CHAPTER 3

Lucian’s calm voice came beside him. “Are you okay? Do you… want a hug?”

Rayne looked at him, really looked. The broad shoulders, the composed face, the quiet strength that made him seem like he could hold the world together. Without a word, Rayne leaned over and hugged him.

Lucian didn’t hesitate. His arm wrapped around Rayne’s shoulders, firm and gentle at the same time. His soft lemon scent warmed the air around Rayne, soothing the ache in his chest.

For the first time that day, Rayne finally stopped shaking.

He closed his eyes while hugging Lucian, and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he found himself lying in the car. His head was resting on Lucian’s lap while Lucian scrolled through his phone. Rayne’s eyes widened, and he quickly sat up.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I fell asleep.” He wiped the little drool on his cheek and rubbed his eyes, noticing it was already dark.

Wait, his parents! They must’ve been worried sick. He had even switched off his phone!

He frantically searched for it, grabbed it, and turned it on.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Lucian said. “You were heartbroken. While you slept, I called your parents and told them you’d be home late tonight.”

Rayne let out a long breath. “Thank goodness… they would’ve been so worried.”

“Thank you, Lucian. You’re a good guy,” he said softly, but Lucian looked at him like he didn’t believe it.

A few minutes later, Lucian dropped him home. Rayne waved and went inside. His parents were already eating dinner when he entered. Rayne rushed over dramatically.

“Wow, you’re eating without me? How could you! I’m starving!” He grabbed a spoon, but his mom stopped him.

“Wash your hands first. And by the way,” she narrowed her eyes, “you like Lucian, don’t you?”

Rayne froze. “Of course not! How could I like him? I just stayed with him because you were the one who sent me on that blind date!”

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then why are you still wearing his coat?”

Rayne blinked, looked down, and there it was. Lucian’s coat still wrapped around him.

Embarrassed, he darted back to his room, tossed the coat on his bed, and rushed to wash up. Ten minutes later, he returned, and his parents waited for him. Cute. He joined them and finally began to eat.

“Did something happen, Rayne?” Dad asked. “Your eyes look swollen.”

Rayne tried brushing it off. “No, nothing,” His voice cracked, and tears spilled before he could stop them. So he told them everything,about Losif, about Ken, about the betrayal.

“Losif was two-timing,” he said bitterly. “He’s such a jerk.”

“Should we teach him a lesson?” Mom asked, frowning.

Rayne shook his head. “No. This is my problem. I’ll handle it.” They hugged him tightly until he calmed down.

Even after crying, Rayne still finished dinner. Then he returned to his room, took a warm bath, changed into pajamas, and finally lay on his bed, exhausted but somewhat lighter.

He lay on his stomach, scrolling on his phone and kicking his feet absentmindedly.

Everything was quiet, until his phone started ringing.

He looked at the screen and froze.

Ken. Seriously? Why was Ken calling him now?

Wait if rayne was not thinking wrong then. Ken wanted to feed him another stupid excuse.

Rayne still decided to pick up the call. He wanted to see what Ken had to say now.

(Rayne) “Hello? Why are you calling me?”

(Ken) “Thank god you picked up, Rayne. Do you know how worried I was about you? Nothing happened between me and Losif, it was just a misunderstanding!”

(Rayne) “A misunderstanding, you say? Then how will you explain what you were doing there in the first place? I had a blind date, I never told you about it. That means Losif must have told you, and you came there to have fun with him like you always do.”

(Ken) “No, Losif never told me that! It was between you two, how could he? We met there by chance. And yeah, my heat cycle had started, so Losif was helping me to get an inhibitor injection.”

Rayne didn’t believe a single word. He wasn’t going to trust anyone again. Maybe Lucian was right, he really was such a clueless kid who didn’t know anything. To him, love was everything. But to Losif, something else clearly mattered more.

(Rayne) “Listen, I don’t care what you were doing. I’m not in a relationship with Losif anymore, so you can have him, since you like my leftovers.”

Ken went silent for a few seconds, then let out a sharp scoff. Rayne wasn’t surprised. He had already figured out Ken’s real personality, cunning and fake.

(Ken) “Rayne, you were born with a golden spoon, that’s why you’ll never understand me. But believe me, I’m going to take everything that belongs to you.”

Rayne hung up the call and threw his phone onto the bed. Whatever. He would just marry Lucian like his parents wanted. Even if he didn’t love him, love wasn’t the only thing needed to live together.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.The next morning, Rayne got ready for university even though he didn’t want to see Losif’s face ever again.

Once the driver dropped him off, he started walking across the campus, but he instantly noticed people staring and whispering to each other.

It felt strange. Why were they looking at him like that? He glanced down at his clothes, everything looked fine. But when he stepped inside the building, he froze.

As soon as Rayne’s eyes landed on the university billboard, he froze again. His photos were displayed there.

He was half-naked, wearing only a pair of very short shorts. His bare body was visible, and he was in a swimming pool with two men beside him, one kissing his neck while the other held his arm.

Those photos made it look like he was making out with both of them.

Rayne’s eyes widened. He was about to step back, but his legs went weak and he almost stumbled, until someone caught him by the arm. When he looked up, it was Losif. Rayne instantly pushed him away.

“Don’t you dare touch me, you jerk!”

Rayne shouted.