Elvie
The heavy oak door creaked open, and Gemma practically pushed her way into the foyer. She took two steps inside, her mouth falling open as her eyes swept over the high ceilings, marble floors, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
"Wow," Gemma breathed, turning in a full circle. "This is a freaking paradise, Elvie. Seriously, if I lived in a place like this, I’d never leave. It’s huge!"
"Where are my things?" I asked, cutting straight past her awe.
"Right here, relax." She held up my two battered duffel bags and my black canvas tote.
I grabbed them from her hands, relief washing over me as I unzipped the canvas tote. Everything I owned in the world was packed into these bags, but my main focus was the smaller side pocket of the tote. I reached in and pulled out my worn sketchbook, my set of graphite pencils, and a rolled-up canvas pouch of acrylic paints.
Cassian had said yesterday that I could paint. Reconnecting with my art felt like the only anchor I had left to keep my mind off the chaos of my life and to keep my thoughts from drifting back to him.
"I’m going to run upstairs and freshen up so we can head to campus together," I said, zipping the tote back up.
Gemma frowned, glancing down at her watch. "Wait, what? You’re not even ready yet? Ah, right... you knew we don’t have that early lecture today, so you decided to sleep in." She suddenly paused, narrowing her eyes as a dangerous smirk spread across her face. "Hold on. Did something happen last night between you and the...." She trailed off a mischievous smirk on her lips.
Heat instantly rushed to my face, burning up my neck as memories of last night flooded back—his hands catching my waist, the heavy scent of his cologne, the glimpse of his bare chest through his unbuttoned shirt, and the electrifying pull when our fingers touched at my bedroom door.
"Shut up, Gemma," I muttered quickly, avoiding her sharp gaze.
"Oh, look at you blushing! You are totally hiding something!"
"I am not!" I snapped defensively, though my cheeks were practically on fire.
Truthfully, sleeping in hadn’t been an accident. I had deliberately stayed under my covers until I heard his door click shut. I had been terrified of bumping into him after I literally slammed my bedroom door flat in his face last night.
The absolute worst part of my morning had come when I finally crept downstairs to clean the kitchen. The sink was completely empty. The dishes from our dinner had all been meticulously washed, dried, and put away.
I had felt a fresh wave of mortification wash over me right there in the kitchen. Washing the dishes was literally my job as his live-in housekeeper, yet I had abandoned my duties leaving my boss and professor to clean up after me. The embarrassment was almost unbearable.
"I just woke up late, okay?" I lied, pulling my bags up over my shoulder. "Give me ten minutes to change."
"Ten minutes," Gemma called after me as I hurried toward the stairs. "And you’re telling me everything on the drive to class!"
**
"I’m just saying, I still don’t buy your whole ’nothing happened’ story," Gemma insisted in a hushed voice, giving me a skeptical sideways glance as we walked inside the lecture hall.
"Gemma, please drop it," I pleaded, clutching my notebook tightly against my chest. "I’ve already told you everything. I don’t know what else you want to hear."
Before she could grill me any further, the class representative walked up to us, holding a clipboard against her chest.
"Elvie, Dr. Vance wants you in his office."
I blinked, my stomach instantly dropping. Dr. Vance?
"Sure," I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the sudden knot tightening in my chest.
Gemma gave my arm a quick, reassuring squeeze. "Go ahead. I’ll save us a spot in the back row."
I gave her a small nod and turned back toward the main administration building. By the time I reached the familiar wooden door with Dr. Vance - Department Head etched onto the glass, my palms were slick with nervous sweat.
I took a deep breath, knocked softly, and pushed the door open.
Dr. Vance looked up from his paperwork, his face breaking into a warm, fatherly smile as he set his pen down.
"Ah, Elvie. Please, come in. Have a seat."
"Thank you, Dr. Vance," I murmured, stepping into the quiet office and sitting down on the leather chair, setting my hands neatly on my lap to hide their slight tremble.
My pulse hammered in my ears as I waited for him to speak. Panic began to twist quietly in my gut. Could this be about my tuition? Did Mr. Norman call the school and pull his financial backing because I moved out? Is he no longer going to pay my fees now that I’ve left his house?
The fear of having my future ripped away before it even started left me completely breathless.
Dr. Vance reached into a beige file folder on his desk and pulled out a single sheet of paper, sliding it toward me alongside a sleek silver pen. "I just need your signature on this receipt copy for your student records," he said, his voice light and cheerful. "Your tuition and administrative fees for the entire academic year have been settled in full."
