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

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

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

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

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

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