Chapter 80 His Manipulation

Chapter 80 His Manipulation
Chapter 80

RAVENNA 

At his confession about his father and the pressure he faced constantly, my mind immediately began drifting back to thoughts of revenge. 

I remembered Dorian's words from about how Darius was entirely different from who he truly was deep down inside. 

And I had already started realizing through our time together that all his cold acts towards me were just a mask he wore. 

A mask that had been put on him by his father, shaped and moulded by years of impossible expectations.

The realization made everything more complicated. 

It was easier to hate someone when you thought they were genuinely cruel. 

It was much harder when you started understanding why they acted the way they did.

"What exactly would this break involve?" I asked, pulling myself out of my thoughts and focusing on the present moment.

Darius leaned back in his chair with a casual shrug. "I would like to take you out somewhere. For research purposes, of course."

I felt he was lying about the research part, and I could not resist teasing him about it. "Are you indirectly asking me out on a date, Darius? Because that is what this sounds like to me."

He leaned forward suddenly, his movement quick and unexpected. 

His lips brushed against my cheek in the lightest touch imaginable, barely more than a whisper of contact, but it sent shivers racing down my entire spine.

"Do you really want me to take you out?" he murmured, his voice low and intimate.

"No," I responded immediately, probably too quickly to be believable.

He chuckled deeply whilst staring at me with those intense eyes that seemed to see right through every defence I tried to put up. 

Then he stood from his chair and came to sit directly on the table in front of me, his legs on either side of mine, trapping me in place.

"You can call it a date if that will make you feel better about accepting," he offered with a slight smirk. "But to me, this is just a normal student outing for research purposes."

I rolled my eyes at his obvious attempt to downplay what he was suggesting. "You are such an asshole."

"Sweetheart," he replied smoothly, the endearment catching me completely off guard. "You really need to give me a new nickname. Asshole is getting rather repetitive, do you not think?"

My heart did a strange flip at hearing him call me sweetheart in that tone. 

And I began wondering how my name would sound with in same tone.

Ohh Ravenna, get a fucking grip on yourself.

I forced myself to ignore the feeling.

"So are you actually interested in going or not?" he pressed, watching my face carefully.

I considered refusing just to be difficult, but honestly, the idea of getting out of the academy for a while sounded appealing. "Fine. I will go. But only on my terms."

"Name them," he invited.

"First, you have to promise this stays casual. No weird expectations or assumptions about what this means. Second, I choose when we leave if I get uncomfortable. And third, you buy me ice cream at some point during this outing."

Darius grinned at my conditions. "Deal. All three terms accepted."

We began packing up our study materials, preparing to leave the library for the night. 

As I was gathering my papers into my bag, Darius spoke again.

"I will be waiting for you at the park tomorrow at eight in the morning. Make sure you bring some snacks for us to share."

I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "You should be a gentleman and come pick me up at my dormitory properly. That is what normal people do."

"Then go get yourself a boyfriend who will do that," he shot back with a grin. 

"Or you could just tell me directly if you want me to be that person."

"Dick," I muttered, the new insult slipping out before I could think of something better.

Darius actually clapped his hands together in delight. "Fantastic. A new name finally. I much prefer that to asshole."

I stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then found myself bursting out laughing at his ridiculous enthusiasm. He joined in, and soon we were both laughing together in the quiet library like complete idiots.

He was really cool like this, so different from the cold, hostile man I had first met when I arrived at the academy. 

I wished desperately that he could stay this way all the time, but I knew it was impossible. 

Sooner or later, he would slip his mask back on and return to being the arrogant Alpha heir everyone expected him to be. 

So it was probably best for me to just enjoy this other side of him whilst it lasted, however long that might be.

The following morning arrived far too early. I was still half asleep when someone knocked loudly on our door. 

Samantha groaned from her bed and pulled her pillow over her head whilst I dragged myself up to answer it.

Dorian stood in the hallway looking far too cheerful for this hour. "Good morning, Ravenna. I came to collect that book I lent you last week. Remember?"

I knew immediately that was complete rubbish. He had not lent me any book. He was here to see Samantha, and we both knew it.

"Actually, I am going out with Darius this morning," I announced, grabbing my bag from where I had left it packed by the door. "Would you mind keeping Samantha company whilst I am gone? She gets lonely when I leave her alone."

Samantha's head popped up from under her pillow, her eyes wide with panic. "No. Absolutely not. I do not need company."

But Dorian was already nodding enthusiastically. "I would be happy to stay and keep her company. You two have fun on your outing."

