Chapter 117 117
Jacqueline turned her head slightly to the right and caught Damien already staring daggers at the desk in front of him.
Wonderful.
“Sir, I think Mr. Ruiz doesn’t want to be my partner,” she announced clearly, her voice carrying across the room.
Every single head pivoted toward him at once. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing when she felt his glare burn into the side of her face.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Ruiz?” the professor asked in an even, unhurried tone.
A full two minutes dragged by before Damien finally decided to honor the class with a response.
“No.”
The cheerleaders otherwise known as his devoted fan club exhaled in unison, as though they had just been granted oxygen after nearly drowning.
Gross.
“Good,” the professor replied simply.
Jacqueline could feel Damien’s stare still fixed on her, so she turned slowly and rewarded him with her brightest, most innocent smile. She had made him speak. And he was furious about it.
Scoreboard: Jacqueline one, Damien two and the assignment hadn’t even begun.
After a few more instructions, the class was dismissed and students began to filter out in lazy clusters. Damien rose from his seat without a word. Jacqueline immediately fell into step beside him.
“So?” she drawled, matching his pace. As they walked, she winked at Gilles and Fanny, who waved back at her mid-argument about something only they seemed to understand.
“I’m not sure if you noticed,” she continued lightly, “but our assignment is due in exactly three days. And judging by the amount of work we have, it’s not exactly… minimal. So if you could kindly retire this brooding, silent-film character you’ve been playing, we might actually get something done. What do you say?”
She smiled sweetly.
He didn’t even slow down. Just kept walking.
This time, she didn’t chase after him. Her phone began to ring, cutting through her irritation. The screen flashed Hélène’s name.
Strange. Hélène never called her during university hours.
“What’s up, Hélène?” Jacqueline answered, her usual cheer slipping easily into place.
“Jacqueline, come home as soon as you can,” Hélène said, her voice tight. “I got a call from Mathieu’s school. He suddenly felt sick, so I brought him home. I’ve already called the doctor he’s on his way.”
Jacqueline’s heart trembled in her chest.
“I’m coming,” she said immediately, ending the call before panic could fully settle in.
She nearly sprinted out of the university gates. Mr. Loïc was already waiting outside. She slid into the car, her leg bouncing restlessly the entire ride home.
The moment she stepped inside, she found Hélène at the staircase.
“He’s in his room,” Hélène told her gently.
Jacqueline didn’t wait another second. She rushed upstairs, pushing open Mathieu’s door—only to halt abruptly as she struggled to catch her breath.
He was awake.
And looking at her with an apologetic expression.
“I’m totally fine. Please don’t freak out” he began.
She crossed the room in two strides and sat beside him, pulling him into a tight embrace. She inhaled deeply, fighting the tears threatening to spill.
“You scared me,” she complained, her voice small, almost childish.
When it came to Mathieu, nothing else in the world mattered. She loved him so fiercely it frightened her sometimes. She would give up anything everything for him.
Whenever something happened to him, she became the younger one. And somehow, Mathieu turned into the calm, reassuring elder.
“I know. I’m sorry,” he sighed. “It was just a little dizziness. Jeez. I don’t know why my school and Hélène made it sound like I was dying.”
He patted her head gently, knowing full well she was crying when she began sniffing like a child.
From the doorway, Hélène watched the siblings quietly.
“It’s okay, Jacqueline. I’m really fine. Please stop crying,” Mathieu murmured.
She finally pulled back and sat upright. He grinned at her, flashing those perfectly straight white teeth.
She was still pouting.
Mathieu reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. So relax.”
“You’ll always be a baby to me,” she whispered.
She cupped his face and planted a dramatic kiss on his chubby cheek. He immediately wiped it off with exaggerated disgust, which only made her smile through the remnants of her tears.
After firmly ordering him to stay in bed, she stepped out to meet the doctor who was waiting downstairs.
“Is everything alright with him?” she asked softly.
“He’s perfectly fine,” the doctor reassured her. “Just mild symptoms. Nothing serious.”
She nodded quietly as Hélène walked the doctor out.
Jacqueline let out a long breath and wiped her eyes again. After their mother, Mathieu was her entire world. She would shield him from anything if she could but not everything was within her control. All she could do was try. Try her hardest.
She returned to his room and stayed by his side.
The next two days passed without incident.
On the third day, Jacqueline sat in class waiting for the professor to arrive. Miraculously, Gilles had taken on most of the assignment workload, and he and Fanny were practically living in the library. She had no desire to be the awkward third presence in their study bubble.
She heard the chair beside her scrape against the floor.
Damien sat down.
Jacqueline was fully prepared to unleash all her frustration on him for abandoning the assignment, for ignoring her for two straight days, for putting her at risk of failing. She had given him time. Today was the deadline. She was seconds away from exploding.
Then he spoke.
“Listen.”
The deep timbre of his voice startled her.
She wanted to ignore him the way he had ignored her but she couldn’t afford to. This opportunity was rare.
She would probably remember this day forever. The first time he spoke to her voluntarily. A national holiday, perhaps. Confetti. Fireworks.
“I’m listening,” she replied dryly, not looking at him. Instead, she lazily drew circles on her notebook with her pen.
She was almost certain her attitude was irritating him.
Lucky day indeed.
“Let’s work on the assignment in the library after this class,” he said firmly.
Her head snapped toward him so quickly it was almost comical. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Damien gave her a puzzled look.
“You do realize,” she said, genuinely stunned, “that this is the first complete sentence you’ve ever spoken to me?”
He turned his face away, as if he were thoroughly exhausted by her existence.
“I’ll schedule the celebration for later,” she continued with a grin, clearly enjoying herself. “And as for your extremely generous request…”
She let the sentence hang dramatically while he stared ahead, bored beyond measure.
“Obviously, yes,” she finished, beaming.