Chapter 25 HINT OF JEALOUSY.

Chapter 25 HINT OF JEALOUSY.
“Next time, I won’t give you a ride,” Ruby said, sliding on her sunglasses as she leaned against the car. “You already have your bus ticket.”

“Come on, why are you so serious?” Zahra teased, her lips curving into a grin as she reached for her bag. “Can’t you give me a ride in your new Range Rover?”

Ruby turned her head sharply, the faintest trace of impatience flickering across her face. “Not with Nash at the back. I already dropped Emily, and now you two? Please, I’m not your chauffeur. Get one if you need one. You’re making me late for class.”

Zahra pouted, her tone mock-sweet.

“Who did you say got you this again?” Nash asked.

Ruby exhaled, long and heavy, before finally turning to face Nash. Her keys jingled softly in her hand. “Just in case you see Nick,” she said, her tone cooling, “tell him I won’t be needing him to drive me to school anymore. And I appreciate his help these past days.”

Nash’s gaze flicked from Zahra to Ruby, sensing the tension she didn’t voice.

“Okay,” he murmured.

“Oh, would you be coming home tonight?” Zahra asked, trying to sound casual. “I have somewhere to be with Lucy. I hope you let me.”

Ruby’s brows lifted. “You won’t be long?”

Zahra gave a little shrug. “If you don’t come home tonight, I might.”

Ruby’s tone dropped into warning. “Zahra—”

“I get it!” Zahra groaned. “I’ll be home early. You don’t have to scream it at me like I’m going to fail and stay back.”

“Well,” Ruby said, crossing her arms, “that’s exactly what would happen. Please, Nash let her know.”

Nash hid a small smile. “You heard her.”

Zahra rolled her eyes, finally pushing the door open and stepping out.

“This is so annoying,” she muttered, slamming it gently behind her.

Ruby watched her go, her jaw tightening just slightly before she got out of the car.

Later that morning.

Ruby’s heels clicked lightly against the tiled floor as she walked into the lecture hall.

She adjusted the strap of her brown tote bag higher on her shoulder, the faint scent of her perfume following her in soft notes of vanilla and jasmine. Her black fitted top hugged her waist, the deep neckline dipping just enough to hint rather than reveal. The tan lace-up skirt swayed as she walked.

Her students’ chatter dimmed entirely as she set her notes on the desk.

Her tan, tie-dye lace-up skirt swayed around her knees, the soft silk catching the light every time she moved.

The gold chain at her neck glinted as she dropped her notes on the desk, and the delicate bracelets at her wrist caught the same glow.

“Good morning,” she said smoothly.

A few students straightened in their seats. Ruby set her phone face down beside her notes and uncapped a pen.

“Let’s begin where we left off... Elasticity and market equilibrium. I hope you all did the readings this time.”

She smiled faintly, one brow arched, and the tension in the room softened.

As Ruby set her notes down and arranged the markers by colour, her gaze drifted across the room in a casual sweep. The class was already half full with faces she’d memorised, others she barely recognised, but it was the back corner that made her pause.

Leslie.

He sat leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and that lazy and effortless confidence that always managed to get under her skin.

Beside him was Edsel, grinning at something, and Anna Newton. Her bright laughter rose softly above the murmurs in the room.

Although Ruby couldn’t hear what they were saying, she didn’t need to, but the way she smiled and spoke freely with Leslie changed things for her.

Anna’s hand brushed Leslie’s arm as she laughed again, and a sharp, ugly pinch of jealousy twisted in Ruby’s stomach.

Anna Newton had never bothered her, ever. But suddenly she did. Everyone knew Anna’s feelings for Leslie. It pressed her chest as she thought of how young Anna looked compared to her. She was beautiful, fair and younger.

She blinked once. Then again. A deep inhale, slow and steady, before she schooled her expression into calm neutrality.

“Anna Newton,” Ruby said, her voice smooth and clipped with just enough to carry authority.

Anna’s head jerked up, a little startled.

“Would you mind reviewing what we discussed last week and telling the class where we stopped?” Ruby asked, the faintest edge curling at the end of her words.

Anna nodded quickly, flipping through her notes, and Ruby leaned against the desk, arms loosely crossed, her gaze flicking briefly, just briefly back to Leslie.

He was watching her with a smile.

Her pulse kicked up quickly but she ignored it.

Leslie barely heard a word Anna Newton was saying as his gaze stayed locked on Ruby.

The way her black top hugged her and the deep neckline teased just enough to make his throat tighten. The skirt was a soft kind of chaos to his heart.

Her gold jewellery caught the fluorescent light every time she moved, little glints that drew his eyes where they shouldn’t go.

He dragged his gaze away with his jaw flexing, but it didn’t stop the slow burn running through him whenever she walked in like that, like she didn’t even realise she had half the room distracted.

“Did you see what she drove in today?” someone whispered from the next row.

Leslie’s attention flicked sideways. Two girls behind him were leaning close like they were trying yet failing to keep their voices low.

“Range Rover, black one,” one said. “That’s her, right?”

“Yeah. I thought that guy who drops her off drove that beat-up Toyota or something,” the other replied with a laugh. “Guess he’s not the rich one after all, probably he isn't the one she is seeing.”

“Maybe she’s rich. Or she’s got a rich man.”

Leslie’s jaw tightened again. He didn’t know why it bothered him, but it did. Since she came to school in the car he gave her. The rumours about her and Nick had died completely, well for now.

Still, the thought of her with some faceless rich man and not him left a sour taste in his mouth.

He glanced back toward Ruby, who was standing by the desk, listening to Anna’s nervous summary with one hand resting on her hip.

He shifted in his seat, leaning back again, eyes trailing up from the edge of her skirt to the curve of her shoulders.

"Okay, don't forget about the trip. You should be early to school as early as seven on Thursday. And your groups would be assigned to you today. Jeffrey, why don't you share it across? Thank you."

She caught him staring for half a second just half and he didn’t look away. Instead, his gaze burned, and he could see her emotions shimmering around her. She wasn't even hiding it.