Chapter 16

Zara’s POV

“You’re settling in.”

“Settling?” I mumbled to myself, so pissed at the fact that he’d said that casually. Like he hadn’t done anything wrong a couple of days ago.

I slammed the car door shut, without even a word to Marco.

Already pissed that seeing Matteo this morning had somehow ruined my day before it even started. And school was about to make it even worse.

The gates of the university stood tall in front of me, paintings and history all wrapped into one intimidating entrance.

Students streamed in around me, laughing, chatting, bumping shoulders like they belonged here. Like this place hadn’t chewed them up and spat them back out already.

I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and walked forward.

‘Don’t think about him.’ I repeated it like a mantra as I crossed the courtyard, sneakers marching forward against stone. I could still hear his voice in my head. Calm and Infuriatingly controlled.

You’re settling in.

As if I were furniture. As if I were something that had simply been placed in his life without his consent.

Which fine, maybe I was.

But that didn’t give him the right to look at me the way he did. Or touch me the way he had. Or drag me through a ballroom like I was something he owned.

My jaw tightened from that swirling in my mind. A couple of minutes later, I spotted Sofia near the steps leading into the main academic building, leaning against one of the pillars, phone in hand. Her dark hair was pulled into a loose braid today, oversized blazer hanging off one shoulder. She looked relaxed in a way I envied.

The moment her eyes found me, her face lit up.

“Zara!” she called, waving. I forced my expression into something neutral as I walked over.

“Morning,” I said. But she tilted her head slightly, with an eyebrow raised staring at me. “You okay?”

“Fine,” I replied too quickly. Sofia hummed, unconvinced, but didn’t push. “You look… tired.”

“Didn’t sleep well.”

That part was true. Sleep had come in fragments last night, short, restless stretches interrupted by memories I didn’t ask for. Matteo’s hands. His voice. The way his expression had gone cold when I yelled at him to stop at the gala.

We walked inside together, the familiar hum of the building swallowing us whole. Lockers slammed. Voices echoed. Somewhere down the hall, someone laughed too loudly.

“So,” Sofia began casually, snapping me out of my reverie, “Do you have any social club in mind yet?”

I shot her a look, confused on what that is.

She winced. “A social club, and all that stuff?”

“None yet,” I sighed, trying not to act clueless.

“But you're going to want to put that in mind huh?” she added.

But in that moment, my mind drifted off to Matteo this morning. Perfectly put together. Suit jacket draped over the chair beside him. Not even looking at me when I walked past headed to the car for class this morning.

“Zara?” her voice cut through the thought in my head and I looked up at her to find her staring.

“I sure will,” I said instead and then she nodded. “Fair enough.”

Our first class of the day dragged.

International Political Systems, a lecture that should’ve interested me, but my mind refused to cooperate. The professor’s voice blurred into background noise as I stared at the screen, fingers tapping absently against my notebook.

I wrote things down. Words. Bullet points but none of it stuck. Unfortunately every time my thoughts drifted, they drifted back to him.

And I hated that. By the time the class ended, my patience was already thin.

Second lecture. Then third.

Hours passed in a slow, grinding crawl. I answered questions when called upon, participated just enough not to draw attention. I mean I was a bright student at that, not an average student if you werwondering. I kept my head down, ignored the looks, ignored the whispers that still followed me like shadows.

Because they hadn’t stopped. Just that the comments were quieter now, less direct but still there. A glance at my ponytail. A snicker when I passed. A murmur I didn’t quite catch but knew wasn’t kind.

By the time lunch rolled around, my stomach ached, not like it did from hunger, but from the dull knot of irritation that refused to loosen ever since I stepped foot into Italy.

Sofia and I sat at one of the long tables in the cafeteria, trays in front of us and I picked at my food more than I ate.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked again, softer this time.

“I’m just tired,” I said. “And annoyed.”

She smiled sympathetically. “Welcome to university.”

I snorted despite myself. We were mid-conversation when the atmosphere around us subtly shifted.

I noticed it before I saw him. The quieting voices. The way heads turned. The sudden awareness that something or someone had entered the room.

Sofia noticed it too because her eyes widened.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

And I frowned, glancing up. Alex from the other day stood a few steps away from our table.

He looked exactly the same as the other day effortlessly put together without trying too hard. Dark hair slightly messy, backpack slung over one shoulder, expression relaxed but sharp. He scanned the room briefly before his gaze landed on me.

And then he smiled. It wasn’t flirtatious, not even exaggerated. Just… easy.

“Hey,” he said, stopping beside our table. “Zara, right?”

“Yes,” I replied, confused. Sofia had gone completely still beside me.

“I didn’t get a chance to properly talk the other day,” he continued. “Figured I’d say hi.”

“That’s… nice of you,” I said slowly and then he glanced at Sofia. “Mind if I steal her for a second?”

Sofia nodded so fast I thought her neck might snap. I stood, more out of politeness than anything else, and followed him a few steps away.

“So,” he said, hands in his pockets, “how’s the university treating you?”

“It’s… an experience,” I replied.

He chuckled. “That bad?”

“Not bad. Just loud.”

“I get that.” His eyes softened slightly. “If you ever need help navigating things around here, let me know.”

“Thank you, but I think I can handle things on my own” I said with a forced smile at him.

He nodded once. “See you around, Zara.”

And just like that, he walked away. The moment he was out of earshot, Sofia exploded when I approached her.

“ZARA.”

I winced. “Sofia—”

“Do you know who that is?” she whisper-shouted.

“A student?” I guessed. She grabbed my arm. “That’s Alex. Alex. The hottest guy in this entire university.”

I blinked. “He is?”

“È il più bello dei più belli,” she said.

“Okay, I'm confused. Plus what does that even mean?” I responded, wondering why she sounded so awestrucked.

She stared at me like I’d just spoken a foreign language where as she did a couple of seconds ago. “Are you serious?”

“I mean,” I hesitated, thinking it over, “he’s attractive, I guess. But hottest?”

She let out another dramatic groan and dropped her head onto the table. “You are unreal.”

I shrugged. “I don’t see it.”

She lifted her head slowly, eyes narrowed. “What kind of men do you see, then?”

The image that surfaced in my mind was immediate and unwanted and just the forbidden type I'm not meant to even picture. Dark eyes. Sharp jaw. A presence that filled rooms without effort.

I pushed it away.

“None,” I said firmly. “I’m not here for that.”

Sofia studied me for a moment, then smiled knowingly. “Uh-huh.”

I stabbed at my food again, suddenly having lost my appetite entirely, ignoring her.