Chapter 3 Chapter 3
Hailey’s POV
My stomach twisted as the world around me blurred into background noise.
It couldn’t be, it shouldn’t be, but it was.
The same dark hair, the same sharp jawline I had traced with trembling fingers the night before. The same eyes which were calm, and unreadable, yet somehow burning into me as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
I could feel my heart hammering inside my chest. It was so loud I was sure everyone in the room could hear it.
Every breath I took scraped against my throat lining like sandpaper.
He didn’t look shocked, didn’t even flinch either.
He just looked at me and the weight of that look almost set me on fire.
“Miss Hailey,” the chairman’s voice snapped me back to the present. “Please have a seat.”
“Y-yes, sir,” I managed to say, lowering myself into the chair next to a lecturing professor who was flipping through files.
Every second that passed felt stretched. I couldn’t even look in his direction without feeling the memory of his hands on me, his voice in my ear and his warmth beside me.
God, what had I done?
In no time, the meeting began.
The chairman, Professor Mendez adjusted his glasses. “Miss Sophia Alejandro, you’ve been called here due to an incident that occurred during yesterday’s presentation in class. The display of inappropriate content has been traced to your student login.”
“I told you, it wasn’t me.” She snarled, rolling her eyes.
“It was your ID,” he countered.
“It must’ve been hacked,” she said with a shrug, leaning back in her chair.
The audacity made my jaw clench.
Professor Mendez’s voice deepened as he leaned forward. “Miss Hailey’s reputation has been damaged severely. And in this school, we take cyber harassment seriously.”
Sophia scoffed, “Oh please, she loves the attention. She’s always pretending to be innocent…”
“Enough,” her father's voice cut through the room like a blade.
Startled, she blinked. “Dad…”
“You will speak respectfully,” he said, his tone cool but firm. “Or you will say nothing at all.”
Something in his voice commanded obedience. Even Sophia, as spoiled and proud as she was, fell silent instantly.
My gaze drifted to him despite myself. He was dressed in a grey shirt, no tie and his sleeves were rolled just enough to show strong wrists and an expensive watch.
The man didn’t look like a parent at a disciplinary hearing; he looked like he owned the building.
When he finally looked at me, my stomach flipped again.
Our eyes met and for a fleeting second, his gaze softened. Not much, just enough to make me forget where I was.
“Miss Alejandro,” Professor Mendez continued. “This is your last chance to explain yourself before we take disciplinary action.”
Sophia’s lips trembled slightly before curving into a sneer. “Fine. You want the truth? I’ll tell you the truth.”
My chest tightened as she scraped her chair against the floor.
“Hailey,” she said, pointing a manicured finger at me, “isn’t as innocent as everyone thinks. She has been pretending to be this perfect girl, but she’s not. I switched her slides because I was tired of everyone worshiping her.”
My blood ran cold at her confession.
“What do you mean by switched?” Professor Mendez asked sharply.
“She came to the party last weekend, got drunk off her mind. I paid someone to make sure she loosened up a little more.”
The room went still.
“I spiked her drink,” Sophia said, her tone disturbingly casual. “With a mild aphrodisiac. She started stripping, it was hilarious. People took videos and photos. I got one, so I replaced her presentation file with it.”
Gasps erupted around the table.
I sat frozen.
The floor seemed to tilt beneath me as her words echoed in my head like a bad dream.
No wonder I didn’t remember that night. She drugged me and humiliated me in front of everyone.
I couldn’t breathe.
“You… what?” My voice broke mid word.
Sophia gave me a dismissive look. “Don’t act like a victim, you enjoyed it.”
Rage flared through me so fast that it scared me. “Enjoy being drugged and exposed? Are you insane?”
“Enough!” Professor Mendez barked. “Miss Alejandro, what you’ve confessed to is a serious violation. This is beyond school policy, this is criminal behavior.”
Sophia’s confident mask began to crack and I could see fear dancing in her eyes. “Wait, I… I didn’t mean…”
“You didn’t mean to destroy someone’s life?” Her father cut in, flexing his jaw.
“Dad, I just…”
“You drugged her, Sophia.” His tone was quiet but deadly. “You humiliated her. Do you even understand what that means?”
Right now, she looked like a child caught stealing for the first time except this wasn’t stealing; this was cruelty.
“Dad, please, I was angry,” she muttered.
“And you think anger justifies this?” Her chin trembled, but he didn’t look away.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Professor Mendez sighed heavily and then proceeded to break the silence. “Given your confession, the board has decided on immediate disciplinary action. The original recommendation was expulsion.”
“No! You can’t…”
“However,” he continued, glancing toward her father, “in consideration of your father’s contributions to the institution, we are reducing it to a six month suspension. You will complete mandatory counseling sessions before returning.”
Sophia shot up from her seat like it burned. “Six months? Are you kidding me?”
“Sit down,” Damien ordered.
“I’m not a child!” she snapped.
“You’re behaving like one.”
“You always do this, fixing everything with money, pretending to be perfect. Maybe if Mom hadn’t died…” She was yelling, but just a single word from her father silenced her.
“Enough!” His words echoed off the walls that even the professors fell silent.
Sophia’s eyes welled, but she didn’t say another word. She just grabbed her bag and stormed toward the door, slamming it behind her so hard that the windows rattled.
Silence followed, it was thick and awkward.
“Mr. Alejandro,” Professor Mendez said after a moment, clearing his throat. “Thank you for your cooperation.”
He nodded curtly, his voice controlled again. “I’ll handle her.”
The meeting dissolved after that.
My body was present, but my mind was miles away stuck in disbelief and humiliation.
To think Sophia decided to ruin me because she couldn't suppress me made anger run through my veins.
The next time I raised my head, I locked eyes with him. He just sat there looking at me with searching and thoughtful eyes.
Finally, he extended a hand. “Damien Alejandro,” he said formally. “I’m Sophia’s father, I should have introduced myself earlier.”
My fingers felt frozen as I reached out to shake his hand.
“I… uh… thank you,” I managed to say with a voice barely above a whisper.
“For what?”
“For… apologizing.”
He gave a faint nod. “She’s been difficult since her mother passed. I’ve tried to guide her, but I can’t undo the damage grief has done.”
Something softened in his expression. The edges of control slipped just enough to reveal a man who was still hurting.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
He glanced down, then back at me. “You shouldn’t be.”
The way he said it made my chest tighten again, like an invisible thread pulled taut between us.
I wanted to leave but his gaze held me pinned like gravity itself refused to let me move.
When he finally spoke again, his tone was lower, and quieter, meant only for me.
“You’re not at fault here, remember that.”
“Thank you,” I said quickly, stepping back. “I should go.”
He nodded once, stepping aside. “Take care, Hailey.”
Hearing my name from his lips again did something strange to my heartbeat.
Without wasting even a second, I turned and hurried out before I could betray the chaos unraveling inside me.
The hallway outside was colder and quieter. Every breath I took burned with disbelief.
Of all the men in the world… Sophia’s father.
Desperate to get out before anyone saw me, I hurried down the corridor, grabbing my bag pack with both hands.
Just one more turn, I told myself. One more corner and I would be free of this nightmare.
But before I could get lost, a strong hand caught my wrist from behind.
Slowly, I turned.
And there he was, Damien Alejandro.