All Chapters of My Three Complicated Mates : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

RAYNA'S POVSaturday morning arrived without the crushing weight of a lecture schedule, replaced instead by Jamie bursting into my room before I was even fully awake, dragging me back to her space to tackle our pile of essays and assignments.By the time we finished grinding through homework, the afternoon sun was dipping lower, and we spent hours wandering around the sprawling campus grounds, eating whatever junk food caught our fancy with Jamie happily footing the bill for both of us.By early evening, we were back in her room, knee-deep in the most fun part of the weekend for me, getting Jamie ready for her big date with Cade.For a few hours, the terror of the severed tongue and the lingering threat of Michelle completely vanished from my mind. The box was long gone, dumped quietly into an incinerator bin on the edge of campus, and right now, all that mattered was getting the eyeliner right on a very excited Jamie.“Stay very still,” I drawled robotically, trying to keep my hand s

CADE'S POVThe air inside the restaurant was rich with the scent of melted butter, garlic, and expensive wine, a soft hum of chatter filling the dimly lit room.Across the white-clothed table, Jamie laughed at something I said, her eyes bright and animated as she took a dainty sip of her sparkling cider. She looked genuinely happy and beautiful, her emerald dress catching the warm glow of the overhead chandelier, her hair falling in soft, perfect waves.She was sweet, attentive, and fun to talk to. By all accounts, this was supposed to be an ideal Saturday night date.And yet, as I forced myself to smile back and offer another polite, engaging response about her family and two younger siblings, my mind was entirely somewhere else.For the past three hours, I had been running on autopilot. I kept trying to keep myself focused in the present, reminding myself that Jamie deserved my full attention, that she had been nothing but kind since the moment we met.But beneath my ribs, a hollow,

RAYNA'S POVThe silence of my dorm room was a welcome relief. After the suffocating, humiliating explosion in Zed's room, I just wanted to crawl under my blankets and pretend none of that happened. Pretend and daydream about a perfect life, like I used to back at home.Immediately after the confrontation, I'd come back and forced myself to sit at my desk, opening my textbooks and trying to shove Tio’s vicious, mocking voice and Zed's…allure out of my head.I didn't have time for whatever they both had going on, and as far as I was concerned, nothing was going to happen between Zed and I even if Tio hadn't arrived when he did.“You have a scholarship to protect,” I muttered to myself. A future to build, and too much at stake to let anyone derail me.When the numbers and formulas finally started swimming in front of my eyes, I closed the binder with a soft sigh and reached for the only paperback novel I'd brought with me, looking for a safe escape.I read a few chapters, letting the pr

ZED'S POV Sunday morning at Elmor usually meant the campus was dead silent, students sleeping off whatever secret parties or late-night drama they’d indulged in. But today, the silence felt heavier. Charged. Every single pair of eyes I’d passed on my walk from the residential hall had lingered a second too long, loaded with whispers and knowing looks. The blog post. It had spread through the student body like wildfire before the sun even cleared the trees. Ignoring the flare of pain as I mistakenly jammed my thumb against the edge of the washer, I hauled my plastic basket full of clothes toward the row of industrial dryers, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached. The thought of Rayna sitting in her room right now, staring at those vicious comments written about her and me, made a cold, violent rage crawl up the back of my neck. I'd almost texted to check up on her, but I chickened out a bit. I was probably the last person she wanted to hear from. A heavy set of footsteps echo

RAYNA'S POVTwo girls I vaguely recognized from lit class leaned closer to each other as they whispered, their eyes snapping directly to me.They didn't even try to hide it. As I walked past, their whispers drifted clearly across the evening air, clearly like they were speaking with their normal voice tones.“...that’s her, right? What does Zed see in her...”“...can't believe she's actually hanging out with Zed after how she came in here...”“...total fraud. Her family doesn't even belong in this tax bracket...”Every muscle in my body locked up. A hot, violent wave of humiliation rushed up my neck, making my skin prickle with anger. My fingers curled into tight fists inside my pockets, my nails digging sharply into my palms.Ignore them, I told myself, biting down hard on my lower lip until I tasted iron. They don't know anything. Keep walking, Rayna.I forced my feet to move faster, keeping my chin tucked down as I powered past the fountain, desperate to put distance between myself