Chapter 30

Chapter 30
Chapter 30 – Kael

I didn’t mean to storm off last night. I never meant to leave the silence that was suffocating between us, but every time I tried to speak, every time I even thought about touching Seth, my anger mixed with something else...something I couldn’t even name, something I hated and feared all at once.

He had pushed me away. And not the kind of gentle push, but with a wall so hard that I had slammed into it like a fool.

And what stung me the most wasn’t the refusal it was the easiness he had with Luca had stepped in, brushed the same line I had been drawn to, and somehow, been welcomed.

I woke up before dawn because I wanted to avoid everything. The quietness of our room felt suffocating to me . My hands itched to find him, wake him up and to pull him close and demand the truth, but the moment I imagined that, my rage kept getting hotter. He was mine or at least, he should be. And yet, he had let someone else get close.

Fuck!

Breakfast didn’t ease the tension at all, every glance I stole at Seth who was hidden behind River’s and Luca’s chatter, made my chest ache.

The way he laughed softly, the way his eyes flicked nervously toward me and then away… I could feel my patience thinning.

Why couldn't he be that carefree with me? He always seems to be on edge Everytime I'm near him. Does he hate me that much?

Luca’s smirk didn’t help either, the way he leaned in, casually, like he owned some piece of Seth made my blood boil. And yet, I didn’t act not in front of everyone. I didn't want to make a scene again.

I clenched my fists under the table, my jaw tightening. I needed to tell him! I needed to make him see that this wasn’t just jealousy that it wasn’t just possessiveness. But I couldn’t find the right words without betraying everything, and that frustrated me almost as much as being pushed away.

Finally, I stood, my chair scraping against the floor, louder than I intended. All eyes flicked toward me, and Seth stiffened, just slightly. That small reaction made my chest tighten. Did he think I was going to make a scene?

“Class starts in five,” I said, with my voice neutral, but every word was laced with the tension I was forcing into myself.

Seth’s gaze met mine for a heartbeat before darting away. I wanted to reach out, to pull him closer and make him feel the fire he ignited in me but I didn’t.

Instead, I turned and walked away my shoulders tense and my heart thundering.

I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. About the fire in his eyes, the panic in his hands as he pressed them to my chest. About that word....no.

I hated it.

I hated that it cut deeper than any insult or fight. And I hated myself for wanting him even more because of it.

I was turning into a pyschopath now!

By the time class started, I had made a decision. I wouldn’t push him yet, but I wouldn’t let him forget either. He might hide behind his walls, but I would wait for him and when the time was right… he wouldn’t have a choice.

He would see me and maybe... just maybe, he’d finally realize he couldn’t keep me at arm’s length.

So I kept my distance because every time Seth was near, my body betrayed me. I wanted....no, needed to pull him close, to crush the space between us and force him to feel what I was feeling, whatever he was making me feel because this happen because of him! He's the cause of everything!

But I couldn’t not when I was this close to losing control.

It wasn’t just anger anymore. It was something raw, dangerous. The curve of his soft jaw, the way his pink lips shined faintly under the light… the very thought of pressing my mouth to his made my chest tighten and my fists clench until my nails dug into my palms.

Forbidden thoughts burned behind my eyes, visions I would never admit, not even to myself.

I looked away when he entered the room, kept my back turned when he passed, and I spoke only when necessary. Every interaction became a battle between desire and restraint.

Every moment I saw his soft expression, that slight curve of his pink lips made me want to take him to a corner and do all sinful things I've been feeling all this time.

I don't even know why I'm so attracted to him. I've never been attracted to any boy in my life but there is something about him that makes me forget all of my principles, all of my dad threats and just have this strong urge to be with him.

I hated myself for it.

At lunch, he sat across the table. The way he fiddled with his utensils, his soft, careful movements, made it nearly impossible to concentrate. I wanted to reach out, grab him by the wrist, pull him into a corner, and demand...no, claim him but that wasn't a good idea because I don't know if I'll ever stop if I start anything now. My fear of crossing a line, of losing myself in him, kept me tethered to sanity.

And yet, the pull was relentless.

I imagined pressing my lips to his, feeling him beneath me, feeling his soft body under me unaware of the storm I was barely containing.

Every time he laughed quietly or looked at me with those wide, honest eyes, my body betrayed me. My fingers itched to touch him, my chest ached with a need I refused to name.

I’d have to endure it. I’d have to watch him, keep my hands to myself, keep my distance. But the harder I tried to ignore him, the more the image of his soft face, those pink lips, burned into my mind.

He was everything I shouldn’t want. Everything I couldn’t touch and yet… I wanted him more than I could ever admit.