Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

Daniella’s POV

Freya turned on her heels and stormed down the hallway, her loud footsteps faded away while a few students outside peeked inside the office, making me feel like everyone was staring right at me. Kent slammed the office door shut again, he locked it with a quick turn of his wrist, then he turned back to me with a sigh that showed just how stressed he was.

"Ignore her, Daniella," Kent said as he walked back over to his table, and he rested both of his hands on the edge, looking down at me with a serious expression. "Freya thinks she can control everything around here, but she has no power over you or me, so do not let her words scare you."

"How can I not be scared, Kent?" I asked, and my voice shook as I looked at him, and I wiped a small tear from my cheek before it could fall. "She is going to go around spreading more lies about me, and everyone already thinks terrible things about me because of what Gareth said, and now she is going to make it ten times worse."

"I won't let her do that to you," Kent said, and his tone was firm, and he reached out to pull a chair closer to me. "Sit down first, because you look like you are about to faint, and you are still very pale."

I shook my head, and I took a step back from the chair because my nerves were so high that I couldn't even think about sitting down. "I don't want to sit down, Kent, I just want to finish what I was trying to say before she came in here and ruined everything."

"Okay then, tell me," Kent said, and he folded his arms over his chest, his silver eyes watching every little movement on my face. "You said you came here to tell me something really important about that night, and you said Gareth set you up, so tell me what actually happened."

I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, and I wanted to say that I was carrying his baby right now, but the thought of Freya going to the student board and reporting me made my mind go completely blank. If I told him about the baby right now while Freya was already threatening to start an investigation, everyone would think I was lying just to trap a rich professor, and they would ruin my life before I could even defend myself.

"Daniella? What is it?" Kent asked when he noticed I was staying quiet, and he took a step toward me, looking deeply concerned. "You can talk to me, and whatever it is, I promise I will take care of it."

"It's just... I didn't know Gareth was going to do that to me," I muttered, changing my words at the last second because I just couldn't bring myself to say the word pregnant yet. "Gareth told me I was coming to help a wealthy donor for a private event, and I trusted him because he was my boyfriend, but then he sold me to you for two thousand dollars, and I didn't find out until the next morning when I went to his house."

Kent's face went completely dark, his jaw tightened so hard that I could see his muscles flexing, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides. "He told me you agreed to it, and he said you knew everything, and that is why I accepted, because I thought you were doing it willingly."

"I would never do something like that for money!" I shouted, feeling a mix of anger and hurt rising up in my chest, and I looked right into his eyes. "I didn't take your card, and I didn't take your money, because I am not what Gareth told you I was, and I never wanted any of this to happen!"

"I know that now, Daniella, and I knew it the moment I saw the card left behind on the table," Kent said, his voice dropping low, and he looked genuinely sorry as he took another step closer to me. "I was wrong for leaving that card, and I was wrong for assuming things about you, and I swear to you that Gareth is going to pay for what he did to both of us."

"I don't care about revenge, Kent, I just want my life back," I said, rubbing my forehead as a sudden wave of nausea hit me in the stomach, making me feel weak again. "I should go now, because if someone sees me leaving your office this late, it's only going to give Freya more things to talk about."

"Wait, let me drive you home," Kent said immediately, reaching for his car keys on the table, but I quickly held my hand up to stop him.

"No, please don't," I said, shaking my head fast because the last thing I needed was someone catching us in his car together. "If you drive me, people will see us, and that will make things worse, so I will just walk or take a cab like I always do."

Kent looked like he wanted to argue with me, but he eventually let out a breath and put his keys back on the table. "Fine, but call me if anything happens, and do not try to deal with Freya on your own."

"Okay," I whispered, turning around to unlock the door, and I pulled it open, stepping out into the long hallway without looking back at him.

The hallway was mostly empty now, with only a few students walking far away, and I let out a relief breath, thinking I had made it out safely. But as I passed by the corner near the big lockers, a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed my wrist hard, pulling me into the shadow of the stairwell before I could even scream.

I stumbled back, and when I looked up, I saw Gareth standing right in front of me with an ugly sneer on his face, his grip on my arm so tight that it was leaving a red mark.

"Let go of me, Gareth!" I yelled, trying to yank my arm out of his hand, but he held on tightly and shoved me back against the wall.

"Shut up, Daniella!" Gareth hissed, leaning in close to my face, and his breath smelled like stale coffee and cigarettes. "I saw you coming out of my uncle's office again, and I know what you're trying to do!"

"I'm not doing anything!" I spat back, glaring at him with all the hatred I had inside me. "You lied to me, and you sold me like I was nothing, and now you have the nerve to grab me in the hall?"

"Listen to me very carefully, you little bitch," Gareth muttered, stepping even closer so that his chest was almost touching mine, and his voice was full of threats. "Freya is already filing a report against you with the campus disciplinary committee for trying to seduce Professor Kent for grades, and if you say a single word about what happened at the penthouse or the money I took, I will make sure the board expels you permanently and ruins your entire family's name before the week is over.”