I froze, my eyes scanning the document. The total at the bottom was stamped with a bold red PAID IN FULL.
A quiet, shuddering breath of relief escaped my lips, the crushing weight on my chest dissolving instantly. They paid it. Mr. Norman hadn’t cut off my funding after all. Even though I had walked out of their house, it seemed they were still willing to maintain the arrangement they had kept up for years.
No matter how cold, distant, or cruel Asher and his family had been to me under their roof, a small, quiet part of me was deeply thankful. They had taken me in when I was just a baby, giving me a roof over my head, and now they were making sure I could finish my degree.
"Thank you, Dr. Vance," I said, my hand trembling slightly as I signed my name at the bottom of the page.
"You’re very welcome, Elvie," he replied with a warm nod, taking the paper back. "You’re a bright student. I wish you all the best this semester. That would be all."
"Have a good day," I murmured, standing up and heading for the door.
I stepped out into the quiet hallway, pulling the door shut behind me with a soft click. I let out a long breath, my mind racing with equal parts relief and lingering exhaustion.
The sharp, measured sound of heavy dress shoes echoing down the corridor made me halt in my tracks. I looked up, and my heart instantly plummeted into my stomach.
Cassian was walking straight down the hallway toward me. He looked impossibly handsome, dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, a dark tie resting neatly against his crisp white shirt. He held a leather folio in one hand, his gaze sharp and focused as he approached.
Panic seized me in a suffocating grip. My eyes darted frantically around the empty corridor, desperate to find a pillar, a doorway, or anywhere to hide before he caught sight of me. I spun on my heel, ready to bolt back toward the side exit.
"Elvie." I froze completely as my name was being called.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I slowly turned around, bracing myself for the impact of meeting Cassian’s eyes.
It wasn’t him.
Standing a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest, was Lexi.
She took slow step forward, her eyes scanning me from head to toe with an arrogant, condescending sneer.
My eyes instinctively darted past her, searching the length of the empty corridor. Cassian was nowhere to be seen. He must have turned down another hallway or stepped into an office before I turned around.
A quiet wave of relief washed over me; I was glad he wasn’t here to witness whatever cruel spectacle Lexi was trying to start.
"I don’t have time for this, Lexi," I said quietly, turning on my heel to walk away.
"You know, Asher came over to my house last night," Lexi called out behind me.
The sound of his name stopped me dead in my tracks. My body went completely rigid.
"He couldn’t stop talking about how much better it is without you cluttering up the house," Lexi continued, her heels clicking against the tile floor as she closed the distance between us. "He’s so attentive when you’re not around to drain the energy out of the room. Absolutely incredible in bed, too, in case you were wondering what you’ve been missing."
I clamped my hands into tight fists at my sides, my fingernails digging painfully into my palms. Turn around, I told myself. Put her in her place and walk away.
I spun back around, forcing a calm, icy expression onto my face. "Congratulations. I’m truly happy for you."
Lexi’s sneer tightened, her eyes flashing with sudden irritation that her bait hadn’t completely unraveled me. "Keep acting like you’re above it all, Elvie," she spat, taking a aggressive step into my personal space. "At the end of the day, you’re still just a charity case. A pathetic, unwanted orphan whose own dead parents couldn’t even be bothered to stay around for her."
A sudden, hot rush of anger exploded through my veins. "I can handle a lot from you, Lexi," I said, stepping right back up to her, my voice trembling with raw, restrained fury. "But do not bring my parents into this."
"And what if I do?" Lexi laughed in my face. "What are you going to do about it?"
Before I could react, she reached out and grabbed my upper arm in a harsh, bruising grip, yanking me forward.
"Let me go!" I demanded, struggling to pull back, but her fingers dug deeper into my skin.
A wince left my lips. "Lexi, let go!"
"Make me—"
Suddenly, a large, strong hand shot out and clamped tightly around Lexi’s wrist. The sheer force of the grip yanked Lexi’s hand off my arm, spinning her around on her heels. I stumbled back, my chest heaving.
My breath hitched instantly when I looked to the person. Cassian was standing over us, his towering frame casting a massive, dark shadow across the corridor. His face was an unreadable mask of absolute, icy rage, his dark eyes fixed on Lexi with a lethal intensity that made the hairs on my body rose.