I turned to Samantha and gave her my sweetest smile. "Be a good girl, Sam."

Then I kissed her quickly on the forehead and practically ran out of the room before she could protest further, closing the door firmly behind me. 

I leaned against it for a moment and could hear Samantha's voice from inside.

"I hate you, Dorian."

I laughed quietly to myself and headed off to meet Darius.

He was waiting at the park exactly where he said he would be, dressed in all black. Black jacket, black trousers, black shoes. He looked annoyingly good, which I refused to acknowledge out loud. Meanwhile, I had chosen white trousers with a green crop top and white trainers, wanting to look casual and comfortable.

Beside him sat a sleek Kawasaki Ninja H2R, the kind of bike that cost more money than most people made in a year. The sight of it made me sad.

I scrunched up my face in an exaggerated frown. "I miss my bike so much. And you are the entire reason I do not have it anymore."

Darius handed me a helmet without commenting on my accusation. "Hop on."

At first, I refused to hold onto him whilst we rode, keeping my hands firmly on the seat behind me. 

But then he deliberately hit a bump in the road that made me nearly slide off the back of the bike. 

I grabbed onto his jacket instinctively, holding tight to keep myself from falling.

I could feel him laughing even though I could not hear it over the engine noise.

We rode for about twenty minutes before arriving at what looked like a small beach area. 

It was quiet and relatively empty this early in the morning, with just a few other people scattered along the sand in the distance.

Darius pulled a beach mat from the storage compartment on the bike and spread it out on the sand. "Sit down and relax."

I looked around at the peaceful scene. "This is your research? Coming to the beach?"

He shrugged and began removing his jacket, revealing the thin vest underneath that showed off his muscular arms. "It has been a while since I did something like this. Just sitting and doing nothing. You can join me if you want."

He lay down on the mat, stretching out his long body and closing his eyes against the morning sun. 

I hesitated for a moment, then joined him, lying down on my back and staring up at the sky.

But then I made the mistake of turning my head to look at him. 

His side profile caught my attention immediately and held it captive. 

His hair looked really attractive with the sunlight catching the different shades of brown, and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to touch it. 

His jaw was perfectly defined, sharp and strong. 

And his lips looked soft and inviting in a way that made my stomach flip.

"Stop staring at me," he groaned without opening his eyes. "I can feel you watching."

But I refused to look away, too caught up in studying his features.

He turned his head suddenly to face me, catching me completely off guard. 

I gasped and blinked repeatedly, then quickly turned my gaze upward to stare at the sky instead, now painfully aware that he was watching me.

"You are such a silly girl," he murmured, amusement clear in his voice. "Do you want to run away from me now?"

"No," I replied firmly.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket, intending to take some photos of the beach. 

But before I could unlock it, Darius's hand shot out and grabbed the device from me. 

He rolled over quickly, jumped to his feet, and took off running down the beach.

"Catch me if you can," he called back over his shoulder.

And just like that, we were racing across the sand. 

Darius made sure to stay just far enough ahead that I could not quite catch him, whilst I laughed breathlessly and chased after him. 

The warm sand shifted under my feet, making running difficult, but I did not care. 

This was fun in a way I had not experienced in far too long.

After several minutes of this ridiculous chase, I called out to him. "Stop, please. I am completely breathless. My ankle is starting to hurt again from all this running."

Darius stopped immediately and turned back, jogging over to me with genuine concern written across his face. "Are you alright? Is your ankle seriously hurting?"

The worry in his voice touched something deep inside me. 

But I pushed the feeling aside and grabbed my phone from his hand whilst he was distracted.

"Rule number two," I announced with a triumphant grin. "Never believe anything that comes out of Ravenna's lips."

He stared at me with his mouth slightly open, clearly flabbergasted that I had tricked him so easily.

I smiled up at him sweetly. "I am a genius, am I not?"

After a moment of stunned silence, he burst out chuckling and shaking his head. "You are absolutely terrible."

We made our way back to where we had left the beach mat and began packing up our things. I had genuinely enjoyed this morning, the running and laughing and just being carefree for a little while.

But as I folded up the mat and handed it back to Darius, reality came crashing back down. 

I reminded myself firmly of why I was really here at this academy. 

This was still about revenge. Getting close to Darius was part of the plan. 

Enjoying his company was dangerous. 

Forgetting my purpose was unacceptable.

No matter how much fun we had together, I could not let myself forget what he had supposedly done to Asteria. 

I could not let these moments of connection distract me from my mission.

Even if part of me desperately wanted to.