Chapter Nine

I almost didn't go to school.

I stood outside the academy gates for nearly five minutes, staring at the towering building in front of me.

My cheek no longer hurt.

But the words from last night still echoed inside my head.

"Stay away from Damien."

"Stop having delusions."

"You're embarrassing this family."

I took a slow breath before forcing my feet to move.

One step.

Then another.

By the time I reached my classroom, most of my classmates were already inside.

The room fell unusually quiet.

I felt their eyes following me.

Whispers began almost immediately.

"She's here."

"Look at her."

"I heard she confessed to one of the Alpha brothers."

"No... I heard she was chasing Damien now."

A few students laughed.

I lowered my head and quietly walked to my seat.

My diary stayed buried deep inside my schoolbag.

I wasn't bringing it out again.

Not ever.

A few minutes later, the classroom door opened.

The laughter stopped almost instantly.

Damien entered first.

Draven followed behind him, talking casually to a few classmates as if he'd never been gone.

My heartbeat quickened.

Instinctively, I looked up.

At the exact same moment...

Draven looked at me.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moved.

Then—

I looked away.

Immediately.

I lowered my eyes to my desk and pretended to arrange my books, refusing to look in his direction again.

I could feel his gaze lingering on me.

Usually...

I would have smiled.

Or at least stolen another glance when no one was looking.

But not today.

Last night's warning still weighed heavily on me.

If people already believed I was chasing Damien...

Then looking at Draven would only make things worse.

I couldn't afford another mistake.

The lesson began.

I copied every note the teacher wrote.

Answered nothing.

Looked at no one.

When the bell rang for break, I packed my books as quickly as I could.

I just needed to leave before anyone spoke to me.

"Maria."

My heart skipped.

Draven.

His voice was quiet.

Close.

I froze for only a second.

Then I stood, picked up my bag, and walked faster.

"Maria."

He called again.

Students turned to look.

Panic surged through me.

No...

Please don't call my name.

Not here.

Not where everyone could see.

I hurried out of the classroom.

Behind me, I heard footsteps.

He was following me.

"Maria, wait."

I couldn't.

I couldn't let people see us together.

Not after yesterday.

Not after what happened at home.

I turned the corner into the nearly empty hallway and broke into a run.

My shoes echoed against the polished floor.

I didn't stop until I reached the old academy library.

Breathing hard, I slipped inside and hid behind one of the tallest bookshelves.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Please...

Don't find me.

The library remained silent except for the soft turning of pages somewhere in the distance.

I slowly covered my mouth to steady my breathing.

A minute passed.

Then another.

No footsteps.

No voices.

I closed my eyes in relief.

Outside the library, Draven stood in the hallway, staring at the closed doors with a slight frown.

"She... ran from me?"

He couldn't remember the last time she'd done that.

Usually, she looked at him with quiet admiration.

Usually, she'd blush if he spoke to her.

Today...

She wouldn't even meet his eyes.

His brows knitted together.

Something had changed.

Across the corridor, Damien had witnessed the entire scene.

He had seen Maria flee.

He had seen Draven follow.

And he had seen the fear on her face before she disappeared into the library.

It wasn't the expression of a girl excited to see someone she cared about.

It was the expression of someone trying desperately to escape.

For the first time...

A question settled heavily in Damien's mind.

Was Maria really avoiding Draven...

Or was she afraid of him?

I couldn't hear a single word the teacher said for the rest of the class.

The teacher voice echoed across the classroom.

Whispers were heard.

Students answered questions.

But none of it got to me.

My mind kept replaying the same moment.

The slap, the humiliation.

The fact that there was no way Damien saw me as anything.

I wrapped my fingers around my pencil so tightly they began to ache.

He hadn't defended me because he cared.

He was Damien.

The future Alpha.

He probably hated injustice, no matter who it happened to.

That's all it was.

It had nothing to do with me.

It couldn't.

I swallowed the strange disappointment settling inside my chest and forced myself to look at my notebook.

The words blurred together.

My chest tightened.

Maybe he only stepped in because they were disturbing the class.

That had to be it.

Someone like Damien would never notice someone like me.

The thought settled heavily in my chest, and strangely... it hurt more than I expected.

When the final bell rang, chairs scraped loudly against the floor as everyone rushed toward the door.

As I reached for my schoolbag, something soft brushed against my fingers.

A neatly folded navy-blue blazer.

My breath caught.

His blazer.

I had almost forgotten.

Yesterday, after the unexpected incident Damien had quietly placed it over my shoulders before I went for class.

