employees rushed over, eyes wide with panic.

"Boss, something's wrong! Our computers and the whole system just broke. All we see is gibberish!"

The club owner stood there, frozen in disbelief.

Was this the day everything collapsed for his club?

Ayden's attention snapped to the breathless employee. "Are you telling me the staff records disappeared?" His voice dropped to a chilling growl, promising trouble.

"Mr. Hayes... this is just an accident..." The club owner's voice was barely a whisper, blood draining from his face.

It felt like Ayden's sharp gaze alone could kill him, and the tension in the room pressed heavily on him.

Everyone in Crustin knew Ayden was ruthless.

The club owner believed he was about to face severe punishment.

A heavy silence fell. After a while, Ayden finally turned and strode from the room. "Take me to your server room."

"Right away, sir."

Not daring to do anything else, the club owner rushed after Ayden, legs shaking all the way.