All Chapters of CRAVING THE BAD BOY: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

180 Chapters

171 - Poisoned hearts.

Ariana POVMy fingers tightened around the phone instantly. The picture on the screen looked grainy from the rain outside, but it was clear enough to recognize us sitting together in the hospital waiting room only minutes earlier.Someone had taken it recently. Very recently. Underneath the picture was a single message. You really don’t know when to walk away. Cold panic spread through my chest immediately. Nick noticed my face change at once. "What happened?"Without speaking, I handed him the phone. The second he saw the image, his entire expression darkened. "What the hell?"His voice came out low and sharp enough that a nurse passing nearby glanced toward us briefly. Nick immediately stood up, eyes moving toward the hospital entrance. Like he expected to catch somebody watching us right now. "Nick," I whispered quietly.He looked furious. Not dramatic angry. Protective angry. The kind that made my heartbeat speed up despite everything happening around us. "Someone followed us here

172 - Oh, damn!

Ariana POVThe second the elevator doors opened, every ounce of air disappeared from my lungs. Laura stood there staring directly at us. At our joined hands. For one horrible second, nobody moved. The hospital hallway suddenly felt painfully silent except for the faint hum of the elevator behind her and the distant sound of rain outside.Nick dropped my hand immediately. Too immediately. And somehow that hurt more than if he had held on. "Laura," he said quietly.She looked exhausted. Not just physically. Emotionally exhausted. Her face looked pale under the harsh hospital lights, and she still wore the oversized hoodie from earlier. Her hair was slightly messy like she had been running her hands through it repeatedly.But her eyes looked heartbreakingly awake. "I was looking for my mom," she said softly.Her voice sounded calm, too calm. That somehow made everything worse. Nick stepped slightly forward instinctively. "You shouldn’t be walking around alone yet."A tiny bitter smile ap

173 - No turning back.

Ariana POVThe moment Laura mentioned her father, the entire mood in the hallway shifted again. Nick’s expression hardened instantly. Not fear exactly. Something worse. Resignation. Laura noticed it too. “That look on your face is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you tonight,” she muttered softly.Nick rubbed a tired hand over his face before asking quietly, “When did he find out?” “This morning.”My stomach tightened immediately.That meant everything had happened before Laura collapsed. Before the hospital. Before any of us had the chance to breathe. “And?” Nick asked carefully.Laura laughed softly without humor. “And he reacted exactly how you think he did.” Silence followed. Even I could feel the tension around his name now, and I had never even met the man.Laura leaned back against the wall again, exhaustion visible all over her face. “He wants me home after I’m discharged.”Nick frowned slightly. “Home as in your parents’ house?”She nodded once. “And he wants to handle ever

174 - Burning lies.

Ariana POVThe second Nick said reporters were outside the hospital, panic swept through all three of us instantly. Laura looked exhausted already, but now genuine alarm crossed her face too. “You’re joking,” she whispered.Nick shook his head once. “Apparently somebody leaked where we are.”My stomach dropped immediately. Of course they did. Laura rubbed both hands over her face tiredly before muttering, “I hate people.”“That makes two of us,” Nick replied.Honestly, probably three. The hallway suddenly felt smaller than before. Too bright. Too exposed. I glanced toward the nearby windows instinctively, half expecting cameras to already be pressed against the glass. “How many reporters?” Laura asked quietly.Nick looked down at his phone again. “My dad said two entertainment blogs posted about your hospital admission twenty minutes ago.”Laura let out a hollow laugh. “Entertainment. Right.” The bitterness in her voice hurt to hear. Because this was not entertainment. It was her act

175 - Twisted loyalty.

Ariana POVThe hallway went completely silent after Laura’s confession. Somebody close to us was leaking information. Not strangers online. Not random students guessing. Someone near us. Nick stared at Laura like he was trying to process the words properly. “What do you mean someone in our friend group?”Laura crossed her arms tightly over herself before answering. “My father hired a private investigator after the first hospital leak.”I blinked immediately. “Your father hired a what?”Laura gave a tired nod. “He’s been trying to figure out who’s selling stories to those gossip pages.”That somehow made the entire situation feel even more insane. Nick looked frustrated again. “You should’ve told me earlier.”Laura laughed softly without humor. “Nick, the last twelve hours have been slightly chaotic.”Fair point. My mind immediately started racing through faces. Maya. Ethan. The football guys. Girls from campus parties. Anybody who had seen us together recently. Suddenly every interact

176 - Dangerous games.

