Chapter 89 Darius surprise

Chapter 89 Darius surprise
Chapter 89

RAVENNA

My eyes widened in complete shock as I stared at him, trying to process what he had just asked. "What did you say?"

Darius hissed in frustration and looked away briefly. "You heard me perfectly well the first time. Do not behave as if you did not."

But I kept staring at him, unable to form words or make sense of what was happening. This was Darius Pike. The same person who had made my life hell since the day I arrived at this academy. And now he was asking me to be his partner for the festival?

He sighed heavily and turned back to face me properly. "Would you like to accompany me as my partner to the academy festival? Is that clear enough for you?"

Heat flooded my face immediately, and I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was not supposed to be happening. I was supposed to be pulling away from him, not getting more tangled up in whatever this was between us.

"Are you seriously blushing right now?" he asked, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice.

I cleared my throat quickly and tried to compose myself. "I will think about it and let you know."

Without waiting for his response, I turned and practically fled back inside the café to find Samantha. She was still sitting at the table, but her expression looked strange. Shocked and confused and maybe a little bit excited all at once.

I dropped into the seat beside her. "What is wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost."

"I will tell you everything when we get back to our room," she whispered, glancing around to make sure nobody was listening. "Not here."

We finished our dinner in relative silence, both of us clearly distracted by our own thoughts. The walk back to the dormitory felt longer than usual, tension crackling between us as we both waited to share whatever news we were holding.

The moment our door closed behind us, Samantha spun around to face me. "Dorian asked me to be his partner for the academy festival."

My mouth fell open. "He what?"

"He asked me," she repeated, her voice rising with excitement and nervousness. "Right before you came back inside. He was so sweet about it too, all nervous and stumbling over his words."

I stared at her whilst my mind raced. "Did the two of them plan this somehow? Because Darius also asked me to be his partner."

Samantha's eyes went wide. "He did? When?"

"Just now, outside whilst you were talking to Dorian."

We stood there looking at each other for a long moment, both of us trying to figure out what this meant.

"What is really going on between you and Darius?" Samantha finally asked, sitting down on her bed. "I have noticed you two have become much less hostile towards each other lately. The constant fighting has turned into something else, though I cannot quite figure out what."

I sank down onto my own bed across from her. "He is still being an absolute asshole to me most of the time. Nothing has fundamentally changed."

Samantha nodded slowly, clearly not entirely convinced. "So, are you going to accept his invitation?"

"I do not really have a choice, do I?" I replied with a sigh. "If Dorian asked you, and you are obviously going to say yes based on that ridiculous smile on your face, then I cannot leave Darius without a partner. It would make things awkward for everyone."

"You could just say you want to go with him," Samantha pointed out with a knowing look.

I threw a pillow at her face, which she caught easily whilst laughing.

The following day passed in a blur of classes and training sessions. I was trying to focus on preparing for both the upcoming presentation and the tournament, but my mind kept drifting back to the festival and what it might mean.

Samantha and I were both in our room studying when someone knocked on the door. I opened it to find a delivery person holding a large package addressed to both of us.

We brought it inside and opened it carefully. Inside were two absolutely stunning dresses. One was black, clearly meant for me based on the size and style. The other was a deep red that would look perfect on Samantha.

"These must have cost a fortune," Samantha breathed, holding up the red dress and examining the quality of the fabric.

I pulled out the black dress and immediately noticed how expensive it looked. The material was soft and luxurious, the design elegant but not overly flashy. Whoever had chosen this knew exactly what they were doing.

"We know where these came from," I muttered, already feeling irritated. "And we should not accept them. I am perfectly capable of finding my own dress."

"But look at them, Ravenna," Samantha argued, twirling with the red dress held against her body. "These probably cost more than our entire wardrobes combined. It would be rude not to wear them after someone went to all this trouble. We should think of it as appreciation for the gesture."

I hissed in frustration but could not really argue with her logic. The dresses were beautiful, and refusing them would just create more drama than it was worth.

Later that afternoon, I made my way to the library for what would be our final round of speech preparation before the actual presentation day, which was scheduled to happen right after the academy festival. I found Darius already there, sitting at our usual table like he owned the entire building.

I dropped into the chair across from him and immediately addressed the elephant in the room. "I do not want you to think I feel entitled to expensive gifts just because you sent those dresses. I am perfectly capable of looking attractive enough for the festival without your help."

Darius raised an eyebrow at my defensive tone. "I needed to make sure you looked appropriate for the occasion since you will be accompanying me as my partner. That is all."

"You are just trying to flash your family's money at me," I accused, crossing my arms.

"Actually, the money I spent was mine," he corrected calmly. "Not my family's. All the money I use for personal expenses comes from my own sources."

That caught my attention despite my irritation. "What do you mean your own sources? Where do you get money from if not your family?"

"I have investments in several big companies," he explained, leaning back in his chair. "Plus, shares in various businesses and my own brand that I started a few years ago. I am quite financially independent, actually."

I stared at him with genuine curiosity now. "Tell me more about that."

He smiled slightly. "That is a story for another day. We have work to do right now."

We settled into practicing our presentation, taking turns reading through our sections and offering feedback on each other's delivery. The rhythm we had developed over these past weeks made the work flow smoothly, even if the tension between us never quite disappeared.

After we finished running through the speech for what felt like the hundredth time, Darius stood up and started packing his things. "I want to show you something before we leave tonight."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Show me what?"

"Just trust me," he replied, already heading towards the library exit.

Against my better judgement, I followed him out of the building. He led me around to the back where there was a large covered shape sitting in what looked like a reserved parking space.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the mysterious object.

"Open it and find out," Darius urged, stepping back to give me room.

I approached cautiously and grabbed the edge of the cover. With one quick motion, I yanked it off.

Standing in front of me, gleaming under the outdoor lights, was my motorcycle. My beloved bike that I thought had been destroyed beyond repair after Darius had hit me with his car all those weeks ago.