Chapter 148 Run

Chapter 148 Run
Leon’s Point of View

“Cooperate with you?” Liam laughed, and I reached for him.

“Can you let him finish for a moment—”

“No. I don’t want to hear a single thing this bastard has to say.” Xavier cut me off sharply. His green eyes narrowed, and he winced. “You’re not even ashamed of yourself. How can you possibly think manipulating the siblings of the very woman you destroyed is going to help you?”

Silence descended over the room.

“Is this really the person you want us to listen to, Leon?” My brother’s eyes shifted toward me. “A shameless bastard who would rather blackmail us than approach us with a fucking backbone. What exactly are you going to do with that little dashcam recording? Expel us?”

“I have no intention of expelling either of you,” he said with a frustrated sigh.

“So you have no interest in expelling us.” Liam arched an eyebrow, then glanced at me, silently asking what our next move was.

I simply shrugged.

Because, honestly, I had no fucking idea either.

“I’m sure neither of you wants the entire school digging into your business,” Xavier continued. “So, think of this as a simple exchange. You help me, and I make sure your secret stays exactly that—a secret.”

“If this has anything to do with Lana, then I’d rather you expel us.” Liam snapped, his voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

I nudged him, because that made no fucking sense.

Lana would be furious with us if she found out we had gotten expelled. And knowing her, she would probably blame herself for it. I didn’t know everything about Liam, but I was willing to bet he was hoping Xavier’s threats were nothing more than an attempt to scare us into listening.

Because what would be the point of getting the siblings of the woman whose forgiveness he was desperately chasing expelled?

This probably wasn’t blackmail.

Not entirely.

Maybe this was simply his way of forcing us to give him an audience.

“Just let him talk for a minute,” I muttered.

Liam shot me a glare, but I held his gaze.

A moment later, his expression softened, and he gave me a small nod of gratitude.

“But you’d better have a damn good explanation,” I added, turning my attention back to Xavier. “Because blackmailing us isn’t exactly doing wonders for your image right now. If anything, you’ve given us even more reason to be suspicious of you.”

Xavier rolled his eyes and reached up, tightening the knot of his tie around his neck.

“I need to get Lana to listen to Christian and me,” Xavier continued, trying to explain himself. “And you two are important pieces of that. I’m only trying to get you to talk to me in a more level-headed manner.”

“Way to go.” Liam snickered as he turned toward me. “So, what do you say we do now? Help the same men who destroyed our sister’s life destroy it all over again?”

“We didn’t destroy your sister’s life—”

“Tch.” Liam cut him off, his temper flaring again. “If it were up to me, you don’t even need to report us to the dean. We would do it ourselves, and at least then we could drop out with whatever dignity we have left.”

“There’s nothing dignified about dropping out or getting expelled,” Xavier muttered. “Other colleges will be skeptical about accepting you, and what I’m asking for isn’t much. I just want to be part of Lana’s life. At least give me the chance to make up for all those years when Christian and I weren’t there for her.”

“I don’t care.” Liam pushed himself to his feet.

“Xavier Blackwood, you can take that fucking video and shove it up your ass.” He glared at him before turning toward me. “Are you not leaving?”

Xavier said nothing.

“Or are you going to betray Lana because you’re too scared to drop out?” Liam demanded. “Your grades aren’t even that great. We can always pick up a skill or something.”

If only he would give me a second to speak.

I didn’t want to say anything while Liam was still worked up. Whatever I said, he would probably contradict it, and I had no desire to turn this into an even bigger argument.

So I remained seated between them, trapped in the middle of a conversation that seemed to be getting hotter by the second.

Unable to say a fucking word.

My eyes shifted toward Xavier.

His jaw was clenched, but he remained silent, his expression unreadable.

Liam turned on his heels and stormed out.

I immediately got to my feet, slinging my bag over my shoulder. My eyes remained on Xavier for another moment.

I wanted to hear him out.

Maybe there was more to this than what Liam thought.

But Liam was short-tempered, and there was a very real possibility he would come back and cause an even bigger scene if he realized I had stayed behind.

“Please try to understand our point,” I said, pausing at the doorway. “And please… don’t submit the footage.”

Then I hurried out of the office after my brother.

“And what took you so fucking long?” Liam snarled the moment I caught up with him.

There was something in his tone that immediately rubbed me the wrong way.

“What were you discussing with that freak that made you stay behind?”

“Can you, for once, give me a chance to speak?” I shot back, my patience finally snapping. “I had plenty of things I wanted to say to him, but you kept losing your temper. I ended up spending the entire time trying to calm you down, and by the time you stopped, I’d forgotten half of what I wanted to say.”

He looked taken aback by my sudden outburst.

“Sometimes, not everything has to go your way,” I continued, my voice still tight. “You need to understand that.”

His mouth parted slightly, clearly surprised.

“You looked like you were about to compromise with him!” he yelled.

I shook my head in disbelief.

“You can’t just decide what I was thinking without even asking me. Why can’t you wait and listen to what I actually have to say?” I snapped. “You decided for both of us that we should drop out. Fine. But then what the hell are we supposed to tell Lana?”

“You know what? I don’t have time for this shit.”

He didn't even wait for me to finish.

He turned and walked away, forcing me to follow behind him.

He always does this.

He invalidated my feelings as if they didn't matter.

And it wasn't the first time.

Maybe that was the problem. I barely talked about how I felt, so everyone assumed I didn't have anything to say. That I didn't think about things. That I would simply go along with whatever they decided.

But I did think.

I just didn't always know how to make them listen.

“Are you still mad?” Liam asked curiously as we approached the bus stop.

I ignored him.

He needed to understand that not everything was going to go his way. And until he apologized, I wasn't going to say another word to him.

I stepped toward the edge of the road, preparing to cross.

Then I froze.

My eyes widened.

Across the street stood one of the men from that night.

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

“Wait…” I whispered, his eyes suddenly met mine.

My entire body went rigid, I stumbled backward.

“Liam.” I tugged my brother, my voice came out barely above a whisper as I pointed toward him. Liam followed my finger.

The moment he saw the man, all the irritation disappeared from his face and his eyes went wide.

We both turned and ran in the other direction, and of course, the men chased after us.