Liam Keaton

Nora’s POV

Liam strutted in with his long legs followed by our homeroom teacher, Mr. Rowan Reyes. 

I sucked in a deep breath while my hands trembled. 

No, no, no. This can’t be true. 

Someone please tell me it’s a dream. 

I pinched my thigh hard and when I felt the pain; I realised I wasn’t dreaming. 

We were really placed in the same class. 

Why? What happened to all the prayers from the morning? 

I know it might sound that I’m overreacting, but I have every reason to do so. 

No one has any idea what I went through three years ago. The torment I had to face all these times still plagues me with nightmares. It felt even worse than death every time I recalled the past. And I was in no way ready to face him or my fears. 

He stopped in front of the podium and swept his eyes across the room before eventually settling his gaze in my direction. 

Fu*k! 

As the tallest person in the school with an enormous height of 185cm, he was bound to sit in the last row. And the only vacant seats were near me. 

With every step he took, I clenched my fists, feeling the sweat drench on my skin as my heartbeat rose.

I resisted the impulse to sprint out of the class. 

“Good Morning!”

“Hello Liam, Good Morning!” 

“Hi! Good Morning.” 

Almost everyone in the class greeted him on his way to the desk. 

He nodded back at them as a form of greeting and sat back on the desk behind me.

The teacher walked over the podium and took a quick glance over the class before settling it at Liam.

“Mr. Keaton, why don’t you move at the empty seat in front?” he suggested.

At his suggestion, a hush fell over the classroom.

This man must be kidding me. Have I offended him in any way before?

Ha! But I was confident Liam would never share a desk with me. I mean, why would he even tolerate the presence of someone he loathed from the bottom of his heart?

However, reality slapped me hard in the face when he grabbed his bag and took a seat next to me. 

I shot up as soon as his butt landed on the seat. 

“Yes?” Mr. Reyes asked

“I-I want to change my seat,” I replied while stuttering. 

The school had a rule that we could only make the seating arrangements on the first day of school and the second semester. After that, the students aren’t obliged to change their seats unless the teacher felt the need to do so.

And if I didn’t ask today, I’ll have to share a desk with him for six months. 

Six freaking months!

How many times would I die over and over again during those six months?

The entire class turned to look at me. There was a flow of whispers and they looked repulsed. In their eyes, only a fool would want to give up the golden opportunity of sharing the desk with their heart-throb. I, however, wasn’t about to play along with their stupid fantasies and they were welcome to trade seats with me.

The teacher stopped organising his teaching materials and folded his arms. “Ms. Shahan, is it? If I’m not mistaken, the school provides an additional thirty minutes before the class to take care of all these things, right? Then can I take it as you’re causing trouble to delay the class’ time?"

“No Sir. But as you say, I’m a troublemaker, so I’m afraid of hindering his studies.” I lied blatantly.

“Is that so?”

I nodded. 

He turned towards Liam and asked for his opinion. “Do you have any objection with my arrangements, Mr. Keaton?” 

I darted a look at him, hoping he would see the pleading look in my eyes and admit it. But he didn’t humour me and gave a half shrug. 

Liam did not deny but didn’t accept it either, so the teacher took it as a no. 

He then looked back at me and spread his palm. 

Was it too late to kill myself now? 

I sat down unwillingly and met Jessica’s eyes who had a sympathetic look on her face and then Jackson’s who bit back a grin which further agitated me. 

The class began, and I tried my best to stop myself from freaking out. 

In between, I took a glimpse at my partner. He was clad in a black leather jacket that was chained up to his collarbones and black jeans. He had his legs spread slightly apart, his stance was proud and arrogant. His eyes were slightly closed and his head tilted on his hand while his other arm rested on his knee, revealing the expensive watch under his sleeve. There was also a black rose inked on the back of his palm.

I wasn’t sure if he was really sleeping or just pretending to be asleep.

Not like I was going to confirm it, anyway. 

What if he went crazy and strangled me to death? 

I wasn’t going to take that gamble and would mind my business. 

If

it weren’t for regular attendance, he would have not even bothered to attend school. His grades were so perfect that he could get a job with a six-figure salary even without graduating college. He was a genius among geniuses.

Heavens could be really biased sometimes. Coming from one of the topmost influential families, he had everything a person could ever wish for. The lad was basically an Adonis and with his ravish good looks; he seemed to hold the world with a string. With women and men constantly throwing themselves at his feet, he was also a subject of envy among people. But that’s all they could do. Idolize him from afar and watch him conquer the world. 

He also dated the best socialites, social media influencers, and even models, each lasting no more than a week. 

Such a pity, though! He didn’t have a heart. He was notorious for being ruthless to those who challenged him or his bottom line. 

Somewhere, I felt as if I had hit a jackpot. 

With a beauty beside me, I could consider accepting my fate. Accompanied by his handsome face, it was nonetheless hard for me to neglect a living god so I’d just nourish my eyes.

Because in the eyes of someone who only cared about looks, nothing else mattered. 

The rest of the classes went smoothly. I sat in the same position throughout and tried as hard as I could to minimize my presence, least it provoked the ancestor next to me. 

As soon as the bell rang for the lunch break I bolted out of the class at lightening speed.

“Nora, wait for me,” Jessica called out from behind, but I didn’t turn back and made my way to the canteen.