Semua Bab Under His Control : Bab 21 - Bab 25

Kale's POVI had to get out. My chest felt too tight. My brain was running laps and my phone was still burning a hole in my pocket with that fucking message. "you’re already getting comfortable. That’s his way to seduce you and I’m sure he has already claimed you."Claimed. Like I was a goddamn jacket. Jace was still talking with Peter and Bri about drum layers and release dates like nothing was wrong. Like I wasn’t sitting here spiraling. “Toilet,” I muttered, pushing back from the desk. Jace glanced up. “You good?” “Yeah,” I lied. “Just… piss. I'll be back shortly.” He nodded once, not suspicious. Not yet. The second I was out the door I exhaled. The hall was quieter. Air conditioning humming, lights too white, posters of JMC artists lining the walls like they were in a museum. My own face wasn’t on any of them. Not yet. I wasn’t actually going to the toilet. I was scared, and curious. That message didn’t come from nowhere. Someone in this building knew something. S

Kale’s POV"What??"The word tore out of my mouth before my brain could even process what he had just said."What do you mean, you? Are you out of your mind or crazy, huh?"Noah didn't answer right away. He just stood there with that same dark, infuriating smirk plastered across his face. He slowly let go of the door handle and took a step back toward me. His shoes made a quiet, heavy sound against the floorboards as he closed the distance between us."I mean exactly what I said, Kale," Noah murmured softly. His voice was smooth and completely unbothered. "It’s the only way this search history stays between us."My back was flat against the cold edge of the desk, and I felt completely trapped as he kept coming toward me. As he stepped in closer, a sudden, unwanted memory flashed through my mind like a violent shock.I remembered that afternoon in the campus stalls—watching Noah pressed up against someone else, hearing his deep gasps and seeing how broad and flawless his body looked un

Kale’s POV beThe hot water from the bathroom sink was running over my hands but it wasn’t helping.I kept scrubbing with rough paper towels until my skin felt raw, like if I went hard enough I could take whatever was sitting under it off too. It didn’t work. The mess was gone but the guilt stayed, thick and sour in my stomach, sitting there like I’d swallowed something I couldn’t digest.I pulled my sweatpants up with shaking fingers. Fixed my shirt and looked up at the mirror because I had to see what I looked like.My bloodshot eyes, flushed cheeks, and faint red marks on my wrists that hadn’t been there this morning.If Molly saw me like this she’d know immediately. She’d call me a mess, a fuck-up, maybe worse. And she wouldn’t be wrong to. The thought of her face twisting in disgust made my throat close up.I bit down on the inside of my cheek and forced the tears back. Breathed in, out, until my hands stopped shaking so much. Then I unlocked the door and stepped into the hall.E