NovelFinishChapter 866:
Dustin tried to keep it in, but the boy's fiery declaration cracked his composure. Laughter slipped out before he
could stop it.
Face flushed and fuming, Zander began to wriggle furiously. “Hey! You back there! Letgo! You're laughing at
a kid! That makes you a terrible grown-up!”
It dawned on Dustin—he never imagined he would be trading barbs with someone barely tall enough to reach
the counter.
“Oh, so you do know you're just a kid?” Dustin arched an eyebrow, lips twitching with amusement. “Then act like
one. Who told you it was smart to cpick fights with grown-ups?”
Without much effort, he scooped Zander off the floor like a bag of groceries, prompting the boy to yelp twice in
startled protest. “Look at that. One hand. | don’t even need both. Cback when you've got sheight on
you, little warrior.”
Zander couldn’t wriggle free. Every squirm only made it more obvious that he was completely outmatched.
Being so easily manhandled by Dustin made his chest burn with humiliation.
Heat rushed to his cheeks as his emotions tangled—shame, fury, and helplessness all colliding at once. The more
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇthe dwelled on his failure, the heavier the weight of disappointment became. He hadn't even managed to stand
up for his mom.
A few tears betrayed him, slipping down his face and landing directly on Dustin's hand.
Startled, Dustin recoiled slightly. “Hey, hey—what’s this now? Don’t cry! You win, okay? Just—stop with the
waterworks. Kid tears givea damn headache.”
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With a helpless glance, he turned toward Collin, silently asking for backup.
Rather than responding, Collin stood motionless, his eyes narrowed and fixed on Zander as though he were
decoding scomplex equation.
It seemed even Collin wasn’t equipped to deal with a sobbing child. That's what Dustin figured, still clueless that
Collin’s thoughts had already wandered miles away.
As he looked at Zander’s tear-streaked face and red eyes, Collin’s thoughts drifted to Linsey. Strange—why did
this child remind him so much of her?
That sudden realization jerked Collin back to the present.
Without a word, he stepped forward and gently lifted Zander from Dustin's arms.
“I've got him,” he said, adjusting the boy’s weight more comfortably. “He must feel uncomfortable that way.”
Zander blinked, caught off guard by the shift. Before he could react, he found himself resting against Collin’s
chest.
A reflex had him wriggling in protest,
a 9
but Collin’s composed tone hajted his
“eG ) o
MOET Ridn A yhifdonte here to
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challenge me?” he asked. “Let's settle
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it, man to man.” The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Zander stiffened, clearly startled by
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmthe offer. His wide eyes SCANpcen
in's serious expression, and hi
Collin SREtoUs €xprassion, and his
o “
vice softened as he responded, ‘I
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want that duel.” The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
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Collin nodded seriously. “You're too
young for us to le this witha 1)
psoas Let'us try another
- . . ”
ethod to determine the winner.
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