Chapter 66 : A Straight Disaster
LILIAN’S POV
Waiting outside the economics building is more boring than I expected.
The hallway is crowded with students pacing, flipping through notes, or whispering last-minute formulas like prayers. A few of them are even muttering to themselves. Honestly, it’s kind of terrifying.
Exams turn perfectly normal people into lunatics.
I lean back against the wall near the entrance, scrolling lazily through my phone while I wait for Hayden to finish. The exam started almost an hour ago, which means there’s still plenty of time before anyone comes out.
But I told him I’d wait. So here I am.
A couple of girls nearby are complaining loudly about how hard the exam was last year.
“Professor Dalton always asks trick questions,” one of them says dramatically.
The other groans. “I’m going to fail.”
I roll my eyes and slip my phone back into my pocket.
Hayden won’t fail, not after the insane amount of studying he did with Stephen.
The thought makes me smile a little.
I’ve never seen Hayden work that hard in his life. Usually, he’d rather party, flirt, or do anything except study literally. But the last two days. He barely left the dorm.
When I stopped by yesterday evening to bring him food, the place looked like an academic hurricane had hit it. Books everywhere, coffee cups stacked like towers, papers covering the table.
Stephen was sitting there looking annoyingly calm while Hayden looked like he’d been through psychological warfare.
I laugh quietly to myself.
Still… something about the atmosphere in the dorm yesterday felt strange.
Stephen barely said a word to me.
Normally he’s distant, sure, but polite enough. Yesterday he barely even looked at me. His jaw was tight the entire time.
And this morning? That weird moment after Hayden kissed me. My smile fades slightly. Stephen looked… furious.
It was such a strange reaction that it keeps replaying in my head.
I shake the thought away. Whatever.
Stephen has always been weirdly intense about everything. It probably has nothing to do with me.
I’m about to pull my phone out again when I hear footsteps approaching from down the hallway. I glance up and immediately regret it. Because of course it’s her. Ella.
She walks down the corridor like she owns the entire campus, her long dark hair swaying behind her and that smug little smile on her face.
My stomach instantly tightens.
Great. Just great. I turn my head slightly, pretending to check something on my phone, hoping she’ll just walk past.
But no. Her footsteps slow, then stop, right beside me. “Lilian.”
I close my eyes for half a second before looking up.
Ella is standing there with her arms crossed, looking down at me like she’s mildly amused.
“What do you want?” I ask flatly.
She tilts her head. “Relax. I was just saying hello.”
“Then hello,” I reply. “Now you can leave.”
Her smile widens slightly. God, I hate that smile.
“You’re waiting for Hayden, right?” she asks casually.
I didn’t answer.
She glances toward the exam hall doors. “Economics exam.”
“Wow,” I say dryly. “Your detective skills are incredible.”
Ella ignores the sarcasm. “I heard he studied with Stephen,” she continues.
My grip tightens slightly around my phone. “So?” I say.
She shrugs lightly. “Nothing. I just think it’s interesting.”
Something about her tone makes irritation crawl up my spine. “Do you have a point?” I ask.
Ella leans casually against the wall across from me.
“I just figured I’d wait too.”
I stare at her. “No,” I said immediately.
Her eyebrow lifts. “No?”
“You’re not waiting here.”
She laughs softly. “Last time I checked, you don’t own the hallway.”
“Maybe not,” I say, pushing myself off the wall. “But no one wants you here.”
Her smile disappears slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I cross my arms. “It means exactly what it sounds like,” I say coldly. “You’re just here to cause trouble like always.”
Ella’s eyes narrow. “That’s a bold accusation.”
“Is it wrong?” For a moment, the air between us feels tight and electric.
Students nearby glance over curiously.
Ella pushes herself off the wall slowly. “You know,” she says quietly, “it’s funny hearing you say that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re the one clinging to Hayden like he’s some kind of prize.”
My jaw tightens. “I’m his girlfriend,” I snapped.
She gives a small, mocking shrug. “Sure.”
That single word hits harder than it should.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I demand.
Ella tilts her head again, studying me like I’m a puzzle. “I just think it’s interesting how confident you are.”
My patience finally snaps. “Look,” I say sharply, stepping closer. “No one asked for your opinion. So why don’t you do everyone a favor and leave?”
Ella didn’t move. Instead, she smiles again, slow and deliberate. “You’re scared of me.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Please.”
“You are,” she insists calmly. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be so desperate to get rid of me.”
“I’m not scared of you,” I snapped.
“Oh?” she says softly.
Her eyes flick briefly toward the exam hall doors. “Then why are you so worried about me being here when Hayden comes out?”
Anger flashes through my chest. “I’m not worried about anything.”
“Really?” she murmurs.
The tension between us suddenly feels like a stretched wire about to snap. “You’re unbelievable,” I say.
“And you’re insecure.”
That does it. Before I can stop myself, I shove her shoulder. “Just leave!”
Ella stumbles half a step back, clearly surprised. Gasps ripple through the nearby students.
Her expression darkens instantly. “Don’t touch me,” she says coldly.
“Then stop provoking me!”
She steps forward again, her eyes blazing now. “Or what?”
My heart is pounding, but I refuse to back down. “Or I’ll make you.”
Ella laughs sharply. “I’d love to see you try.”
Students are openly staring now, whispers spreading down the hallway. But I don’t care.
All I see is Ella standing there with that infuriating look on her face. “You’re pathetic,” I tell her.
“And you’re delusional,” she fires back.
The argument explodes after that with voices rising, accusations flying and somewhere in the back of my mind, I realize something with absolute certainty….When Hayden walks out of that exam hall…
He’s walking straight into a disaster.