Chapter 3 - Emily

I hated my life at the moment.

The only reason I went so far from my class was because Ava called me out here. I should've just told her I didn't want to go.

But I wanted to hangout with her. And even if I didn't want that, she was really forceful. But in a good way.

She's so nice and just wanted me to make many friends, and I needed to put myself out there.

Unfortunately, I didn't know this was where Julian's class was. I had no intention of ever seeing him. I was still shocked that I slapped him and I bet he's angry, but since he didn't try to set up a witch hunt for me, I assumed I would be fine.

Seeing his displeased expression when I bumped into him hit me hard, but him introducing himself with a small smile on his face and a pleasant voice hit me harder.

He offered me his hand and I took it, lost in the depths of his eyes. "I- I'm Emily," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He nodded. "Nice to meet you, Emily. Again."

My cheeks flushed as he held my hand longer than necessary, relieved when he finally met go.

We stared at each other for a moment, only interrupted by a cough from beside him. The guy seemed to be his friend. I remembered him from the other day and... the party!

I remembered him from the party where I slept with Julian. But... that was all I remembered. Fuck.

"No need to curse."

I snapped my head upward as the guy, shocked. He smiled at me. "We won't ask you pay for damages or nothing. Just watch where you're going next time."

I nodded, mute.

I saw Julian look over me one more time, like he was about to say something, but decided against it as he walked away with his friend.

I stood in place, but I was brought back to earth when I heard the murmurs and the stares on me. So I ran away from the spot, unwilling to have my face captured by anyone.

When I got to Ava, she was alone and upset. About what? She wouldn't tell me. But from there, we had to go to our dorm.

I never told her about seeing Julian.

***

Settled in our large room, which was parted by a large curtain, Ava pushed it aside to talk from her bed.

I really just wanted to relax on my bed, but I didn't want to be rude, so I let her speak. I was absentminded until she mentioned him.

"... And Julian! From what I heard, he's dating Nadia Styles," she said, the corner of her lips downturned. "She's really not the best fit for him."

"Nadia?" I asked, curious.

"Gosh,I keep forgetting that you don't know anybody," Ava said impatiently. "Nadia Styles is a model, beautiful and powerful. Everything awesome. But she's a bit of a bitch. It's probably why Julian sleeps around."

I frowned. "That's not an excuse. He has a girlfriend yet he sleeps with other girls?" I mumbled. "What a dick."

Ava let out a sound of surprise. "Don't call him that! Julian is a very good guy, actually. If he's sleeping with other women, it's probably because he and Nadia are going on a rough patch." She shrugged. "She doesn't seem to mind, either."

I opened my mouth to protest, but with how combative Ava seemed at the mention of Julian, it was best to shut up.

My skin crawled and I felt a bit guilty at the thought of being one of the girls Julian cheated on this Nadia girl with. Just when I thought he was a pretty good guy, he ended up being a piece of shit.

Just like all the other rich guys I read about online, he's no different.

"What does she look like?" I asked curiously, glancing at Ava whose attention was on her phone.

At first, she didn't raise her head to look at me, playing with her phone a few more seconds longer. At least, that's what I thought. Until she walked up to me and handed me her phone.

She pointed. "That's her."

I froze when I looked at her face. Her body. She really was beautiful. With dusty blonde hair and bright eyes. Her aura through the phone was intimidating, I wondered how it'd feel meeting with her.

She really did look stuck-up, but I'd feel the same way if I had money like her. Or had her face. "She's gorgeous."

Ava was displeased. "I kinda hate that I don't know much about her to hate on, you know. Even The Whistleblower."

Seeing my expression, she groaned, muttering how it was crazy I came to this school and don't know next-to-nothing about the school itself.

I couldn't even defend myself because she was right. But I left my hometown for a reason. I

didn't care too much about gossip that's not going to benefit me. I just wanted a good education and money.

"The Whistleblower is a blog that was created about three or so years ago. I don't remember the date. But the main point is that it's a gossip page and seems to have information that no one does."

"Who owns it?"

She shrugged, walking back and flopping on the bed, eyes up to the ceiling.

"Nobody knows," she sighed. "Honestly, the mystery is exciting. Like Bridgerton. I don't know if we'll ever find the person, and I don't think we should... Why bother? As long as we're getting all the gossip."

I said nothing, deciding to go through my phone instead of bothering her again. I searched for 'The Whistleblower' and was immediately shown a site.

I glanced at Ava who had her eyes closed, her breathing slower.

I returned my gaze to read the articles, curiosity getting the best of me.

[Jessica Castle and Julian Blackwell were seen leaving the Haus Bar last night. Are they dating or is this a new fling?]

