Chapter 46
The class ended without ceremony.
Chairs scraped back, bags were pulled from under desks, and conversations picked up immediately—louder now, less contained. The tension from earlier hadn’t disappeared; it had just shifted direction.
“—there’s no way he got in fairly.”
“I’m telling you, he paid for it.”
“His family probably just bought him a spot.”
“He literally failed last year.”
Voices overlapped as students moved toward the door, glancing back more than necessary, some not even bothering to lower their tone. It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t meant to be.
Killian heard it.
Of course he did.
He didn’t react.
Didn’t even turn.
He stayed where he was for a moment longer, leaning back slightly in his chair, like none of it applied to him.
“Lucky you,” Oliver said as he passed by, stopping just long enough to clap Killian lightly on the shoulder. “Fifteen days off-campus? Not bad.”
Killian glanced at him briefly.
“Yeah,” he said. “Not bad.”
Oliver didn’t linger. He gave a quick nod and left with the rest.
The room emptied quickly after that.
Noise faded.
Until it was just—
Theodore.
And Killian.
Theodore stood at the front, gathering his things with the same precision as always, stacking papers, aligning edges, closing his file. Routine. Controlled.
Killian pushed himself up from his seat and walked down toward him.
Unhurried.
He stopped at the desk.
“…how did I get in that retreat.”
No sarcasm.
No attitude.
Just—
direct.
Theodore didn’t look up immediately. He finished closing the file, then lifted his gaze.
“The Dean asked me to replace someone,” he said.
Killian frowned slightly.
“With who.”
Theodore picked up his bag.
“Damian Clover.”
A beat.
Killian’s expression shifted—just slightly.
“…oh.”
That explained part of it.
Not all.
Theodore adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
“Your family’s company supports the faculty,” he added. “It was considered… beneficial.”
Killian let out a quiet breath, something between a scoff and a laugh.
“…right.”
That sounded more like what he expected.
A pause settled between them.
Not tense.
Not comfortable either.
Just—
real.
Theodore turned slightly, ready to leave.
Then—
“Hey.”
He stopped.
Not fully turning back.
Just enough.
Killian shifted his weight slightly, hands in his pockets.
“…what about the Annex.”
That—
Theodore stilled.
Completely.
For a second too long.
Killian watched him.
“We still have it,” he added. “If we skip, there are penalties.”
Theodore turned now.
Fully.
Expression controlled.
Too controlled.
“…yes.”
Killian held his gaze.
“So?”
A brief silence followed.
Then Theodore spoke, measured.
“We can submit a formal request,” he said. “University documentation. Mandatory academic travel.”
Killian considered that.
“…you think they’ll accept it?”
Theodore’s jaw tightened slightly.
“They should.”
Not confidence.
Expectation.
Killian huffed quietly.
“I hope so.”
Another pause.
Then Theodore added, more practical now:
“I’ll obtain the document from administration. It will include both our names.”
Killian nodded once.
“And I send it.”
“Yes.”
Simple.
Clear.
Like the rest of this.
Killian shifted slightly, already stepping back.
“…okay.”
Theodore didn’t add anything else.
Didn’t need to.
He turned and walked toward the door.
Killian stayed where he was for a second longer, watching him go.
Then—
he followed.
He had just stepped into the corridor when—
“Killian!”
He stopped.
Already irritated.
“…what now.”
He turned.
Sophia wasn’t walking toward him.
She was coming straight at him.
Fast.
“You’re a fucking liar.”
No build-up.
No control.
Just—loud.
People turned immediately.
Killian frowned.
“…we’re not doing this.”
“Oh, we are,” she snapped. “Because you don’t get to disappear on me at a party, lie about being sick, and then show up the next morning walking out of a hotel like nothing happened.”
That—
hit.
Hard.
Now everyone was listening.
Killian exhaled slowly.
“…you dumped me.”
“After that,” she shot back. “After I found out you lied.”
“That’s not—”
“Oh my God, don’t,” she cut in, laughing sharply. “We were at the same party, Killian. You were fine. Then you just—vanish.”
A beat.
Then—
“And suddenly you’re ‘sick’?” she mocked. “Really?”
Killian’s jaw tightened.
“…I didn’t feel well.”
“Yeah?” she snapped. “You felt well enough to check into a hotel?”
Murmurs.
Low.
Immediate.
Killian glanced around, annoyed.
“Lower your voice.”
“Why?” she shot back. “So no one hears what you did?”
A pause.
Then sharper:
“You ditched me to go sleep with someone.”
Killian didn’t answer.
Bad move.
Sophia stepped closer.
“So who is she?” she demanded. “Who did you leave me for?”
“There is no—”
“Don’t lie to me,” she snapped. “Is she prettier than me?”
That—
turned heads again.
Killian frowned.
“What kind of question is that.”
“The one you answer,” she said. “Because you don’t just leave a party like that unless something better shows up.”
He exhaled sharply.
“…we weren’t even together.”
That—
made a few people react.
Sophia stared at him.
“You’re actually saying that right now?”
“Yes,” he said, flat. “We weren’t.”
She laughed.
Loud.
Sharp.
“Wow. So I was what? Convenient?”
Killian didn’t answer.
She kept going.
“Every time we fight, you come back,” she said, voice shaking now, anger cracking into something else. “You call, you text, you fix it. Every time.”
A beat.
“This is the first time you didn’t.”
That—
landed differently.
Killian’s expression hardened.
“…maybe I didn’t want to this time.”
Silence.
That one cut.
Sophia blinked.
Then nodded slowly.
“…right,” she said. “Because you had somewhere better to be.”
Killian scoffed.
“There is no ‘somewhere better.’”
“Then why didn’t you come back?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you even try?”
He didn’t answer.
Because there wasn’t a clean answer.
Sophia shook her head, stepping back.
“You know what? Fine,” she said, louder again. “Go be with her. Whoever she is.”
A beat.
Then—
“Hope she was worth it.”
Killian let out a dry breath.
“…you’re insane.”
“And you’re an asshole,” she shot back instantly.
She turned—
then stopped—
looked back one last time.
“And next time? Don’t pretend you care.”
That one landed clean.
She walked off.
Fast.
The corridor stayed quiet for a second—
then broke into whispers.
“Hotel—”
“Who was it—”
“He left the party—”
Killian stood there, jaw tight.
“…unbelievable,” he muttered.
And walked off like none of it mattered.
Because it didn't really matter.
A few meters away—
Theodore hadn’t moved.
Because now—
he knew exactly what she was talking about.
Exactly when.
Exactly where.
And the worst part—
everyone else was filling in the blank
with the wrong person.