Chapter seven: He’s stuck in your head

Chapter 7

Norah was half on, half off the bed, hurling a pillow at Mary while Mary scrolled at the desk like she owned the place. The room felt small and safe tonight, full of ridiculous noise that chased the heaviness away for a while.

“You almost ripped Rose’s head off,” Norah said, snorting.

Mary tossed her hair, theatrical as ever. “Almost? If looks killed, she’d be a chalk outline on the floor, honest.”

Norah chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”

She kept a smile stuck in, warm and weird in her chest — like nerves wearing a sweater.

Before Mary could reply, Norah’s phone lit up. Kim – Incoming Video Call.

“Pick it up, pick it up!” Mary urged, practically diving onto the bed with her.

Norah swiped, and Kim’s face filled the screen. “Norah! Finally! Girl, spill it—how’s school?”

Norah opened her mouth, but Mary leaned into the camera before she could speak. “Forget school. Did she tell you about the party?”

Kim’s eyes widened. “Party? Our Norah?!”

Norah groaned, covering her face with a hand. “Mary—”

“She hasn’t told you anything, has she?” Mary cut in, snatching the phone. “Okay, so picture this. Our shy little Norah gets herself caught up with him.”

Kim leaned closer to the screen. “Him? Who’s him?”

Mary grinned like a cat with cream. She spun the phone around to show a picture she’d saved from someone’s feed. Ivan—dark suit, cigarette in hand, eyes sharp enough to make the air heavy.

Kim gasped so dramatically it made Norah bury her face deeper into the pillow. “Ooooh my God! Norah, is that him? That’s the guy?”

Mary nodded, smug. “Mm-hm. And tell me they wouldn’t have the most ridiculously gorgeous kids alive.”

“Stop!” Norah’s voice came muffled from under the pillow, her cheeks burning.

“Don’t ‘stop’ me,” Kim laughed. “He looks like he eats hearts for breakfast. And you—Miss Innocent—are blushing like a tomato!”

Norah peeked out, groaning. “I’m not blushing.”

Mary gasped theatrically. “Oh, she is. Look at her, Kim! She’s glowing like a firefly in July.”

Kim clapped her hands. “I swear, Norah, if he shows up at your dorm with roses—or maybe just that broody scowl—I’ll start planning the wedding myself.”

Norah threw the pillow again, laughing despite herself. “You two are impossible.”

“Exactly,” Mary said, planting a kiss on Norah’s cheek. “But admit it. He’s stuck in your head.”

Norah didn’t answer. She only smiled faintly, her chest warm and unsettled all at once.

~~~~~

Down the road, Ivan lounged in his chair, a glass of whiskey spinning lazy in his hand. The cigar smoke made a mess of the ceiling. Ray, the student who’s been sitting in Ivan’s classes and writing his exams — looked like he might faint. Hands shaking, face gone all wrong.

“You’re slipping,” Ivan said, voice low but cutting. “Your grades are sliding. That makes me look weak.”

Ray swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing like it might choke him. “P-please, Ivan. I’ll do better. Just give me one more chance.”

Ivan’s eyes were steel. He leaned forward, the light catching the sharp line of his jaw. “I don’t deal with second chances. You’re not useful to me anymore. Which means I’ll find someone else who is.”

Ray’s knees nearly buckled.Fear rolled off the boy so heavy you could almost smell it. Ivan let the silence sit, cruel and deliberate, until Ray’s knees nearly buckled. Only then did he flick his hand toward the door.

“Get out of my sight before I change my mind.”

The kid bolted, shoes slapping the floor as if the devil himself was at his heels.

Jay, sprawled across the couch with his boots up, let out a laugh. “Damn, boss. You’ve got him shaking like a leaf in a storm. Poor bastard looked like he just walked outta his own funeral.”

Ivan’s mouth twitched at the corner. “If he can’t stand the fire, he never should’ve stepped in my kitchen.”

Jay snorted. “Fair enough.”“You’ve got a gift. One glare from you and people damn near wet themselves. It’s almost… entertaining.”

Liam, quiet as always, adjusted his glasses from the corner. “Focus. We’re not here to be entertained. We’ve got business.”

But business wasn’t where Ivan’s mind was tonight. It was on her.

The sound of her laugh. The way she looked too fragile for his world, and yet—somehow—fit into it like a missing piece.

Ivan’s jaw clenched. The image of that idiot’s hand on her—on her—kept cutting back through his head. He slammed the glass down so hard it cracked the silence; Jay jumped like someone’d shouted.“Where is he?”

Jay’s grin faded into something darker. “Tied up in the back. Waiting for you.”

Ivan stood, shoulders squared, eyes like winter steel. “Bring him.”

Seconds later they shoved the blond kid in, wrists tied, pale as milk under the bright light. He tried to sound tough and failed halfway through. “I—I didn’t mean—” he choked out.

Ivan’s fist shut him up, dropping him hard to the floor.

“Don’t you dare say her name,” Ivan snarled, looming over him. His voice was all blade, no mercy. “You thought she was easy. You thought she was yours to grab. Wrong.”

The kid whimpered, blood on his lip.

Ivan crouched, close enough for their eyes to meet. Ivan eased forward, voice quiet and hard. “Listen to me. One step near her, one breath in her direction, and I’ll make sure you disappear. No one will care enough to remember you.”

The kid’s shoulders collapsed; every breath came ragged and small.

Jay gave a low whistle, breaking the heavy silence. “Guess we don’t need to ask if he got the message.”“Damn, boss. If threats were currency, you’d be richer than all of us combined.”

Ivan ignored him, he leaned back, shadows wrapping around him. His gaze fixed on nothing, yet his thoughts burned on one name.

Norah.

The sound of it branded him from the inside out.

And for the first time in years, Ivan Thomas—untouchable, unbothered—felt like someone else was tugging the strings.