Catherine’s POV
I hadn’t even walked five minutes when a car horn blared behind . I didn’t bother looking back. The sound ca again, but I still kept walking, hugging my arms to my chest.
The third honk ca, longer this ti, and I finally turned around to see Julian’s car.
Of course.
He slowed to a stop beside , rolling his window down halfway. His hair was slightly ruffled like he’d been driving fast, and the collar of his shirt was unbuttoned, the fabric loose around his throat. His eyes flicked over , then to the empty road.
"Get in," he ordered like he was my boss.
I exhaled and shook my head. "No, thanks. I can walk."
He gave a quiet scoff. "Are you really going to be stubborn about this? Save yourself the stress and get in."
I didn’t reply. He drumd his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, watching .
"I said no. I’m fine," I repeated, more stubbornly this ti.
"Right," he muttered, putting the car in gear. "Fine, walk then."
The car started rolling slowly beside . Every few seconds, he’d pull a little ahead, then stop until I caught up. I tried ignoring him, but his voice ca again tauntingly low.
"Let go of your pride, wildcat."
I stopped walking. "Don’t call that."
He smirked, leaning one arm out the window. "Then get in the car."
I folded my arms across my chest. "Would that get you to stop calling that?"
He tilted his head, pretending to think. "If that’s what you want, then deal."
I hesitated, then sighed and opened the passenger door. The truth was that I actually wanted to get in but without tampering with my self respect, so the wildcat thingy ca at the right mont and beca my perfect excuse.
The mont I sat down and buckled my seatbelt, he started the engine. "You comfortable, wildcat?"
My head snapped toward him. "You just—!"
He laughed, in an infuriating way and I squeezed my fingers tight. "Not my fault you actually believed ."
My eyes narrowed at him. "You’re such a—"
"Careful," he said, still grinning. "Kids your age shouldn’t curse."
I glared at him but said nothing. My fingers itched for the door handle, but when I tried it, it didn’t budge. I looked down and realized he’d locked the doors.
He noticed my expression and laughed again. "Nice try."
"You’re such a moron."
"I’ve been called worse."
We drove in silence for a while after that. My pulse still hadn’t settled completely, and I could feel the ghost of his earlier kiss pressing at the back of my mind.
I wanted to say sothing about it, about the way it had left confused and wanting more. I turned toward him. "About earlier..."
"Don’t," he said quietly, not looking at .
"What?"
"Don’t bring it up." His hands tightened on the wheel. "It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that."
The words hit harder than I expected. A mistake.
"Oh." I looked out the window, forcing a little laugh. "Right. Yeah. I figured."
He glanced at briefly. "It’s not— Look, I didn’t an it like that."
"No, it’s fine," I cut him off with a sharp voice. "You don’t owe an explanation. I get it."
"Catherine?"
"I said it’s fine," I repeated. My throat burned. "You don’t have to pretend like it ant sothing."
He stayed silent for a few seconds, then sighed. "You don’t understand. It’s going to be hard, but I know putting an end to it is the best thing for us."
Oh! He wasn’t dismissing . He was trying to draw a line that neither of us knew how to stay behind.
I didn’t say anything else. I just stared at the windshield, pretending I didn’t care, while every beat of my heart reminded that I did.
Days later; the last day of exams
Students were filled with excitent about the sester coming to an end. I should’ve been happy, but I wasn’t.
My eyes landed on Collins who was standing near the cafeteria, surrounded by his friends.
I’d been trying to talk to him for days, but he kept dodging . Now that the sester was over, I thought maybe we could finally talk and clear the air before I went ho, so I called his na.
He heard , I knew he did but instead of turning toward , he grabbed the waist of the girl beside him and kissed her right there. To prove a point.
Sothing hot rushed up my chest. For a mont, I just stood there, frozen, my face burning while his friends hooted and laughed.
When he finally looked at , there was no trace of guilt in his eyes.
