Chosen By My Mate's Father-in-law novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: One Shot Too Many

Gasps filled the room.

Even Clarissa gasped. “No! You can’t—!”

But no one moved to defend her. Not even her dad. They couldn’t compete with the pile of evidence gathered by the Gareth Laken.

My heart thudded in my chest. I wanted to chase after him to thank him, but he was already walking away with his guards without a second glance in my direction.

As though what he had done wasn’t even worth mentioning.

The dean gave me a stiff smile. “Miss Lowett, apologies for the turmoil. This is still your big day, go and celebrate. The scholarship is yours.”

I nodded, dazed, and slipped out of the hall, only to be greeted with Mindie’s fierce embrace.

“Jasmine! You did it! Top student! You beat Clarissa fair and square, and she got expelled!” She cheered loudly.

“I... still can’t believe it.”

“Well, believe it,” she said, pulling back. “Gareth tore her apart in front of everyone as though she was a piece of paper,” Mindie gave a reverent sigh. “He crushed her so badly with proof she’ll never be able to bother you again.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “He didn’t even say anything to me.”

“Did he need to?” Mindie asked, puzzled as she looped her arm through mine. “His actions spoke louder than any words. He totally loves you, Jas.”

“It’s impossible,” I denied it instinctively. Mindie was imagining things.

But Mindie didn’t think so. She pulled me aside, her eyes wide with excitement.

“You seriously don’t get it, do you?” she whispered.

I blinked. “Get what?”

“Jasmine, the second you walked out with the dean, Gareth immediately stormed out with that full Alpha-on-a-mission aura. Two of his men followed immediately, and the others started spreading out like it was some tactical operation.”

I stared at her. “What?”

“He split up his team,” she said. “Two of them left the building right away. The rest spread across campus—one was talking to your professors near admin, another was going through records with security, and one was on the phone like his life depended on it. They even started quietly pulling faculty aside and asking questions. It felt like a full-on crime investigation.”

“And they did all that... for me?” I asked quietly, my heart racing.

“They ran a whole investigation in under thirty minutes,” Mindie said, shaking her head. “They got receipts, timestamps, photos, and chat logs, everything. That file Gareth handed the dean? He didn’t come in with it. They pulled all that together after Clarissa spoke.”

I just stood there, stunned as I remembered him speaking to his phone when I was accused. It turned out that Gareth was trying to find a way to defend me from the accusations.

Gareth believed me.

“But why?” I whispered.

Mindie gave me a look. “Seriously? Do I need to say it again? You’re supposed to be smart!”

“He probably just didn’t want Michelle to be upset,” I said quickly. “She likes me. He wouldn’t want her to be disappointed.”

Mindie nodded perfunctorily. “Uh-huh. And I’m sure he does this for all his other employees. He practically scoured every inch of this university for evidence to clear your name. You don’t go that far unless you’re trying to protect someone who matters to you.”

I tried to speak, but my throat tightened at her words. No. That couldn’t be it because he had feelings for me. I was smart, so I knew my chances of being together with Gareth were next to none. Even if he defended me today...

“Mindie, just drop it,” I said quietly.

Mindie, sensing the shift in my mood, took my hand and tugged me to the campus bar. “Fair enough - only if you promise me you’ll have fun tonight. You just won a scholarship and embarrassed Clarissa in front of the whole school. Let’s go celebrate before you overthink yourself into a coma.”

The campus bar was packed when we stepped in. Music blasting, lights flickering, and bodies moving in every direction. Laughter echoed over the beat of some throwback pop song, and the air smelled like a mix of sweat, beer, and cheap cologne.

A big white banner was strung across the far wall: Sponsored by Laken Corp – Excellence in Education.

I blinked at it.

Mindie snorted. “Subtle.”

I rolled my eyes. “He really does have his hands in everything, doesn’t he?”

“Apparently,” she said, tugging me toward the counter. “But hey, it’s an open bar. Let’s not complain.”

We squeezed our way through the crowd, past a couple making out passionately, a group of guys singing terribly off-key, and someone who was already snoring on a leather couch. We grabbed two plastic cups from the table stacked with drinks.

“To surviving elite-level public humiliation,” I said dryly, lifting my cup.

“To thriving!” Mindie corrected, clinking hers against mine. “Scholarship queen.”

I laughed and downed half the drink. The beer was cold and fizzy, and for the first time all day, I didn’t feel like the floor was going to collapse under me.

We found a half-empty booth near the back and slid in. People were already dancing on chairs. Someone in the corner popped a balloon and three people screamed like it was a gunshot. It was chaos—but the good kind.

“See? This is what you needed,” Mindie said, sipping her drink. “Something brainless and loud.”

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