章 85: Jessica.

Hugo's jaw dropped as he stared, absolutely dumbfounded.

He was seated on a plush velvet stool under the dim, crimson lighting of the Velvet Inferno, the school's most infamous and slightly questionable underground club.

But the drinks, music, and questionable morality of the place had nothing to do with why Hugo looked like he'd just been struck by lightning.

No, the reason was her.

Jessica.

At the bar, leaning casually but with a sadness that tugged at the edges of her stunning features, was her.

The blonde goddess who'd haunted Hugo's thoughts since his first day on campus. The same senior he'd crashed and burned with after his orientation disaster.

Back then, he had stupidly tried to flirt without fully understanding the System Aura's duration—and when it had cut out mid-sentence, his voice cracked so badly he might as well have sung opera.