Evaline:
Nadine didn’t waste another second pretending.
The mont I stopped in front of them and put down the bucket, she tilted her head and let out a soft, humorless laugh.
"You really are playing a smart ga, Evaline," she said, her voice dripping with false admiration. "I’ll give you that."
I didn’t respond. I simply stared at her, my expression blank, my grip on the mop handle steady.
Her smile sharpened. "You know," she continued, slowly circling to my left while Bianca and Violet blocked my right, "people like you think they are clever when they believe no one notices their little tricks."
I sighed inwardly.
I seriously didn’t want to deal with her right now. Not when the thing I wanted desperately was to get into shower as soon as possible.
"Now that Draven is conveniently away," She went on, her eyes narrowing, "you seem to be... redirecting your attention."
There it was.
I finally set down the mop as well, careful, deliberate. Then I straightened and t her gaze.
Still, I said nothing.
Nadine mistook my silence for weakness.
Her lips curved in satisfaction. "Don’t act so innocent. You have always had a talent for that." Her eyes flicked pointedly over my shoulder, as if Oscar might appear at any second. "Getting close to Instructor Oscar. And always playing the good girl in front of Professor Kieran." Her tone darkened when she said Kieran’s na. "You really don’t waste ti, do you?"
It clicked fully then.
This was about Oscar... and mostly Kieran.
Of course.
I rembered Bianca’s face now... half-hidden behind a pillar this Monday morning. I had noticed her only for a split second, just as I had stepped out of the underground parking area after Kieran. It had been early, too early for students to be already out of the dorms.
But Bianca had been there. Turned out she was going for her precious morning run.
And she was lucky enough to notice us.
And I knew she had built an entire story around it.
Nadine leaned closer. "You must think people are stupid," she scoffed. "But we are not blind, Eva. They treat you nicely because you are their brother’s girlfriend, but you-" she stopped herself, her jaw tightening, "-you surely are trying to get much more out of it."
I felt nothing.
No anger. No embarrassnt.
Just... exhaustion.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
I had no desire to explain myself to them. No urge to defend, deny, or justify anything. They could think whatever fantasy they wanted to spin about .
As long as they stayed out of my way.
I bent down, picked the bucket back up, and took a step forward, intending to walk past them.
That was apparently unacceptable.
Nadine’s expression twisted when she realized I wasn’t going to react.
"Oh?" she snapped. "Nothing to say?"
I kept walking.
Her voice rose. "Aren’t you even afraid?"
That made pause.
Slowly, I turned my head just enough to glance at her.
"Afraid of what?" I asked calmly.
Her eyes lit up, as if she had been waiting for that. "Of Draven finding out," she said sharply. "Or are you so confident he’ll never know how desperate you are to crawl into his brothers’ arms?"
Bianca laughed, high and cruel. "Seriously," she added, folding her arms, "how pathetic do you have to be? He’s been gone for barely a week and you are already lining up replacents."
Sothing cold settled in my chest.
Not because of their words.
But because of how little they understood.
Draven wasn’t "away."
But no one knew the truth, they just believed the lie River and Kieran had beautifully crafted - that Draven was away at Ice Shifter Academy on the other side of globe for this sester.
I said nothing. I just turned again and took another step.
That was when Bianca reached out.
Her hand grabbed my arm.
Hard.
The world shifted.
In a heartbeat, my calm snapped... not into blind rage, but into sothing far sharper. Controlled. Precise.
Before Bianca could even register what happened, I twisted.
Her fingers slid uselessly off my sleeve as I pivoted on my heel, my body moving on instinct, muscle mory taking over. My hand shot out and caught Nadine’s wrist mid-gesture, twisting it upward and back in one swift motion.
She scread.
At the sa ti, my other hand fisted into Bianca’s hair, yanking her forward with enough force to make her stumble.
The mop bucket clattered to the floor.
Violet froze.
Her eyes went wide, her feet rooted to the spot as if her body had forgotten how to move.
Nadine gasped, her free hand clawing at my arm as pain shot through her twisted wrist. "L-let go!"
Bianca cried out, her hands scrambling uselessly at my grip in her hair. "Are you crazy?!"
I leaned in, my voice low but carrying easily through the empty hall.
"Touch again," I said quietly, "and I promise you’ll regret it for the rest of your lives."
Silence fell.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Nadine’s breathing turned shallow. I could feel the tremor in her wrist, the way her confidence shattered under the realization that she had miscalculated completely.
"You think you can corner ?" I continued, tightening my grip just enough to make my point clear. "Intimidate ? Accuse ?"
I t Nadine’s gaze, my eyes cold.
"You don’t know ," I said flatly. "And you have no idea what you are playing with."
Violet swallowed hard, finally finding her voice. "N-Nadine... maybe we should-"
"Shut up," Nadine hissed through clenched teeth, though the edge was gone from her tone now. Fear had replaced it.
I released Bianca first, shoving her back a step. She nearly tripped over her own feet, hands flying to her scalp as she stared at in disbelief.
Then I let go of Nadine’s wrist.
She staggered back, clutching it to her chest, her eyes burning with humiliation and hatred.
I straightened, smoothing my tank top as if nothing had happened.
"This is your only warning," I said, my voice steady again. "Stay away from . Don’t follow . Don’t talk about . And don’t ever put your hands on again."
My gaze swept over all three of them.
"Next ti," I added softly, "I won’t be this kind."
For a long mont, none of them spoke.
Then I bent down, picked up the mop bucket, and walked past them.
This ti...
No one tried to stop .
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