Chapter 131 131
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Why the hell was he so furious with her?
It was her life. She could do whatever she pleased with it. He had no claim over her, no authority to corner her, accuse her, tear into her the way he had.
And yet
He couldn’t stop himself.
Ever since that day in the classroom, when he had tried to intimidate her into keeping her distance, she had lingered in his thoughts. She had listened, too. She had begun avoiding him, just as he’d wanted.
But something shifted in that cramped elevator.
The girl trapped there with him hadn’t been the same chatterbox he’d dismissed. She hadn’t been shallow. She hadn’t been foolish. She had spoken like someone who understood the weight of living. Like someone who knew sorrow intimately. She had recognized pain in him seen it without him saying a word. She had even tried to help.
For a fleeting second, he had looked at her differently.
Then he saw Julien’s hands on her.
His first instinct had been simple and savage to beat that bastard senseless. But she had acted as though nothing was wrong, as though Damien had imagined it all. Something ugly and sharp had twisted inside him. And after today… after her shameless confession…
He almost couldn’t stand the thought of looking at her again.
What unsettled him most was the disappointment clawing at his chest.
She had admitted it boldly, unapologetically, without a flicker of shame.
He hated himself for it, but the memory wouldn’t leave him: the warmth of her hand gripping his in the elevator. The way she had scolded him for wasting his life. In that moment, she had felt like a beam of light cutting through the darkness he’d grown used to breathing in. For one reckless heartbeat, all he had wanted was to hold onto her and let every ounce of buried pain pour out.
But it had all been an illusion.
A mask.
Why hadn’t he seen through her?
—
“Hélène, please… just two more minutes,” Jacqueline mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.
She hadn’t slept at all.
Certain poisonous words had echoed in her mind all night, repeating like a cruel chant. She felt hollow now like something barely alive, moving out of habit rather than will.
“You’ve been saying that for the last fifteen minutes,” Hélène scolded gently as she yanked the blanket away.
A rush of cool air wrapped around Jacqueline, making her curl into herself before she finally dragged her body upright. She stared blankly at the wall for a long moment, as if trying to remember how to function.
Hélène left her to it.
Jacqueline shuffled into the en-suite bathroom and turned on the shower. Later, she stood before the mirror, studying her reflection. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes. Her lids were swollen from tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed.
She dressed mechanically high-waisted black jeans, a fitted T-shirt tucked neatly in. She tied her hair into a ponytail, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag, and walked downstairs.
Her little champion was already at the dining table.
Julien was nowhere in sight. Likely gone to the office before dawn.
“Hey, punctual monkey,” she greeted Mathieu, ruffling his hair.
He groaned dramatically and swatted her hand away. “Morning, lazy sister.”
She scowled, then burst into laughter that didn’t quite reach her eyes. A second later, her expression sobered as she narrowed her gaze at him.
“Lazy? Says the one who needs three alarms.”
They continued teasing each other while Hélène served breakfast, the easy rhythm between them untouched. Despite everything, their affection remained solid and unshaken.
“Your medicine?” Jacqueline asked, suddenly serious.
“Already took it,” Mathieu replied.
She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He exaggeratedly wiped it off and jogged toward the car waiting outside. The driver opened the door, and he left.
Jacqueline waved at Hélène and stepped out
Only to freeze.
Julien had just stepped out of his car and was striding toward the house.
“I hope you’ll behave,” he said curtly.
She nodded without a word.
Without sparing her another glance, he brushed past her and went inside.
Jacqueline swallowed the bitterness rising in her throat, greeted Mr. Loïc quietly, and climbed into the car. They drove toward the university in silence.
In the parking lot, she met Thérèse, and the two walked in together.
All morning, Jacqueline braced herself for the worst. She half-expected her friends to look at her the way Damien had as though she were something filthy. She wondered if he had told them, if he’d tried to ruin her reputation just to wound her further.
But nothing was different.
No whispers. No judgment.
A heavy arm suddenly dropped over her shoulders, and for a split second her heart lurched into her throat she thought it was him.
Relief flooded her when she turned and found Gilles grinning down at her.
“Hey, sweetcheeks,” he teased.
Her internal disgust meter shot up, but she only laughed and punched him lightly in the stomach.
“Don’t call me that, musketeer,” she shot back, shrugging his arm off.
He arched a perfect brow and wiggled both eyebrows theatrically. “So what you’re saying is I’m your knight in shining armor?”
She slapped her forehead.
“She never said that,” Thérèse interjected dryly.
“Did we ask you?” Gilles retorted, shooting her a dramatic stink eye.
Thérèse glared right back, refusing to back down.
“Can you two not?” Jacqueline sighed as they reached the lockers where Laurent and Fanny were waiting.
Their usual chaos resumed playful insults, exaggerated reactions, laughter echoing through the corridor.
Fanny nudged her gently. “You feeling better? After yesterday?”
Jacqueline nodded. “Yeah. Just needed rest.”
Soon they dispersed toward their classes.
Jacqueline walked in after Fanny and Gilles but stopped.
Her eyes locked with Damien’s.
Every trace of warmth drained from her face. The light vanished.
Instead of heading toward her usual seat at the back, she veered sharply and took the empty seat beside Fanny in the very first row.
Half the class noticed.
Once, when a new student had accidentally taken her preferred seat in the back, she had made such a fuss that she’d sulked the entire class when forced to sit up front.
But today?
Today she would sit anywhere anywhere at all if it meant putting as much distance as possible between herself and Damien.