CHAPTER 6 - ALREADY MINE

(Adeline’s POV)

For a moment, I stood frozen in front of him, my tongue heavy, my chest tightening as if every breath I took weighed twice as much.

Travis should not have been here. Not in front of my campus, not in front of my friends, and certainly not looking at me with that sly, knowing grin that turned my insides upside down.

“What are you doing here?” I managed, my voice sharper than I intended.

He tilted his head slightly, as if I had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

“I told you, didn’t I? Collecting what’s mine.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I quickly glanced over my shoulder. Jasmine’s mouth was hanging open, her eyes darting between us like she was watching a forbidden scene in a movie.

Madeline wasn’t far behind her, pretending to scroll on her phone but clearly eavesdropping. Great. Just what I needed.

I clenched my fists by my side. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“And yet,” Travis said smoothly, “here I am.”

His confidence was infuriating.

The way he carried himself, the way his voice dipped into every syllable, it all screamed danger, and yet my stupid body betrayed me—heart hammering, knees weak, stomach twisting with something that was definitely not fear.

Jasmine stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“Adeline… who is he?” she asked.

I opened my mouth, but Travis beat me to it.

“Her ride,” he said simply, slipping his sunglasses into his shirt pocket. His eyes—those sharp, merciless eyes—locked on mine. “She didn’t tell you?”

Jasmine blinked in shock. “You… you’re her ride?”

I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

“No—” I started quickly, but Travis cut me off again.

“Yes,” he said firmly.

My pulse spiked. He was lying with such ease, and worse, I had no choice but to play along.

If I contradicted him now, if Jasmine started asking questions, if Juan somehow caught wind of this… the consequences would be unthinkable.

“Yeah,” I muttered, my voice small. “He’s… um, he’s giving me a ride today.”

Jasmine stared at me, suspicion etched all over her face, but she didn’t press further. She sighed instead.

“Fine, but you promised me we’d go together. Don’t ditch me, Adeline.”

“I won’t,” I said quickly, though my voice wavered.

Travis, of course, looked amused. He leaned closer, his words meant only for me.

“I don’t like sharing, little canary.”

I shot him a glare, whispering back fiercely. “Stop calling me that.”

“Why?” His lips curved into that infuriating smirk. “It suits you.”

I could barely breathe. Everything about him—the way he looked at me, the way his presence consumed all the air around him—felt overwhelming.

I needed to get away before Jasmine asked more questions or before Travis said something reckless.

“We should go,” I told Jasmine, forcing a smile. “Let’s not be late for your project thing.”

Jasmine hesitated, her eyes flicking back to Travis.

“Are you… Sure, you’re okay?”

“Yes,” I lied, tugging at her sleeve. “I’m fine.”

But Travis wasn’t done. He stepped around us, opened the car door with a flourish, and looked directly at me.

“Get in.”

I froze. My throat went dry.

Jasmine gasped. “You’re seriously going with him?”

I swallowed hard, every part of me screaming no, but my lips said, “Yeah… just for a moment.”

Travis’s gaze never left mine, daring me to disobey. And God help me, I obeyed.

I slid into the car, heart pounding so loudly I was sure the entire campus could hear it.

Jasmine stared at me like I’d lost my mind, but she didn’t stop me. She just stood there, arms crossed, clearly waiting for a detailed explanation later.

The moment Travis closed the door and got into the driver’s seat, the world outside blurred. The tinted windows separated us from the curious eyes at the gate.

My chest rose and fell too quickly, my palms slick with sweat.

“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed the moment he started the engine.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned back, one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually on the gearshift. His profile looked carved from stone, cold and untouchable, yet infuriatingly magnetic.

Finally, he turned his head toward me, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Making sure you don’t run from me.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” he said, his lips twitching. “But you didn’t say no last night.”

My breath hitched. I clenched my teeth, refusing to let him see how much his words rattled me.

“That was a mistake.”

“Was it?” His voice dropped lower, more dangerous. “Funny, I don’t remember you treating it like one.”

I snapped my head toward him, anger rising to cover my panic.

“You lied to Juan. You told him you dropped me home!”

His eyes glittered with amusement. “Urwell.”

“Urwell?” I echoed, stunned, “You’re putting me in danger. If he finds out—”

“He won’t,” Travis interrupted smoothly. “Not unless you tell him.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line, my body trembling with a mix of fear and something else I refused to name.

He was right.

We were both tangled in this web now, forced to protect the lie or risk everything.

The car glided down the road, and silence fell between us, heavy and suffocating. I stared out the window, trying to slow my breathing, trying to focus on anything but the man beside me.

But then his voice broke the silence.

“Where were you planning to go with her?” he asked casually, nodding toward where Jasmine had stood.

“Nowhere,” I said too quickly.

His eyebrow lifted. “You’re a terrible liar.”

My nails dug into my palms. “And you’re a professional one.”

He chuckled, low and dark. “Touche.”

The sound sent a shiver down my spine, one I tried desperately to ignore.

Finally, I turned back to him, my voice firmer.

“Whatever this is, it has to stop.”

His jaw tightened, and for the first time, his smirk faltered. He glanced at me, his eyes unreadable.

“You really think it can stop?” he asked quietly.

I swallowed hard. “It has to.”

For a long moment, he said nothing.

The car hummed, the city blurred past us, and all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Then he leaned slightly closer, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You’re already mine, Adeline. There’s no stopping it.”