Chapter 27 The Devil Manifests Again
“Ash, wake up”, Rosalind’s voice sounded above me, rousing me from my sleepy state. I pulled the comforter up over to my head, not wanting to get up and be about for at least another 3 hours.
I’d been unbearably exhausted from last night’s party, all the socializing and trying to keep my fiance’s leering hands as far away from me as possible and to top it all off, that absurdly confusing conversation with Daniel…. at the end of which I still had no idea what he’d been wanting to say.
“Come on, Ash. I got up so early so we could go for coffee and muffins at Starbucks. Come on, we cannot break the Muffin Monday tradition.” Her shrilly voice grilled at my ears, effectively breaking my peaceful slumber.
Groaning, I sat up with the comforter still wrapped around me.
Rosalind had called me to apologize a few days ago… and by that time, I’d been too beat down to be angry at her anymore. Thankfully for me, she didn’t mention my engagement or try to talk about it with me again.
“Unless you want me to make you late for class, I suggest you hurry up missy”, Rosalind jeered at me, ripping the comforter away from me, taking away my cocoon of warmth.
I’d wanted to skip today, but seeing as Rose was already here and had ruined my sleep, it would be better if I attended today… mid-term exams were approaching and I’d already been missing too many classes. I was probably falling behind in a lot of subjects.
I grumbled when I realized that it was only 7:00 a.m. and classes didn’t start until 10:00. “You really think we need 3 hours for breakfast?”
“Hey, don’t use that snarky tone on me. You’re the one who’s been so distant with me, blowing me off every time I asked to hang out. Look, I know you’ve got a lot going on but I just wanted to catch up with my best friend”, she ranted, making me feel instantly guilty as I grudgingly got out of bed.
“This has got to be the best blueberry muffin I’ve had in a long time”, Rose commented, looking at her muffin with such amazement like she’d found the love of her life.
She urged me to try it but I turned her down, making her frown at me.
“I’m good with my lemon cake but thanks.” She exaggeratedly mouthed the word ‘boring’ to me, following it with a ‘Some Muffin Monday it is’.
I rolled my eyes, sipping on my black coffee.
“And I should warn you, don’t be surprised if you get a lot of curious stares in class today”, Rose told me, her voice suddenly hushed for some reason like she was giving me nuclear codes instead of plain old gossip.
“What for?”
“You already forgot?! Sheesh! It’s anything everyone can talk about. I mean, Daniel firing a Professor which in and of itself is a huge deal…. but that too just for you is what makes it a monumental deal”, Rose went on, her excitement growing.
I loved the girl, I truly did… but gossip was like her life elixir.
“Wasn’t that like a week ago?”, I mumbled, not liking that I would be the talk of the day…. and that too all because Daniel couldn’t, for the life of him, control his temper.
I almost wanted to back out of going to class at all today and Rose immediately caught onto my intentions as I threw the clock a lazy look.
“Oh no no no! You are not going to skip class just because you’re scared of what they’ll say about you, that they’ll judge you as they please. Just know that whatever petty, crude comments they come up with… it is all out of blaring jealousy and them trying to project their own insecurities onto you”, Rosalind thoughtfully said, weighing her words.
I nodded along, agreeing but it was all easier said than done.
“But jealousy of what?”, I wondered. My life was in literal shambles… what could they possibly be jealous of?
“Jealousy that their boyfriends can’t even do something as simple as not cheat on them… whilst Daniel is ready to throw a Professor out of college for you just because the Professor dared to bad-mouth you. The whole thing is obvious though, isn’t it?”, Rose explained as she ordered another blueberry muffin whilst I was still stuck on finishing my lemon cake.
“Daniel did not do it for me, Rose”, I wistfully said, almost wishing it wasn’t true.
“What?! Of course he did”, she argued.
“No, he didn’t. He only did it because I'm soon going to be part of his family and the professor insulting me was a direct hit to his family’s honour…. and Daniel gives grave priority to upholding his family’s respect and reputation… that’s why he fired the professor. Not for me.” I finished, biting into my cake furiously.
I officially despised the whole Kane family now…. except for his little sister. It baffled me how an angel as sweet as Stacy could be born into a family consisting entirely of venomous vipers.
“But Ash, I still think….”, she started, edging on my already frustrated mood. It was too early in the morning for this.
I cut her off from continuing,” We both know how ‘kind and giving’ Daniel Kane is toward anyone except his family. Everyone knows he wouldn’t have batted an eye or cared in the least had a teacher even assaulted me if I didn’t have anything to do with his family.”
“Is that so?”, a grave voice sounded behind me.
I bit my lip painfully hard when I realized the deep gravelly voice belonged to him as Rosalind threw me a pitiful look. Talk of the devil himself!
Fuck my life!
What was he?! Fucking Voldemort?! I take his name and he just appears out of thin air!!