CHAPTER 7- RHEA'S POV

When I was in high school, I had a crush on this guy. He was a senior in Vanessa’s class.

He was also the captain of the basketball team.

Giovanni Belarus.

I would go to every game just so I could watch him play, but he never noticed me because I always sat somewhere at the back to avoid being seen.

Giovanni was the crush of the whole school, and I just happened to be one of those girls.

I would stalk his I*******m and F******k pages, but I made sure I never liked any of them.

I couldn’t make such an expensive mistake. Never let him know I was one of those girls.

One Friday, while on my way back from school, my car broke down in the middle of the road, and it was raining heavily.

I could barely fix the chain on a bike, talk more of a car. I tried calling an Uber, but my phone kept disconnecting.

That was when I saw a black Mercedes approaching. I wasn’t used to getting stuck on the road, but it was pouring heavily, so I waved at the car—and to my surprise, the driver stopped.

I went over, and imagine the look on my face when I found out it was Giovanni. I was so shocked and speechless, but he told me to get in—and I did.

“You okay?” he asked, glancing at me.

I nodded too quickly. “Yeah… my car just—uh—stopped.”

“In the rain?” He smiled a little. “Lucky I came by then.”

I couldn’t believe I was in Giovanni Belarus’s car, sitting right next to him. I shivered from the cold.

“Here…” he took off his jacket and placed it around me. His fingers brushed the bare skin of my arm, and I felt a jolt run through me.

“Thank you,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself and looking away.

“Okay, let’s get you home.” He pressed the accelerator, and the car started moving.

“What were you doing out here?” The car turned onto the main road.

“I was—”

“Just kidding. You don’t have to tell me.”

I couldn’t believe I was having a conversation with him. It was the first time he had ever spoken to me.

“You’re Vanessa’s sister. Rhea, right?”

I was surprised he knew me. Vanessa never liked to associate with me in school. Everyone knew she had a sister, but only a few knew it was me.

“Yes,” I replied.

I was even more surprised when he took another turn toward my house. “How do you know where I live?”

He glanced at me briefly before focusing on the road. “I’ve been here a couple of times to drop Vanessa off.”

“How come I’ve never seen you?”

Giovanni chuckled. “You’re cute. You know that?”

I wasn’t sure I heard right, so I pretended I didn’t.

He looked at me again, and this time I could see something in his eyes that made my stomach tighten.

His hand moved to my lap, brushing against it lightly.

Panic set in instantly. My throat tightened as I turned to him. “What are you doing?”

He stopped the car. The sound of rain hitting the roof mixed with the pounding of my heart.

“I’ve seen you multiple times… at my games…” his hand moved up my thigh, and I grabbed his wrist, but he turned his body toward me, his other hand sliding to my other leg.

“Please, stop,” I said, my voice shaking as I turned my face away from his breath that smelled like cigarettes and alcohol.

“I saw you watching me at practice, so I thought…” his head dipped, his lips brushing my cheek, “…you liked me.”

I tried to pull my hand free, but he was too strong. I had never been in that kind of situation before, so I did the only thing I could.

I kicked him hard, and he groaned in pain, letting go.

I yanked the door open and ran.

My house was still about a mile away, but somehow it didn’t feel that far.

The moment I got home, I rushed inside and headed for the stairs. My parents weren’t home, which made it easier—but I ran into Vanessa on my way up.

“Why are you wearing Giovanni’s jacket?”

I was drenched, shaking, and that was the first thing she asked.

I was too shaken to respond, so I kept walking, but she followed me into my room.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said, why do you have my boyfriend’s jacket on?”

My brows furrowed as I turned to her. “Boyfriend?”

She placed a hand on her hip. “Yeah. Boyfriend.”

My lips parted, but no words came out.

I hadn’t realized Vanessa and Giovanni were dating until that moment.

I tried to tell her what happened, but she didn’t believe me. She ripped the jacket off me and stormed out.

The next day at school, I saw them together—and when Giovanni looked at me, he acted like nothing had ever happened.

That was the day I realized… Vanessa would always choose a man over me.

“That coffee should be cold by now,” Lana’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “You’ve been sipping that for the past twenty minutes.”

I stared down at my coffee. It was indeed cold—but I had bigger things to worry about.

“You’ve been acting strange lately,” Lana pointed out, pouring herself a cup and dragging a chair closer.

“It’s nothing. I’m just stressed out.”

I hadn’t told Lana about what happened between me and Darnell. She was my best friend, and I told her basically everything—but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her this.

It’s been three weeks since it happened, and I haven’t been myself. I thought about telling her so many times, but it never felt right.

I thought I was finally getting over it—over him—until a random number sent me a picture of me in the café down the street last week.

It had to be him. Who else would do that?

And now I’m about to head to Blackridge. I’ll have to see him every day—and God help me, I don’t lose it.

“I’m actually really jealous of you right now,” Lana said, placing her coffee on the table.

“And why is that?”

“You get to intern at Blackridge headquarters! Do you know how many people get to intern at Blackridge each year?”

“No…”

“Ten. And none of them get to intern at the headquarters. You’re the only one in the entire school,” she shook her head in disbelief before taking a sip.

To her—and everyone else—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To me, it felt like a punishment.

“Your résumé is going to look insane.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look who’s talking.”

“What about me?” She gave me a proud smirk.

Lana got an internship at DLA Piper. I forgot to mention—she’s also a total brainiac.

“It’s your first day. You should get going.”

A knot formed in my stomach at the thought, but I stood up anyway and picked up my bag.

“Byeee,” Lana waved as I shut the door behind me.

I headed to my car in the parking lot and drove off.

The drive felt endless. I’m pretty sure I ran five red lights. Normally, it would be three—but nothing about today was normal.

I didn’t want to get there too fast.

But I didn’t want to be late either.

My mind kept replaying that message.

The picture. The way my chest dropped when I saw it.

He was watching me.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I quickly turned on the AC even though my palms were already cold.

Why is he doing this?

He looked like he was into Vanessa during that dinner. Was he pretending or what was it?

A million questions ran through my mind but the tall glass building of Blackridge came into view and my stomach twisted.

I tried to calm my racing heart as I pulled over to the parking lot of the company.

This is a bad idea.

I could still turn around.

I killed the engine and for a moment, I just sat there—staring ahead, trying to steady my breathing.

What if I see him?

A part of me wanted to.

A part of me wanted his fingers to trace down my spine again.

A part of me wanted him.