Ariana POVThe second I saw Ethan standing at the end of the hallway, my stomach dropped hard. His eyes stayed locked on mine first. Then slowly shifted down to where Nick still held my hand.The tension in the hallway became instant. Sharp. Uncomfortable. Nick released my hand immediately before stepping slightly in front of me instinctively.Ethan noticed that too. A humorless laugh escaped him. “Well,” he muttered quietly. “That explains literally everything.”“Ethan,” I started carefully.But he shook his head once before looking directly at Nick. “So while Laura’s upstairs dealing with a pregnancy and public humiliation, you’re down here holding hands with Ariana?”Nick’s expression hardened instantly. “You don’t know the full situation.”“I know enough.”The anger in Ethan’s voice echoed slightly through the hallway. A nurse glanced toward us from nearby before continuing past. Apparently even hospitals could not escape drama tonight. Nick crossed his arms tightly. “You should l

177 - Another mind game?

Ariana POVThe air disappeared from my lungs the second Ethan finished speaking. If Laura’s family keeps investigating, they’ll release everything they have. The threat echoed heavily inside my head while panic slowly crept through my chest again. Nick grabbed Ethan’s phone immediately. “Who sent this?”Ethan shook his head once. “Fake account. No profile picture. No posts.”Nick’s expression darkened while staring at the screen. “They’re trying to scare us.”“Well, congratulations to them,” I muttered quietly. “It’s working.”Neither of them argued. The photo still glowed on the phone screen between us. Me and Nick outside his apartment. Too close. Too intimate looking. And terrifyingly private. “I don’t understand how they even got this,” I whispered.Ethan leaned against the wall beside us. “That picture was taken from far away. Whoever did it was watching intentionally.”Cold dread slid through my stomach instantly. Watching. Not guessing. Watching. Nick handed the phone back to E

178 - Call it what you like.

Ariana POVThe panic hit instantly. Not the dramatic kind from movies. Real panic. The cold kind that locks your chest and makes your heartbeat feel uneven. Reporters were downstairs. On our floor. And somebody had told them exactly where to find us. Nick stepped away from the window immediately before pulling his phone out again. “We need to move,” he said sharply.Ethan frowned. “Move where?”“Anywhere that isn’t directly above a media circus.”Honestly, he had a point. Voices echoed faintly from farther down the hallway now. The noise downstairs was growing louder every second, even through several hospital floors. People were definitely coming up. My stomach twisted painfully. “What about Laura?” I asked quickly.Nick’s expression tightened immediately. “She can’t deal with this right now.” None of us argued. Ethan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Okay, first question. How are they getting information this fast?”Nick looked furious again. “Because somebody near us keeps f

179 - Cruel intentions.

Ariana POVThe silence after Nick’s confession felt suffocating. Ethan straightened immediately from the chair while I stared at Nick like I had heard him wrong. "What do you mean closer than we thought?" I asked quietly.Nick rubbed a hand over his jaw before answering carefully. "I think somebody’s been using information from inside my apartment." Cold confusion slid through my chest. "What?"Ethan frowned sharply. "Your apartment?"Nick nodded once. "Some of the leaked pictures only could’ve been taken by somebody who knew exactly where I’d be."I stared at him, my heartbeat slowly picking up speed again. "Are you saying someone planted cameras or something?""No," he answered quickly. "At least I don’t think so."That was somehow not comforting. Nick leaned back against the wall with visible frustration. "I didn’t notice it at first because everything happened so fast, but the timing feels wrong." Ethan crossed his arms tightly. "Explain." Nick looked between us carefully befor

180 - Pretty venom.

Ariana POVThe silence after Claire’s question felt razor sharp. "You really want the truth?"Nobody moved. Nobody even breathed properly. The atmosphere inside the small waiting room shifted so suddenly it almost felt physical. Nick stared at Claire with cold disbelief written all over his face. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"Claire crossed her arms slowly before leaning against the doorway like she had all the time in the world. For someone being accused of destroying lives, she looked strangely calm. "I think it’s interesting," she said softly, "that everybody suddenly decided I’m the villain."Ethan frowned sharply. "You showed up on a private hospital floor right after reporters leaked the location."Claire shrugged lightly. "And?""And security stopped allowing visitors an hour ago," Nick replied coldly.For the first time, irritation flashed across her face. "You know what?" she muttered. "Fine. Yes, I knew where Laura was because I have friends downstairs."My stomac

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