I walked up to him in anger while still maintaining a calm voice. "Collins? We need to talk."
He turned back to his friends, ignoring completely. That single act made feel very humiliated. I clenched my fists and my jaw tightened as his laughter got loud.
"Collins," I called again, louder this ti. He still ignored .
Sothing inside snapped. Before I could stop myself, I unscrewed the cap of my water bottle and poured it straight onto his face. The shock on his face was worth every second.
"You’re an asshole," I hissed, and turned, walking away.
Gasps and laughter echoed behind , people whispered as I passed. I didn’t care.
By the ti I got to the parking lot, I was already regretting it. It seed like soone already posted my action on the tiline because half the campus was giving judgeful stares.
When Gabriel pulled up beside , I almost didn’t get in.
"I heard what you did to Collins," he said once we were on the road.
I slumped in my seat, staring out the window. "I don’t want to talk about it."
He nodded, understanding the situation. "Okay, but if I drop it, I’ll still say this... I’m sure he deserved every drop of that water."
That made smile a little.
When we got ho, he dropped off but didn’t co in. "Have sowhere to go?"
"Yes, I am eting up with my friends," he said, and drove off.
I got in and went upstairs, took off my clothes, and sat on my bed for a while. That’s when it hit that today was Julian’s birthday.
When Sasha had ntioned it, I hadn’t thought much about it until now. The mory of her saying she couldn’t throw him a party ca back, and a small idea popped up in my head.
Maybe I could do sothing simple for him. A cake.
I went downstairs and found Mara in the kitchen. Lucy was sitting at the island, scrolling through her phone.
"Mara," I called, walking closer. "Today’s Julian’s birthday. I was thinking maybe we could bake a cake for him before he gets back."
Mara gave an expression-less look and just before she could speak, Lucy interrupted without looking up. "Bring my al to my room."
Mara paused, clearly torn. "Yes, ma’am," she said after a second.
I bit my tongue. Lucy was rude to her, but I didn’t want trouble, so I decided to be quiet about it.
"It’s fine," I said quietly. "Hurry up and get back so we can start."
It took almost an hour, but we managed to bake a chocolate cake for him. I even found so leftover icing in the fridge and wrote "Happy Birthday" across the top. It looked clumsy, but it was heartfelt.
By seven, Julian still hadn’t co ho. I was starting to wonder if he would return tonight when I heard the sound of a car driving in.
He was back! My stomach flipped. I grabbed the cake and hurried upstairs, into his room, deciding to surprise him. I turned off the lights and stood by his bed, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous I must’ve looked holding a cake in the dark.
The door opened, and he stepped in.
"Surprise!" I said softly, the candlelight shining on my face. "Happy birthday, Julian."
He quickly turned the light on and for a mont, he just stared, his expression shifting from shock to confusion and then anger.
His dark eyes squinted. "What the hell is going on here?"
"I— made a cake to celebrate your birthday."
He stepped forward. "Who told you to do this?" His teeth pressed together and his muscles ticked at the corner of his face.
I swallowed, my smile faltering. "I just thought..."
Before I could finish, he knocked the cake from my hands, causing it to splatter across the floor.
My breath caught in my throat. "Julian!" I gasped. "What is wrong with you? Do you know how much effort it took to make that cake?"
"Get out," he barked. "Now."
"What’s wrong with you? Why are you getting mad over this?" I demanded, my voice shaking between fear and anger. "I was only trying to do sothing nice!"
"Get out!" he shouted again, louder this ti.
I’d never seen him that angry. His eyes were wild, his chest heaving. The sound of his voice alone made flinch. I turned toward the door, ready to leave, but froze when I saw Lucy.
She stood at the doorway, watching the whole thing unfold. Without saying a word, she brushed past and went straight to Julian.
He didn’t push her away. He didn’t even look at . He just stood there, rigid, while she wrapped her arms around him.
The world seed to tilt for a second. Tears stung in my eyes while I backed away with a tight throat and trembling hands.
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