Semua Bab The Top Boy Is My Mate: Bab 81 - Bab 90

Zara’s POV The classroom falls into a different gravity the moment Zarek and I cross the threshold. Conversations fold in on themselves, pens halt mid-scratch, and the usual rustle of backpacks becomes a hush that presses against my skin. I feel it first as a pressure behind my eyes, then as a ripple across the room, like walking into water, only the water is hundreds of curious, hungry stares. Zarek’s hand is warm around mine, thumb brushing the outer skin in a slow, possessive arc that says more than either of us needs to. It’s deliberate. Public. Exhibitionist. Perfect. The fingers interlaced with mine feel like a challenge I can throw at anyone who dares snarl. “She’s going to ditch Talia for him, watch.” “Yeah, I heard she’s already clingy.” “Gross. Classic Zara—uses people, tosses them when bored.” The words are spit-soft. Alex sits at the third row, her jaw a hard white line as she watches us. Her eyes flick from my face to Zarek’s like she’s counting betrayals aloud.

Zara’s POV The corridor outside Talia’s dorm was alive with muffled laughter. My fingers tightened on the small, carefully wrapped gift I’d spent half the night preparing. A stupid scarf, soft cream wool, hand-stitched edges. Something simple, something I thought would make her smile. But as I stood there, my knuckles hovering over the wood, I realized I was stalling. My throat was dry, my palms damp. It wasn’t just a birthday gift I carried, it was a piece of myself, an attempt to say I’m still here, I haven’t forgotten us, even as my life had spiraled into Zarek’s orbit. I forced myself to knock. The laughter cut short like someone had pressed pause. Chairs scraped, hushed whispers rushed across the gap, and then the door opened. Seraphine stepped out first, perfume sharp as poison. Nova and Lira trailed after her, their gazes flicking over me like they’d just caught sight of a stain. Seraphine smirked, eyes glittering with malice. “Well, if it isn’t Atlas’s charity case,” she

Zara’s POV The hallway outside the class was humming with a different sort of energy today. It wasn’t the usual chatter, the lazy lull of voices bouncing off the walls between lectures. No, this was sharper, edged with the sort of glee that comes only when people believe they’ve stumbled on fresh gossip. I could feel it before I even turned the corner, the pause in footsteps when I walked past, the sudden dip in voices, followed by hushed whispers rising again when they thought I was out of earshot. My stomach tightened, a warning coil, though I didn’t slow down. “…Seraphine, can you believe it?” a girl’s voice cut through, high-pitched with barely contained excitement. “Atlas kissed her in front of everyone yesterday after practice. Like, not even trying to hide it.” Another voice chimed in, lower, more conspiratorial. “It’s official now. He’s with Seraphine. Who would’ve thought, huh? After all that—” Their words snapped shut as soon as my shadow crossed the threshold. My gaze

Zara’s POV I kept my movements deliberate, measured, the way someone might move across a stage while pretending they weren’t being watched. Every time I drifted toward Nova’s little station by the entrance, I told myself I was being casual. That no one noticed. Nova sat prim and proper, her pen scratching across a clipboard like it was an extension of her hand. She wore an expression too tight to be neutral, eyes flitting up each time someone passed, checking, logging, sealing their presence in neat rows of ink. Attendance. Proof. I made sure she saw me. Once, when I “accidentally” looped past to grab a napkin I didn’t need. A second time, weaving through a group near her so I brushed close enough that she had to look up. A third, most deliberate, I slowed just enough to toss her a small nod, forcing her to mark me down. She pursed her lips, irritated maybe, but her pen flicked. That was all I needed. The party throbbed around me, music, chatter, and laughter. Bodies in glowing

Zara’s POV The confidence. The audacity. The way he said it as if he had already figured me out. I couldn’t let him have that satisfaction. I forced my face blank, pushed the swell of heat from my chest down where it couldn’t breathe. “I should head to my room,” I said flatly, keeping my voice as neutral as I could. “It’s getting late.” I turned, my hand finding the doorknob. But before the door shut, I let the bitterness slip free. “Thanks for ruining my plans today.” And then I slammed the door, harder than I intended. The sound echoed down the hallway, sharp and final. My pulse raced, and I didn’t know if it was from his infuriating grin still burning in my memory or from the fact that my plan had gone completely to waste. Either way, I wasn’t going to give him the last word. I stalked through the corridor, ignoring the sting of murmured voices still trickling from the party down the hall, and made my way back to my dorm. The campus had quieted—shadows stretched long across t