Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Sera POV

I couldn’t breathe my chest felt tight, my stomach kept twisting uncomfortably with every thought about how Juliette came to know about my secret

“What if… what if she tells everyone?” I whispered, pressing my trembling hands to my face. My voice was barely audible and my knees were drawn up to my chest, the blanket bunched in my shaking hands. “What if Kael hates me… what if...”

I didn’t even finish the thought. The memory of Juliette’s smirk flashed behind my eyes. The way she had held my things,pads, tampons were the complete proof of my secret.

Proof that I wasn’t the boy everyone believed me to be. A proof that could ruin everything I had fought for since stepping foot in Virelade Academy.

Alexander’s warning to Juliette was supposed to make me feel safe. I should have felt relief but I didn’t. My hands shook more violently now, and I clutched the blanket tighter, imagining Juliette standing there, holding it all over again, trying to humiliate me.

I curled myself deeper into the blanket, pressing my face to my knees, and let out a small, shaky sob. My chest ached,my throat burned and my heart.felt like it had been clenched in a fist for hours, and I didn’t know how to let it go.

Every sound in the room made me jump thinking someone might come and get to know the truth.

I felt utterly alone until the door opened.

My body stiffened, my first thought was Juliette or her minions. They had followed me here. They had planned this,had they been waiting all this time?

But it wasn’t them.

It was Kael.

My chest jerked in panic his eyes… those sharp blue eyes were locked onto me as soon as he stepped into the room. And the veins along his neck and arms were visible, his jaw tight like something had offended him.

“Kael…” I whispered, my voice trembling. My hands moved to cover my face instinctively, then dropped to my lap.

He didn’t answer just closed the distance between us in two long strides, stopping just in front of me. My heart hammered so loudly I felt he might hear me.

Then he leaned down slowly, His presence swallowed me in the way it always did. I knew what he wanted and I knew what he intended. My chest constricted, a mixture of longing and fear inside me.

And before I could react, before my mind could process anything, his lips brushed against mine.

I jerked instinctively and pushed him away, my hands trembled as I pressed them against his chest, almost hoping the physical barrier would make him understand.

“We… we should not do this,” I stammered,my words were barely audible, choking on the intensity of the moment.

For a heartbeat, his lips lingered near mine. And then… his face contorted into fury.

“Do you even hear yourself?” His voice was almost breaking. His blue eyes were clouded with something I’d never seen so clearly before. Something that made me tremble even though I hadn’t moved an inch. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing, Seth? Every time! every single fucking time you find a way to avoid me.”

My stomach dropped. Avoid him? That wasn’t what I was intending to do. I wanted to deny but he sounded… furious and hurt.

“You… you don’t understand,” I tried to protest, my voice trembling. “It’s… it’s not...”

“It is!” he snapped, the sharpness of his words made me flinch. His hands were curled into fists at his sides, veins standing out along his arms and neck as he struggled to keep himself in check. “You always find a way to avoid me! Every time I...” He cut himself off, his eyes darted away for a second then they landed back on me.

“Does you like… Luca that much?” His words came out in a hiss. I could see the flush of rage and confusion in his face, the way his entire body seemed tense, ready to explode.

I shook my head rapidly. “No! Kael… I don’t know… it’s not like that.”

He unclenched his fists slightly, but his blue eyes never left from mine. Every inch of him radiated with heat and frustration.

“I… I like you Seth, Can't you see?” he said,his voice was low almost cracking with the emotion he doesn’t usually show. “And you… you keep finding ways to avoid me!. And now… now there’s him? I…” He cursed under his breath. “I can’t…”

And then, abruptly, he turned and stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind him, leaving the room suffocatingly silent.

I sank against the wall, shaking. My knees were pulled up to my chest again, hands covering my face. I could feel my cheeks wet with tears, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except the ache in my chest, the overwhelming weight of it all.

I was alone...completely alone.

And yet, I could still feel him. his anger, his eyes… everything about him was imprinted on me now. I could still feel his lips on mine, still remember the intensity, the desperation, the fury.

And I couldn’t… I couldn’t do anything about it.

The reason? Juliette.

She had managed to destroy everything in such a short amount of time. Alexander had warned her, yes but what if she tried something anyway? What if she found a way to make everyone see? What if Kael and Luca find out? And everything was about to explode in a way I couldn’t survive?

I pressed them to my chest, feeling my heart hammering against my ribs. I could feel the tears streaming down my face.

Hours passed or maybe minutes. I didn’t know. I was curled into myself, shaking, crying quietly, and my thoughts spiraled endlessly.

Eventually, exhaustion took over. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. My body felt numb though my heart continued to race, thundering in my chest.

I let myself collapse fully onto the bed, curling up beneath the blanket, with tears still wet on my cheeks.

Sleep came slowly and uneasy. My dreams were filled with flashes Kael and Juliette’s threat. I don't know what the other boys are going to think when they learn that they had been living with a girl all this time but I was sure Kael anger will be tenfold of what he is feeling right now.

And even as I drifted into that restless, trembling sleep, one thought haunted me

What will happen tomorrow?