Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 174: Chapter 174

Nina Pryor had already changed. Aubree gazed at her with envy. Nina's figure was very alluring. Years of rigorous training had sculpted her toned midsection until the rectus abdominis was well-defined. Her long, shapely legs were enough to make anyone's mouth water. There wasn't an ounce of extra fat on her athletic frame.
"Envious?" Nina shot Aubree a teasing look.
Aubree nodded so hard that she resembled a bobble-head doll. "Can I touch them?"
Nina chuckled and then grabbed Aubree's hand and pressed it against her abs. "Go ahead."
"But I bet Mr. Turner's abs are even more impressive than mine," she added with a playful wink. She was clearly teasing Aubree.
Aubree's ears reddened slightly though she tried to play it cool. "Guess I'll find out tonight."
Nina burst out laughing. "Alright, you go get changed. I'm heading to the pool first."
Once Nina had left, Aubree finally began to put on her swimsuit.
Aubree hadn't given much thought to the swimsuit she had brought. But after witnessing Nina's stunning physique in her swimsuit, she suddenly felt her own swimwear was embarrassingly immature.
Aubree looked at herself and sighed deeply. Truly, one should start nurturing certain body parts from an early age.
The outdoor hot spring pool lay beneath the darkened night sky, and the suspended lanterns cast a warm glow that perfectly complemented the serene surroundings. The paths were paved with cobblestones, and wisps of white steam curled into the cool night air from the gently bubbling springs.
After soaking in the pool for a while, Nina felt thirsty. She put on a bathrobe and went out to get two bottles of water. As she turned a corner, a hand suddenly shot out from the side, seized her arm in a vice-like grip, and yanked her into the shadows.
Her robe slipped off, and Nina instinctively lashed out with a swift kick.
The assailant's body felt very warm, and his hands grabbed her thigh expertly. "It's me..."
"Mark King! Are you nuts? You think it's fun to frighten people?" Nina snapped.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, the tension in Nina's body eased. Without ceremony, she yanked her arm free and shoved her elbow hard into Mark's chest in retaliation.
Mark grunted in pain but refused to yield. His hand was still maintaining a firm grip on Nina's thigh. It was clear he had no intention of letting go.
It only belatedly dawned on Nina just how compromising her situation appeared. She was pinned against the door by Mark with one leg still firmly held in his hands. She was only wearing her swimsuit, and her body was pressed against his… It could give rise to misunderstandings.
The room was pitch black, but with her good night vision, she could clearly make out those cold, dark eyes glinting with a dangerously captivating light in the shadows.
Mark's hands, calloused from years of handling guns, slowly caressed Nina's thigh. Nina bit down hard on her lower lip. If it had been anyone else, she would have lashed out already. But this was Mark. Her body instinctively responded to his touch in spite of herself.
"Are you done?" Nina asked in a deliberately stern voice, but a tinge of coyness could be detected.
Mark finally released her and reached out to turn on the room light. He knew Nina's bathrobe had slipped off during their tussle. But now, seeing her body in its full glory, his eyes nearly popped out despite being mentally prepared. He swallowed hard a few times.
Nina was highly amused. She playfully hooked a finger into Mark's belt and pulled him closer. The gesture loosened his robe, revealing a broad expanse of taut, well-defined muscles from her vantage point.
"Mr. King, true to your military background, your physique puts all those gym rats to shame." She even gave a cheeky wolf whistle.
Mark lowered his head. "Be my girlfriend, and you can see this every day."
Nina raised an eyebrow. "You don't know when to give up, do you?
"My answer is still the same. Casual dating is fine, but becoming your girlfriend is out of the question," Nina said. Truth be told, though she had always turned Mark down over the years, she had to admit that he was in a league of his own among all the men she had ever met, in terms of physique and stamina.
Mark gritted his teeth as he struggled with a range of emotions. He brushed Nina's hand away. "Then forget it."
