Chapter 16 Blurring the Lines
Tasha’s POV
“YOU’RE avoiding me.”
A low, controlled and too familiar voice came from behind me. I didn’t immediately stop walking because I knew that voice. And I knew what came with it.
“I’m busy,” I said, keeping my tone even as I tightened my grip on the folder in my hands and continued down the hallway toward the simulation wing.
Unhurried and measured footsteps followed. Like he already knew I wasn’t going anywhere.
“That’s not what it looks like,” Carlos replied.
I exhaled slowly, then stopped walking. Because running wasn’t going to help. Not here. Not with him.
I turned. And there he was. Still in training gear, sleeves pushed up slightly, hair just a little messy like he had run his hands through it too many times.
He looked the same. Unbothered and in control. Like last night hadn’t happened. Like I hadn’t been locked in a bathroom, soaked and shaking while he—
“Say what you need to say,” I cut in before I could finish that thought.
His gaze sharpened slightly. “I was looking for you.”
I let out a short breath. “That’s funny,” I said. “Because I was pretty easy to find last night.”
A heavy silence stretched.
Carlos didn’t answer immediately. But he didn’t deny it, didn’t eeven explain. And that? That made it worse.
“You disappeared,” he said instead, raising an eyebrow.
I laughed softly. “Yeah,” I replied. “I did.”
“Why?”
I stared at him. “You’re asking me that?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head slowly, disbelief settling in. “I was in the comfort room,” I said, my voice steady but sharper now. “Locked in. Soaked. Humiliated.”
His jaw tightened. “I didn’t know.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But you saw me. And you did nothing.”
The word landed harder than I expected. Because it wasn’t just about last night. It was about everything.
“You said you’re gonna use the comfort room so I let you,” he said, brows still furrowed. “But then you didn’t came back—”
“Because I was fucking locked in the toilet by your ex-girlfriend,” I said in between my teeth, but trying my best to lower my voice. “You didn’t even try to look for me—”
“I did,” Carlos cut off, jaw clenching. “I.. I was caught—”
“You were with Bianca,” I continued.
Something flickered in his expression. Gone almost immediately.
“That’s not—”
“I saw you,” I cut in. “Or at least… someone did.”
Luigi. I didn’t say his name. But it hung there anyway.
Carlos’s gaze darkened slightly. “Of course he told you that,” he scoffed. “He was with you.”
“He was the one to rescue me from humiliation,” I said, looking straight into his freaking beautiful eyes. “But, that’s not the point.”
“It is,” he said, stepping closer, locking his gaze on me. “Because you’re listening to him instead of me.”
“I’m listening to what I saw,” I shot back.
“You didn’t see anything.”
“I saw enough.”
Silence snapped between us. It was sharp and tight. Because we were both right. And neither of us wanted to admit it.
“You think I would let that happen?” he asked finally, his voice lower now.
I held his gaze. “I think you weren’t there to stop it.”
In the way his shoulders tensed slightly and his jaw set harder, I know my words hit him.
“I asked who did it,” he said.
“After,” I replied.
“I went to your dorm.”
I blinked. That… I didn’t expect.
“And?” I asked, trying my best to not show I was affeccted by what he just said.
His gaze held mine. “You weren’t alone,” he said. “I was… I was about to bring you coffee.”
My chest tightened slightly, especially when his voice softened at the mention of him bringing coffee. As if it wasn’t a usual thing to do for him.
“That’s not—”
“Luigi was there,” he said, cutting me off.
“Yes,” I replied, heaving a sigh. “He was. He helped me.”
His eyes darkened once again. “And you were fine with that?”
The way he said it… It was as if it meant something more. Like it mattered more.
“I was soaked and exhausted,” I said. “I didn’t really have the energy to care who was there.”
“That’s not what it looked like.”
I frowned. “What does that even mean?”
“It means,” he said, stepping closer again, “you looked comfortable.”
My breath caught slightly and I didn’t know what to say.
“You look comfortable with him,” he repeated. “Instead with me… I noticed it.”
Now, that was different. That wasn’t about last night anymore. That was something else.
“Why do you care?” I asked quietly.
The question hung between us. But I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.
Carlos didn’t respond immediately. His gaze dropped for a second.
Then came back to mine. Sharp again. Focused.
“Because this,” he said, gesturing slightly between us, “only works if you act like it matters.”
I stared at him. There it was—the freaking reminder of how fake all this was.
“This is fake,” I said.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened and I fucking hated it. “Then stop acting like it’s not.”
Carlos almost scoff, but instead, he raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m not.”
“You are,” I pushed, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t get to be mad about who I talk to.”
“I’m not mad.”
“Then what is this?”
Silence again. But this time, it wasn’t empty. It was full of something neither of us was saying.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be, Tasha,” he said finally.
I let out a quiet breath. “No,” I replied. “You are.”
His gaze narrowed slightly. “How?”
“By acting like you care when it’s convenient,” I said. “And disappearing when it’s not.”
That one landed hard. I saw it in the way he went still. Completely still.
“I didn’t disappear,” he said. “I just didn’t know it could happen—”
“You could’ve,” I shot back. “If you were actually paying attention.”
Something in his expression shifted.
“You think I don’t pay attention?” he asked.
I swallowed. Because suddenly, the air felt different. It became thicker.
“I think you only pay attention to things you can control,” I said.
“And you?” he asked, arching a brow.
“What about me?”
“You don’t like being seen,” he said.
The words hit too close.
I shook my head slightly. “This isn’t about me.”
“It is,” he said.
“No,” I replied. “This is about the fact that you don’t get to decide when I matter, that I am worth paying attention for.”
Silence. And then, he stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel the heat from him.
“You matter,” he said quietly. “And, Tasha, if I don’t really pay attention…” His gaze dropped on my lips, then back to my eyes. “I wouldn’t notice that you felt comfortable with Luigi, but always tensed when with me.”
My heart stuttered. Because that… that didn’t sound fake.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Because I didn’t know which version of him was standing in front of me right now.
The one who planned everything? Or the one who wasn’t supposed to feel anything at all?
“Careful, Tasha,” he said softly.
My pulse jumped. “W-Why?”
Carlos smirked, then licked his lips before speaking again. “Because you’re starting to blur the lines.”
And the way he looked at me after that?
That wasn’t part of the act anymore.