I felt a pang of jealousy in my chest when I saw it. This was the same night I left. So he went right to sleep with some willing girl...

I let out a breath, wondering why I was even bothered. We weren't close. We weren't in a damn relationship. Why should I feel some type of way? It seemed he would follow any willing girl to bed and it made me feel uncomfortable.

A bit disgusted with myself. And him.

"Ava?" I called.

"What?" she asked, her eyes remaining unopened.

I bit my lip, contemplating. "What kind of girls does Julian Blackwell like?"

"I don't know. Nobody can really figure the guy out," she said. "But at least we know he likes girls. Well, rich and hot ones."

"Oh." I searched Jessica Castle's name and sighed.

Yeah, she was right. Nadia Styles, Jessica Castle... where did I fit into all of this? And why the hell was I thinking about this so damn much?

I groaned internally and quietly walked out of the room to the kitchen for some water. While there, I looked through my message app, but what I saw made me freeze.

[Why aren't you picking up my calls?] [Did you block me?]

[You're such a fucking bitch you know!] [I'll kill you!]

[Emily I'm so sorry. Yu know how much I love you. I just felt so sad since we're not doing too well at home.]

My hands started sweating, my grip on my glass of water.

My hands shook when I received a call. An unknown number.

It buzzed for a few times before I finally got the courage to answer. "I'll answer it and tell him off!" I whispered to myself.

When I picked the call, there was nothing but silence at the other end of the phone. "H- hello. Who is this?" I started.

There was a dark chuckle at the other end. A familiar one.

"Emily, it's me," he said, his voice hoarse yet hyper. "I'm so happy you picked up!"

My grip on the phone tightened. "What do you want Ronald? I told you and Mom to leave me alone! I said not to reach out!"

I ran away for a fucking reason. And it's not like they cared when I left.

Ronald wasn't deterred. "You sound so angry. There's really no need to be, you know. We're all family. I just... I just wanted to..."

"Ask for money," I interrupted, forcing my voice not to shake. "I don't have it." “ But you've always had money," he pleaded, his sweet tone sickening me.

“ I. Don't. Have. It."

"Oh, stop lying you bitch!" he suddenly raged. "I heard you're in school now! A fancy one. You can get something from one of those rich kids!" His voice heightened. "Why do you keep lying? You don't want to help your family! You hate your mother and your brother! You-"

I hung up and blocked the phone number for the umpteenth time since I became independent. I knew this wasn't the end. He'd find a way to reach out. To harass me again.

I breathed heavily, trying to calm my nerves. I leaned against the kitchen counter, closing my eyes.

I couldn't file a police report because the last time I tried, nothing was done. Coming to Vincent Collins University was the only way for me to stay away from that toxic environment.

Will I ever truly escape it?

Tears trailed down my face and I cried in silence.

***

The next day, I walked to the school's library. It was large and even appeared to be ancient. With the most magnificent structure I'd ever seen.

Ava wasn't interested in hanging out with me, so I had the freewill to explore the school. All alone. Too shy to ask people for help, I used the school's map.

I was going to live a totally boring but fun life today, and I was excited thinking about it.

I almost hopped on my feet when I was let in, searching the large shelves for fiction mostly. Some books were larger than I'd ever seen and my heart fluttered with excitement thinking about how many I'd be able to read.

While picking out the fifth book, I stumbled a bit because of the added weight. But before anything could happen, a warm hand settled on my waist steadying me.

“Thank you …”

I stumbled again when I saw who it was.

“What are you doing in the library?" I blurted.

Julian looked amused. "To find some books … just like you."

“Oh, yeah," I replied in realization. “Good for you." Then I added. “Thanks for helping me."

He leaned against the shelves and didn't respond. His gaze was hot on me and I was torn between just leaving his presence or staying to see what he'd say. If he wanted to say something.

“ I'm sorry."

I looked at him.

He had a wry smile on. "I'm sorry for kissing you without your consent last time.”

My cheeks flushed. This was the last thing I expected him to say. "I'm sorry too,” I whispered. He seemed surprised. "For what?”

"Slapping you.”

Then he gave me a charming smile. The barely visible dimple on his cheek added to the charm, like a beautiful stab to my heart.

He shrugged. “ I deserved it."

The air around us became tense with him doing nothing but looking right at me. But it was all suddenly interrupted by the click of heels. A sweet scent wafted around. And stopped right by Julian's side, a slender and feminine hand on his shoulder.

The person's attention turned to me, intimidating and curious.

I paused when I saw her face.

“ I've never seen your face before," she said. “ I'm Nadia Styles."

She tilted her head to look at me, a menacing look in her eyes as she analyzed my face. “And who might you be?"