Chapter 4-I Have My Ways

ISLA’S POV

I threw my head back and laughed.

Hard.

The sound bounced off the walls of the empty room, sharp and a little too loud. Ryder didn’t move. He just stood there watching me with that terrifying calm, like he already knew something I didn’t.

“To study,” I said when the laugh finally died. “Why else would I be here? Wait…do you think I’m a fangirl or something?”

His green eyes stayed locked on mine. No smirk. No roll of the eyes. Just that same cold, steady stare that made the air feel thinner.

No. No, no. He had to be bluffing. There was no way he knew I came here for revenge. No way he knew I came here for him. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, but I forced myself to breathe slower. Forced my face to stay blank.

“Listen,” I said, keeping my voice even. “I know a lot of girls throw themselves at you. But I’m not interested in you. I came to Blackridge to complete my degree. You’re the least of my problems.”

“Is that so?”

He said it quietly. Almost softly. But the way his eyes stayed on mine made my stomach drop. The guy had a presence that felt heavy, like the room got smaller the longer he stood in it. I couldn’t deny it. Intimidating didn’t even cover it.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and took a single step back. The distance didn’t make me feel safer. If anything, it made the warning land harder.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said. “Leave while you still can.”

Without another word he turned and walked out. The door slammed behind him harder than necessary. The sound echoed through the quiet house like a gunshot.

I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until he was gone. I released it in one long rush, my hand pressing against my chest like I was trying to keep my heart from climbing out of my ribcage.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

And why the hell did he keep insisting I leave?

Who did he think he was, standing there telling me what to do like he owned the entire university? If he thought I was my sister—if he thought he could scare me into silence the same way—he had something else coming.

Because he had no idea who the hell he was messing with.

****

RYDER’S POV

I slammed my hand against the reception desk hard enough to make the papers jump.

Diana didn’t even flinch. She just kept typing for another three seconds, then slowly looked up from her screen like I was an interruption she had already expected.

“What is it, Ryder?”

“Why the fuck did you send her to my house?”

She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “You were the only safest option.”

I ground my teeth so hard my jaw ached. “How many goddamn times have I told you to stop accepting people like her into our university?”

Diana’s expression didn’t change. “You know why she had to be here.”

Something twisted inside my chest. Cold and familiar. I leaned closer. “No. I fucking know why she shouldn’t be here. Send her away.”

“I’m not doing that. I follow protocols here.” Her voice stayed firm. Professional. The same tone she used when the board called.

“Are you forgetting who’s—”

“I know,” she cut me off. “But you know what will happen if we send her away.”

I stared at her. The fluorescent lights above the desk made everything look washed out and clinical. The lobby was empty. No students. No witnesses. Just the two of us and the quiet hum of the air conditioning.

“So what?” I said, voice low. “You sent her straight to me to finish the job?”

Diana actually chuckled. Soft. Almost amused. “I gave her a little scare earlier. If she wanted to leave, she would have. But she’s here on her own. That’s not our problem.”

I planted both hands on the desk and leaned down until our faces were level. “Diana. I already told you. We’re not doing this again.”

She met my eyes without blinking. “Take it up with the board. Not me. I’m just doing my job.”

“She has to leave this place.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

The words landed like a slap. I felt the old anger rising—the same anger that had been sitting under my skin since the second I saw that girl standing in the middle of the walkway.

I leaned in closer. My voice dropped to something colder. Something that usually made people step back.

“Then you should know me, Diana.”

I held her gaze and let the silence stretch until even she looked a little less certain.

“I have my ways of making them leave.”