Nina was surprised by his response. Then she laughed suddenly. After all these years, she couldn't say she never had any feelings for Mark. "Mark, I'm three years older than you."
"So?" came the gruff reply.
"And I'll be thirty next year," Nina continued. Mark suddenly remembered something. Like Nina, the Turner family's bodyguards were all orphans and raised and trained from childhood. Compared to ordinary people, they simply received extra physical training.
The Turner family also had an unwritten rule. When their bodyguards turned thirty, they could choose to start a new life elsewhere or remain with the family.
"I've made up my mind. I'm not staying with the Turner family. I'm going to open a dessert shop. At that point, you can pursue me," Nina said with a smile.
The Turner family had raised her, giving her the finest living standards and educational resources. Before she turned thirty, she belonged to the Turner family. If she got involved with Mark, it would not be fair to him.
However, after thirty, she belonged to herself.
Mark was so excited that his hands were trembling. Just moments ago, he had been acting all righteous, but now he pressed Nina's hand against his belt. He growled, voice dripping with desire, "Can you answer my earlier question again? Will you be my girlfriend?"
Nina decided to let her actions do the talking.
In the changing room, Aubree finished changing. She wrapped herself in her bathrobe and headed toward the hot spring pool.
Before she could step out, the changing room door swung open.
"Well, well, well! So it really was you I saw at the entrance!"
Great. It's that lunatic I ran into at the swimsuit shop earlier.' Aubree rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. Surprisingly, that lunatic didn't try to stop her.
"I'm Milena Yurchenko." Before Aubree exited, that lunatic called out and introduced herself.
Milena Yurchenko?' Aubree whipped her head around. Although Milena's men broke her leg in her previous life, Milena herself never showed her face. She only communicated through phone calls and messages. Though Trevor Wilson made Aubree the scapegoat to save his skin, ironically, Aubree didn't even know what Milena looked like.
Thereafter, to retaliate against the Yurchenko family, the Wilson family allied itself with the Yurchenko family's enemies. Once Trevor was rescued, they gathered incriminating evidence of the Yurchenko family's illegal activities and brought the entire family down in one fell swoop.
"So you're Milena Yurchenko," Aubree gave a wry smile. She hardly thought about Milena, yet Milena chose to mess with her.
Milena puffed out her chest and declared proudly, "That's right! I'm Trevor Wilson's current girlfriend, Milena Yurchenko!"
"Current girlfriend? Didn't he dump you already?" Aubree gave a disdainful laugh.
That comment struck a raw nerve with Milena. How did this woman know? She instantly exploded, her eyes wide in shock.
It also strengthened Milena's suspicions that there was something between Trevor and Aubree.
She held back her temper and forced herself to smile. "So what? Trevor and I will end up together sooner or later."
"Good for you then," came the indifferent reply.
Aubree couldn't be bothered with her anymore and walked away for good.
Milena's eyes flashed with malice. 'That bitch! Who does she think she is?'
Milena had no intention of making a move on Aubree here. There were too many eyes, and too many people would talk. Besides, she relished tormenting people through slow, mental torture.
Milena narrowed her eyes dangerously. She would make sure Aubree suffer a slow and agonizing end!
With her mind made up, she suddenly felt much better. She quickly changed out of her clothes before returning to Trevor.
"Trevor, do you know Aubree Miller?" Milena asked innocuously.
Trevor immediately put on an annoyed look. "Yeah, I know her. Nothing but trouble."
Milena's smirk widened into a malicious grin. "I just ran into her. She's staying here too."
"She must have been stalking me," Trevor said with deliberate smugness.
As he spoke, Trevor kept a close eye on Milena's expression. When he caught a fleeting glimpse of malice in her eyes, he knew the bait had been taken.
He didn't make explicit his relationship with Aubree, but he wasn't wrong to say that Aubree was nothing but trouble to him. Whatever else Milena imagined was entirely her business and had nothing to do with him.