Page 3

I TAKE A DEEP brEATH before I enter the classroom. It’s a new day, and it’s already easier to breathe. Only Victor and his inner circle pay any real attention to me as I enter and take my seat as far away from them as possible.

“Look at her,” someone says, their voice loud enough to let me know they’re not even a little bit ashamed. “So pathetic. She must be a virgin. Who’d date her? That ugly sweater she has on... Ew.” The guy makes a gagging sound.

“No,” Victor says.

I glance at him. His intense gaze is on me, his face deadly serious. I don’t want to look away this time, so I stare back at him.

Is he worried I’m going to tell someone about his little meeting in the alley? Not that I know what really happened there, so I doubt he’s afraid. Besides, no one would believe my word over his. I have no proof. No photos or videos.

“Yeah, Greg, don’t shame the poor girl for her ugly sweater,” a female voice says. “She can’t even afford her own dorm room.”

It’s the girl sitting next to Victor. A blonde with dark eyes and bright red lips. She’s impossibly pretty, and if she’s not Victor’s girlfriend already, she will be.

“Watch her get rich bouncing on someone’s cock,” Victor says, his lips spreading into a smile as his gaze holds mine.

What the hell is wrong with him? How can he say something like that and keep looking at me? No embarrassment. Nothing. All of them are disgusting.

“Would you fuck her?” Greg asks. “And pay her?”

“Nah, she’d have to pay me .” Victor laughs, and everyone else joins in.

The blonde grins too, but I can see it in her eyes that she doesn’t find the whole thing funny like the guys. Why doesn’t she tell them to quit being idiots?

Maybe they’re really all on drugs that Victor got last night. But ignoring them is getting harder with every second. I want to get up, walk over to Victor, and punch him in the face.

But if I even looked at him wrong, I’d probably get kicked out. He’s the hockey star and his team’s salvation, and I’m a nobody. They’d sooner run me over with a truck and hide my body than reprimand him.

But if all they got is this nonsense, they’ll get tired of it quickly. I sigh and focus my gaze on the door, waiting for the professor to show up. Victor and his minions keep talking, but at least I don’t have to look at them.

“How many did she fuck to get in?” Greg’s annoying voice reaches me anyway because he’s almost shouting. “Or was it just one guy? No, wait, who’s in charge of giving scholarships?”

“I think it’s that old woman...” the girl says. “What’s her name?”

“Never mind,” Greg says. “Do you think she has a boyfriend?”

“Why are you so obsessed with her?” the girl protests.

Yeah, Greg, why?

That’s what I’d like to know too.

“For fuck’s sake, Vanessa. Are you her friend or what? I’ll talk about whoever the fuck I want.”

“Relax,” Victor says, and Greg and Vanessa both go quiet.

The control he has over them is astounding. I guess they really care about what he thinks. Ridiculous.

I close my eyes for a moment because the whole thing reminds me of someone. My ex, Sebastian, was my first and only boyfriend. My first crush. My first everything.

We were a popular power couple, or so everyone thought. In reality, he treated me like his toy, and when I didn’t do what he expected me to do, he quickly lost his cool. I was so in love with him that I didn’t see it at first.

Maybe Greg and Vanessa don’t know that Victor doesn’t really give a damn about them. He just needs them to do things for him. Guys like him tend to surround themselves with people who are too blinded by their good looks, popularity, and irresistible charm to see them for who they really are.

And what’s underneath is ugly.

Very ugly.

Maybe Greg and Vanessa are lucky to only be his friends, so they’ll never see the darkest side of him. As for his girlfriend... I wouldn’t want to be her.

But dating is the last thing on my mind. It would get in the way of my education and only slow me down. I already took a gap year to recover from Sebastian.

An Emberwell student and I will never be a good fit anyway because we come from two completely different worlds. Once I get a job and I have my own place and money, I’ll look for love. Until then, college is my only focus. I’ll make my parents and myself proud.

Since Victor, Greg, and Vanessa are finally quiet, everyone else erupts into chatter. It calms me a little bit because they’re not talking about me. But the way everyone listens to Victor is so damn annoying.

Just because he’s good at hockey doesn’t mean he’s a god. Why is everyone treating him as such? Maybe there’s something else about him that I don’t know. His family must be filthy rich and influential.

The professor enters the room, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. Listening to the lecture and taking notes is more relaxing than anything else, especially because the whole class is quiet and no one bothers me.

Once the class is over, I pretend to be busy with my things as everyone else leaves the room. I feel someone’s gaze on me and look up straight into Victor’s eyes.

Ugh, not again. His lips are pressed into a tight line as he strolls past me, but his gaze doesn’t leave me until he’s out in the hallway.

What the hell? Was he waiting for me to look away first? I don’t know, but he’s so weird. I don’t know what his problem is. Maybe he was really buying drugs or something equally illegal yesterday and he thinks I’m a threat to him.

But if I wanted to report him to someone and if I had any proof, I would’ve already done it. So I don’t know what he thinks he’s gaining by trying to creep me out. Maybe he wants me scared or he expects me to roll over for him like his friends.

Well, that’s not going to happen, so it’s better if he realizes that quickly and leaves me alone. I don’t have time for him or anyone else. Sebastian almost cost me my scholarship. I’m not going to let any other guy put my plan in jeopardy.

Not ever again.