Love on the power play의 모든 챕터: 챕터 31 - 챕터 40

AVERIE.I didn't know how it happened, but it had happened so soon and so fast that I didn't have the time to reach out to Lena who had just excused herself and left me at the dance floor a few minutes back to take a call outside, or my brother whom I was sure was somewhere around either drinking with his friends or having random girls cling themselves to him like moth to light. It was the weekend, and since we had less assignments to do, Cassian had decided to take me and Lena out for some hours of fun.I had been alone on the dance floor after Lena had left, moving my body to the rhythm of the music blaring from the speakers when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around swiftly, half-expecting to see a guy try to woo me just like a bunch of others who had tried the same earlier, only to see a guy in a hoodie, whispering and asking me if I wanted to dance. I tried to make out his face in the dim light but the hoodie prevented me from doing that. I was bored already, and I glanced

LENA.The air outside the administrator's office felt heavier than the rain clouds pressing against the windows. I stood against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, waiting and watching the closed door like it might explode any minute. Every second stretched into long minutes, and every muffled sound from inside intensified the storm building in my chest.When the door finally opened, I quickly jolted from my leaned position on the wall as Cassian stepped out. His shoulders were squared, and his movements were rigid, mechanical. I could still see bits of dried blood on his knuckles — dark and crusted at the edges. His jaw tightened so hard I feared they would crack, and yet he walked past me without saying a word.“Cassian?” I called out to him, whispering.He didn't look at me, said nothing to me. He just kept walking, his boots striking the floor in sharp, controlled steps.“Cas, what happened?” I asked, trailing after him as I tried to talk to him. “Talk to me, come on.”He stopp

JACE.The morning light felt too wrong — too bright for the heaviness that settled in my chest. The call from Cassian last night had had me unsettled, and all night through the next day, I had tried to reach out to him to confirm if he had finally seen Averie, but his line never connected, despite the number of times I tried. Lena wasn't taking my calls either, and Averie's seemed to be switched off as well, and so I had decided to stop over at his on my way to school that morning. Fortunately, I spotted Cassian standing at the far end of the courtyard, standing by the bike racks with his hands jammed into his pockets. Normally, Cassian’s presence was always solid — loud, unshakable and full of life — but not this morning. There was something fractured about him, something off I couldn't quite place my thoughts on as I saw him. His shoulders looked slumped under some invisible weight, and when I called his name, he didn't even look up.“Cas!” I called out again, jogging closer and try

AVERIE.The silence in the dorm was unbearable, pressing against my chest like something physical — thick and suffocating, heavy with everything unspoken. The hum of the mini-fridge by the corner of the room and the faint buzz of a light flickering above all clawed at my nerves till I could no longer breathe. My hands shook as I fumbled with my phone, the screen glowing cold and accusing in the dim light. I stared at the phone in my hand — my phone, the one Lena had hidden, the one I had found less than an hour ago tucked deep into the drawer of Lena's desk, wrapped in an old sweatshirt as if burying the truth would erase it. But it hadn't. My thumb swiped across the cracked screen, and the image flashed before my eyes again, the picture Julian had taken of me staring right back at me — my own face, half-asleep, bare and exposed. My breath hitched as I stared, and the longer I stared, the more I felt rage ripple through me like lightning. I moved towards the wardrobe without think

AVERIE.The morning broke far too bright for how I felt inside, and the sun rays streamed in through the blinds like piercing gold stripes, slashing across the room. It made everything look sharper — too real and too alive — while I felt half-dead inside. The sheets clung to my skin with the weight of sleepless hours, my kind replaying Julian's voice over and over again. Tomorrow night. The gathering. The truth. His words had a way of staying long after he was gone, like some sort of poison that couldn't be flushed away from my blood.I watched as Lena moved quietly around the room, her energy brittle and uneven, like she was afraid that any sudden sound would make me shatter. A tray sat on the desk — toast, eggs and a mug of tea — but yet I couldn't bring myself to touch it. My stomach churned each time I looked after the food, and every time I tried to swallow, all I could feel was the memory of the photo — my exposed body, and my name which was twisted into rumor.“Averie, you have