The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1921

Montara. The rain was growing heavier, accompanied by howling winds that snapped thick tree branches in half.

"Careful," Stella said, gripping her student's hand. She held up an umbrella, fighting her way up the muddy mountain trail.

The torrential rain mercilessly battered them, soaking them to the bone. Thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed across the sky, and a sudden, violent gust of wind ripped the umbrella right out of Stella's grasp.

With a terrified scream, the student lost her footing in the gale, teetering dangerously toward the edge of the steep ravine.

"Watch out!" Stella's expression tightened. She lunged forward with lightning speed, catching the girl's hand in a vice grip.

"I'm scared," the student sobbed, burying her face into Stella's chest and clutching her shirt. She was trembling all over. "I want my grandma. I don't want to die in the mud like my mom and dad."

Stella's heart twisted. She knew the girl was an orphan, but she had never known her parents had been buried alive in a mudslide.

"It's okay," Stella said, stroking the girl's wet hair. She wiped the rain from her own face and raised her voice over the storm. "No matter what happens, I'll protect you. Come on, we're almost at your house."

The student wiped her tears, nodded bravely, and stuck close to Stella's side as they pressed on.

But they hadn't gone far when the loose soil on the peak above them suddenly gave way. A slurry of mud and uprooted trees plummeted straight toward them.

Seeing the debris about to crush them, Stella yanked the student and threw herself forward.

The mud crashed into the earth mere feet behind them, and the slope continued to crumble. Staring at the jagged rocks buried in the sludge, Stella took a shaky breath. If they hadn't jumped, they would be buried under it right now.

The storm raged on, lightning tearing through the sky. More and more sections of the mountain began to collapse.

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