Chapter 66 Controlled damage

Chapter 66 Controlled damage

---
The question lingered in the air long after Dorian had asked it and Elowen could still feel the ghost of Lucian’s breath against her mouth.
The warmth of his hand at the back of her neck as well as the unbearable ache of what had almost happened.
And judging by the way Lucian’s entire body had gone rigid beside her, it was obvious he felt it too.
Whatever fragile, dangerous thing had existed between them dissolved beneath Dorian Scott’s perfectly timed interruption.
Lucian stepped back so quickly it almost looked guilty and that stung more than it should have to the point Elowen hated that it did.
Dorian remained in the doorway, his posture deceptively relaxed, one shoulder propped lazily against the frame as though he had simply wandered in by coincidence.
But there was nothing casual about the way his dark eyes flicked between them.
And for the first time, Elowen noticed something she had somehow missed before.. There was resentment there.
Not obvious enough for most people to catch but it was there.
It was there in the tension around his mouth, the stiffness in his shoulders.
Mixed with a flash of something ugly buried beneath his usual polished concern.
Lucian’s voice cut through the silence in a way that seemed a bit colder than normal.
“What are you doing here?”
Dorian’s expression smoothed instantly.
“Relax,” he said lightly. “I wanted to talk to you about something and couldn’t find you so I came here to check.”
Elowen’s stomach twisted because the explanation was plausible and yet something about it felt off.
Maybe because of the timing.. Maybe because Dorian looked far too satisfied for someone who had simply walked into a routine late-night training session.
Lucian stepped farther away from her and the sudden distance felt like ice.
“It’s fine I needed to relax my berves,” he said flatly.
Dorian pushed off the doorway and strolled forward and his gaze brushed over Elowen for half a second just enough to make her skin prickle.
“Didn’t realize you two were having such a… productive session.”
The implication beneath the words was subtle enough to maintain deniability.
Elowen’s jaw tightened. “Yes.. We were training.”
“Of course.”
Dorian smiled and somehow that made it worse.
Lucian smiled “Thanks for checking up on me bro.”
Something flickered across Dorian’s face then it was gone.
“Sure,” he said easily and turned back towards the exit then glanced back over his shoulder.
“Get some sleep, Luc.”
Then he was gone and the heavy doors swung shut behind him but the heated moment between them was gone.
Elowen stared at the floor, pulse still uneven while Lucian raked a hand through his hair.
Neither spoke because what was there to say?
That they had almost crossed a line neither of them fully understood?
That for one reckless second, every reason they should stay apart had stopped mattering?
Finally, Elowen cleared her throat. “I should go.”
Lucian’s head snapped up and his eyes flashed with something dangerously close to protest but then his expression became calm and he nodded.
“Ohh.. Yeah.”
The single syllable landed like a bruise bu she grabbed her bag then forced herself not to look back as she walked out and  somehow, that hurt more than if he had tried to stop her.
The next morning, campus exploded.
Elowen knew something was wrong the second she stepped onto Harrington’s central quad.
The atmosphere felt different and charged with the kind of vicious anticipation that only existed when fresh scandal hit student gossip circles.
Conversations died as she passed, heads turned, whispers sparked instantly and a little knot formed in her stomach.
Then her phone buzzed with a message from her Laura.
‘Do NOT check the forum.’
The pit in Elowen’s stomach deepened and she immediately opened the anonymous campus forum.
And there it was.. A new thread pinned at the very top.
‘COACHING OR SLEEPING HER WAY TO THE TOP?’
Her stomach lurched as the post was cruelly detailed.
It accused her of using Lucian for money and social leverage.
Claimed she had been seen entering the gym some minutes after Lucian was spotted entering at such an ungodly hour. It suggested that Dean Miller had reinstated her academic privileges because she had become “valuable” to the university’s investment plans.
The comments beneath were worse.
‘Guess Sterling finally figured out how to secure funding.’
‘Kieron must be proud. Imagine cozying up to the guy who almost killed your brother.’
Her throat tightened because she knew that this wasn’t random cruelty and whoever posted this knew specifics.
Her fingers trembled around the phone and just then..
“E.”
She looked up sharply only to find Lucian crossing the quad and coming towards her.
The moment he saw her expression, his face darkened.
He had clearly already seen it.
“Elowen..”
“I’m fine.” The lie came too fast.
Without a word, he reached for her phone and she let him take it.
He scanned the thread and Elowen watched the shift happen, the dangerous stillness settling over him, the way his ice-blue eyes turned glacial.
“This is bullshit.”
“Yes.”
His gaze sharpened.
“This happened after last night.”
It wasn’t a question and Elowen’s pulse kicked. She had been thinking the same thing because the timing was too precise.
Lucian looked furious.
Not with the wild, unstable anger people always expected from him.. This was colder and somehow far more terrifying.
“Who knew we were there?”
The question landed hard to the point Elowen frowned.
“What?”
“Think.”
His voice stayed low, taut with restrained intensity.
“Who knew?”
Her mind raced because no one had known she planned to go there that night.
Not Laura.. Not Kieron.. Not Reyes.
She had gone on impulse then Lucian’s expression shifted as realization dawned and suddenly Elowen understood exactly where his thoughts had gone.
“Dorian,” she said quietly.
Lucian didn’t answer immediately but hus jaw clenched hard enough to visibly tense.
“Maybe but I don’t think he would dare.. No! I know he wouldn’t ,” he said finally.
But his tone lacked conviction because they both knew it was more than a maybe.
.
.
Dorian sat in the back row of sports physiology that afternoon, looking perfectly at ease.
The perfect image of a loyal friend and model student.
Elowen watched him from across the lecture hall. She watched every subtle expression, every glance, every shift in posture and the more she looked, the more unsettled she became.
Because he was careful, he never once looked directly at Lucian, never acknowledged the forum post.. Infact he sighed whenever there was a notification on his phone.
It felt deliberate and Lucian noticed it too. She could tell by the way his focus kept drifting.. A crack had finally formed and she didn’t have to move a muscle.
After class, Dorian approached them. “Rough morning?”
Lucian stared at him. Long enough to make the smile on Dorian’s face falter.
“Did you post it?”
The question hit like a gunshot.
Elowen’s breath hitched and around them, nearby students instantly fell silent.
Dorian blinked then laughed. “Seriously?”
Lucian didn’t move. “Answer me.”
Dorian’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
“You think I’d do that to you?”
Lucian said nothing and somehow, his silence was worse than accusation.
Dorian’s eyes flicked briefly to Elowen then back to him.
“You’re letting paranoia get to you.”
Maybe but Elowen saw it.. That split-second calculation in Dorian’s face, that flicker of tension.. Fear.
And for the first time, she wondered if Lucian had been blind to his friend for far too long.
Dorian forced a smile. “You need sleep, man.”
Then he walked away.
Elowen turned to Lucian. “What was that?”
His gaze remained fixed on Dorian’s retreating figure and when he finally spoke, his voice was ice.
“The post mentioned the deal between you and Miller.”
Her stomach dropped. “What?”
Lucian looked at her. “The exact phrase.”
Her pulse thundered.. That talk had been what led to all of this and Lucian had only ever discussed that contract with Dorian.
The realization hit with devastating force and Lucian’s expression darkened as pieces clicked brutally into place.
His voice dropped to a whisper so low it was nearly swallowed by the noise around them.
“I’m pretty sure a handful of people knew that detail so who’d be dumb enough to talk about it.”
And for the first time.. real suspicion settled fully into his eyes.