Chapter 5

~ Sarah's POV ~

Saxton was clearly not a Callahan. He was a Vance, and Jessica had mentioned that the entire estate belonged to the Callahans.

If the family owned the whole property, why did it look like Saxton had just driven out from their mansion?

Was he visiting any of the Callahans? But their son is just seven years old.

Before I could even begin to process why he was at the estate, he marched briskly up to me.

"Did you just call me an imbecile?" he demanded rudely.

He deserved to be called a lot worse than that.

This maniac had almost mowed me down with his sports car. Even without recognizing who I was, his default setting was just pure arrogance.

He should have been apologizing, not asking stupid questions. I guess Saxton Vance was a jerk wherever he went.

"Did I hear you call me an imbecile?" he pressed, stepping closer.

"Yes, I did!" I snapped, tilting my chin up. "I called you an imbecile. What are you going to do about it?"

Saxton paused, his grey eyes narrowing as he stared deeply at my face. "That voice... I've heard it somewhere."

Dammit!

I had only yelled at him once in that study room yesterday, and he already remembered the exact sound of my voice? I needed to get out of here before my entire cover was blown.

"Do I know you?" he asked, his gaze drilling into mine, trying to pierce through the makeup and contact lenses.

"No, you don't. I'm certain I haven't met someone like you in my entire life," I said coldly. I spun on my heel, quickly turning to leave.

"It's you," he said suddenly.

I halted, my muscles locking up.

"You flipped me over your shoulder yesterday in the Honors study room. It was you, right?"

I clenched my fists inside the pockets of my tailored blazer and turned back to face him, forcing a deadpan expression. "You've got the wrong person. What would I possibly be doing on a college campus when I'm already a university graduate?"

Saxton took a step toward me, bridging the distance. "I'm certain you're the girl from yesterday. I can never forget the way she sounded."

Before I could pull away, his hand shot out and clamped firmly around my wrist.

My eyes snapped wide open. "Let go of me!!!" I hissed.

"You are that girl, aren't you? What the hell are you doing here dressed up like a mature woman?" he asked, his eyes flashing with a mix of triumph and anger.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Let go of my hand, or I'm going to make you severely regret it, Saxton!" I yelled. The moment the word left my mouth, instant regret tasted like ash on my tongue.

A slow, dark smirk spread across his face. "Saxton? You already know my name without me even introducing myself. It is definitely you!"

"I'm not her!" I lied through my teeth, trying my absolute best to keep my composure before I lost my temper and threw him to the ground. "You're a popular hockey star at Ride University. Of course I know your name... everyone has heard of you. Now, let go of my wrist."

"I won't," he countered, tightening his grip until it bruised. "Because I know it's you. What are you up to? What are you doing inside this estate dressed like this?"

That was it. I lost every single ounce of my cool.

Bringing my foot down hard, I kicked him straight in the knee.

Saxton instantly let out a strangled scream, letting go of my wrist as he began hopping around on one foot, clutching his leg.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Reaching up, I pulled the bobby pins out of my hair and aggressively tied the silky, straight locks back into my signature messy bun.

"You!!!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Yes, it's me!" I shouted back, matching his volume. "I'm the girl who flipped you over her shoulder yesterday! And I'm also the girl you've been hunting all over campus!"

Saxton dropped his foot back onto the pavement, his chest heaving as he stared at me with fury.

"Do you have any idea how much you're adding to your sins right now?" he sneered.

"Adding to my sins? I didn't realize you were Jesus Christ, standing here counting my sins," I shot back sarcastically.

He took a predatory step closer. "You really don't know what you've gotten yourself into, do you, Four Eyes?"

"And how many times do I have to say it to your pathetic face? I am not afraid of you. You can't do a single thing to me!"

"Really? You think I can't?"

"I don't think, I know you can't! If you're so tough, why didn't you post the entire video online? You should have let the whole student body at Ride University see me flip your massive body on the floor. But the golden boy hockey captain is too embarrassed to let the world see him get humbled by a girl."

"Hey!" Saxton snarled, thrusting his finger in my face. "You only managed to do that because I didn't see it coming!"

"And I'll flip you over my shoulder again without you seeing it coming next time, too," I warned.

"This isn't over, Four Eyes. I promise you that. I'm going to make your life an absolute living hell," he hissed.

"I'll gladly be waiting for it, Jerk!" I spat.

Turning my back on him, I stormed away down the estate street. I had far more important things to worry about than wasting my breath on a privileged hockey player.

I needed to ensure that Seth approved of me tomorrow, otherwise my dad's monthly life-support bill wouldn't get paid.

As I was walking, a roar of an engine sounded behind me again. Saxton's sports car came tearing down the asphalt, deliberately swerving toward me to scare me.

My reflexes kicked in, and I threw myself out of the way onto the curb, losing my balance and crashing hard on the ground.

I scrambled to my feet, fuming. "You jerk!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Saxton merely stuck his arm out of the luxury car window, flashing me the middle finger as his car sped away toward the main security gates.

My blood boiled so hot I could feel my entire face turning crimson. I hated Saxton Vance with every fiber of my being.

I didn't know what he was doing at the Callahan estate, but he had completely ruined my day. I wished I had kicked his knee hard enough to break it so he wouldn't have been able to drive his stupid car.

Trying to bite down on my rage, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. Jessica was calling. Thankfully, the phone hadn't completely shattered when I hit the ground, though a new crack had bloomed across the glass.

Honestly, the screen was already a disaster before today. It looked like a giant spider web—begging for freedom from its misery—but I couldn't afford to say goodbye to it yet since I didn't have the cash for a replacement.

And now, Saxton Vance had added more wreckage to it.

Exhaling sharply to calm my breathing, I swiped the screen. It took a few seconds for the glitching glass to register my finger and swiped green.

"Hey, Sarah! How did the interview go?" Jessica's voice squealed excitedly through the speaker. "Were you able to land the job?"

"Mrs. Callahan didn't suspect a thing. She entirely believes that I'm a twenty-five-year-old graduate," I replied as I walked toward the exit.

"I knew it! My styling magic never fails," Jessica grinned over the line. "Now that you've got the job, you'll need to wear mature clothes and keep your hair straight at all times. I can style it for you every single day before you head to the mansion."

"I never said I actually got the job, Jess."

"What? You didn't get it? Why? You just said she believed your fake identity!" Jessica sounded completely bewildered.

"Apparently, I passed her interview, but I need her son's approval before anything is official. It's a two-part process."

"Her son's approval? He's seven! What does that even mean?" she groaned.

"I'll explain everything when I get back to your dorm. But first, I need to know something. Is Saxton Vance connected to the Callahans?"

"Saxton?" Jessica muttered, her tone shifting. "Why do you ask?"

"I just ran into him inside the Callahan estate. You told me they were the only family living in this exclusive community, right?"

"Yes, they are. But... wait, Saxton was probably visiting the oldest son of the Callahans."

I frowned, stopping in my tracks. "They have an older son?"

"Yes, they do. But he's rumor-shrouded. People say he's severely disabled—maybe crippled or blind, because the Callahans completely hide him from the public. He's never included in any of their family photos or online profiles. Nobody really knows anything about him."

"Then what does that have to do with Saxton?" I muttered.

"Like I said, he's probably visiting the disabled son. Saxton grew up with his grandpa, and everyone in school knows that," Jessica said.

Well... everyone except for me.

Relief washed over me, cooling my anger. Saxton wasn't a Callahan, which meant he didn't live in their mansion and I wouldn't have to face him every single day.

All that mattered was getting the approval of a spoiled seven-year-old and avoid whoever the mysterious, hidden oldest son was.