I hadn't even remember about it, until this morning, when I noticed Damien wasn't wearing his academy blazer.

No one else seemed to have noticed.

Not even him.

I had spent all morning wondering how to return it without attracting attention.

Slowly, I folded it carefully, smoothing every crease with my hands.

Then, after making sure no one was looking, I walked toward Damien's desk.

He was still facing the teacher.

I placed the freshly folded blazer neatly on the corner of his table.

For a moment, I hesitated.

Would he even know I returned it?

Would he think someone else had?

Quietly, I tore a small piece of paper from the back of my notebook.

My handwriting trembled.

Thank you for the blazer.

I folded the paper into the smallest square I could manage and carefully slipped it beneath the sleeve of the blazer where only he would notice it.

Then I hurried away before anyone saw me.

My heart pounded all the way to the classroom door.

Please don't look.

Please don't call my name.

Please don't stop me.

I lifted my bag onto my shoulder and started walking toward the door.

"You forgot your pencil."

I froze.

My heartbeat stumbled.

Slowly...

I turned around.

Damien stood beside my desk, holding out the small blue pencil I'd been using all morning.

I hadn't even realized I'd left it behind.

"Oh..."

I hurried back, keeping my head lowered.

"T-thank you."

Our fingers brushed as I took it.

Warm.

His hand was warm.

I immediately pulled mine away.

"I'm... sorry."

The apology escaped before I could stop it.

His eyebrows pulled together.

"For what?"

I blinked.

"I..."

Why was I apologizing?

Because I always did.

Because every conversation somehow became my fault.

"I don't know," I whispered honestly.

For a second...

He simply looked at me.

Not with disgust.

Not with pity.

Just... quietly.

"You apologize too much."

The words were gentle.

Not accusing.

Just... sad.

My throat tightened.

"I'll try not to."

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"I wasn't giving you homework."

My eyes widened.

Was...

Was that a joke?

I didn't know what to say.

No one joked with me.

Not kindly.

I looked down before he could notice the confusion on my face.

"Thank you... for earlier."

His smile disappeared.

"You don't have to thank me for stopping something that shouldn't have happened."

I stared at the floor.

"But... no one else ever does."

The words slipped out quietly.

Too quietly.

But he heard them.

The silence that followed felt strangely heavy.

"I should've done something sooner," he murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I nodded.

I wasn't going to ask again.

People rarely repeated themselves for me.

"Damien!"

The voice echoed from the hallway.

Draven.

I looked up instinctively.

He was leaning casually against the classroom door, hands in his pockets, smiling.

The moment I saw him, my heart reacted before my mind could.

He looked exactly the same.

Maybe a little taller.

Maybe a little older.

But his smile...

It was the same one I'd written about in my diary.

My cheeks warmed immediately.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Draven said.

Then...

His eyes landed on me.

Only for a second.

His smile disappeared.

It wasn't obvious.

Most people wouldn't have noticed.

But I did.

He looked annoyed.

Then, just as quickly, the smile returned.

"You coming?"

Damien glanced between us.

"I'll be there."

Draven nodded before walking away.

I tightened my grip on my bag.

"I should go too."

Damien stepped aside to let me pass.

As I walked toward the door, I could feel his eyes following me.

Not in the uncomfortable way I was used to.

Just... watching.

Outside the classroom, the hallway buzzed with students.

I caught sight of Draven waiting a few meters away.

For just one impossible second...

He looked directly at me.

Then he smiled.

A small smile.

The kind that made my heart forget every cruel thing that had happened today.

Maybe...

Maybe he wasn't embarrassed by me after all.

Maybe what everyone else saw wasn't the real him.

Maybe the version of him who smiled when we were alone...

That was the real Draven.

I smiled back before I could stop myself.

He looked away first.

That was the real Draven.

I smiled back before I could stop myself.

He looked away first.

I told myself it was because everyone was watching.

I didn't notice Damien standing in the classroom doorway behind me.

Watching everything.

Or the way his expression slowly darkened as he saw the hope on my face...

I lowered my eyes immediately, afraid someone would notice me looking at him, and quietly walked past.

I never saw Damien return to the classroom a few moments later.

Never saw him notice the neatly folded blazer waiting on his desk.

Or the tiny folded note tucked carefully beneath its sleeve.

He unfolded it slowly.

His eyes lingered on the shaky handwriting.

Thank you for the blazer.

For reasons he couldn't explain...

He folded the note again with unexpected care instead of throwing it away.

And without realizing it...

He slipped it into the inside pocket of his blazer before leaving the room.