My face puckered up. Colin, on the other hand, grinned instead of helping me. "I already noticed they were here. But what's wrong with a couple making out? Everyone does that."I was rendered speechless. Watching his shameless, haughty, I-know-I'm-right expression made me weak in the limbs. Colin was a lecturer. Shouldn't he set up a good example? Where was his decorum as an educator? I decided to ignore him.I turned around and wanted to leave, but he yanked me from the back. "Are you going back on foot or what? The car's over there."Oops. I must have gone the wrong way out of frustration. I swerved and headed in the opposite direction, but Colin continued to snigger. His grin widened as if he had won the lottery.Was it that enjoyable to be caught red-handed in public? Or did he have a special penchant for doing it in public? He might not care about morals, but I did.Pissed, I turned back to the direction I was originally pursuing, throwing a tantrum. "I'd like to walk back ho

I was doing the last painting of the eight-piece composition. The previous seven pieces were completed skillfully, but as the final piece, I put extra effort into the details.When I was engrossed in my work, a sudden bellow surprised me and made me shudder. Fortunately, I was quick enough to lift my brush before it could smear my work, preventing a fatal mistake."What's wrong with you, Winston?" Before I could finish my sentence, he continued to shout into the other end of the line.He was standing upright, and his chest heaved with anger. There was only rage on his handsome face. I didn't know who the caller was or what the caller did, but Winston was shooting flames from his eyes. Never had I imagined that he was this scary when he was mad.I put my brush down and wanted to tell him to calm down. There was nothing good communication couldn't solve. I wanted to tell him that he was at the college and that perhaps he should go take the call somewhere private or at home.But when

"I appreciate your concerns, Jasmine. Whether he'll be in a difficult situation or not depends on who his choice is. I'm grateful that you care so much about Colin and I."Since we're friends, let me confide in you something—as long as I still live, I won't leave or break up with Colin unless he falls in love with someone else. If this is your goal, then there's no need to continue this conversation."As I wondered if getting up and leaving would be too rude, Jasmine spoke to me once again. My stubbornness must have riled her up because her expression had twisted into a grimace. Rage and hatred threatened to ooze from her eyes.She smacked the spoon into her glass, producing a metallic clank as two objects collided. The fruit juice spurted out of the glass, adding a few blemishes to her shirt. "Luna, know your place. I'm being nice by coming here to talk to you. When I stop playing nice, you'll be nothing but a rat in my eyes."Stay away from Colin if you know what's best for you.

My boyfriend should be the one to protect me. But here was Winston. He appeared annoyed with me recently. "How did you know I was here?" I asked, puzzled."Someone told me. Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Winton asked.Winston's tone lacked warmth, but I chose to overlook it since he seemed genuinely concerned about my well-being."No, we only quarreled. We didn't do anything else.""Did you win?" he asked, a quirk in his eyebrow. "I got a small victory. By the way, you still haven't answered me. Who told you I was here?" I persisted. "Does it matter? It was Mr. White. He was out on business when he heard Jasmine come to you. He wouldn't be back for a while and worried you might be hurt. So he asked me to check on you."Winston scowled. It was clear he wasn't thrilled about helping Colin. "He always protects you. What's so special about you?"If Colin were here, he would probably say, "You won't understand how wonderful my baby is."A chuckle escaped me. Indeed, Colin was

Jasmine spoke politely and respectfully, yet I couldn't help but detect a hint of pride in her tone.I couldn't help but pout with disdain. It was obvious she coveted a quiet environment, making it easier for her to scheme ways to win over Colin without detection.She spoke grandly, seemingly convinced she could conceal her less-than-honorable intentions."The old campus is far, location-wise. There are barely any visitors except for a few passionate art students, so it's very quiet. "Colin, however, has moved his office there for his college work. Students with academic questions will likely go to him there. It might make your boring office life a little more interesting."Jasmine paused for a moment before responding stiffly with a thank you.Only she knew the rage and resentment simmering beneath her gratitude. We'd fulfilled her request, and any further demands would make her seem greedy and calculating. It would be challenging to justify.After the call ended, I gave Ash a