Chapter 37 Chapter 0037

Chapter 37 Chapter 0037
•AVELINE•

I was walking down the corridor to the cafeteria later that morning when I saw students gathered near the bathroom showers.

They were looking at something on the wall and when I saw another group again on the far end of the corner, I rolled my eyes and thought it was some advertisement.

I didn't even think much of it when I went to the counter and ordered something to eat.

I gasped when I felt hands behind me. And when I turned around and saw Matteo, I released an exhausted sigh and rolled my eyes.

"Oh, it's you."

"I am sorry about yesterday," he replied as I took my breakfast plate and went to sit near the door.

I was trying to avoid him because he had disappeared on me and never said a word for the rest of the night. He didn't even check up on me.

The least he could've done was to call and make sure that I was okay.

"There's no need to apologize," I scoffed. "You slept well and weren't bothered about me the entire night, so there's no need to pretend as if you care for me."

"I can—"

"There's no need to make excuses," I answered, cutting him off. "As I had said, there's no need to apologize."

Matteo pulled out the chair across from me and sat down without invitation. His jaw was tight.

"I had to deal with something," he murmured. "It wasn't my choice to leave you like that."

"Then whose was it?"

He didn't answer. He pressed his lips together and looked away, and that silence told me more than any explanation could have.

I didn't want him to tell me how Dominic had threatened him from being near me because that was bullshit.

I grabbed my cup of coffee and sipped, hoping it would ease the headache I had had since morning. But after speaking with my father, I couldn't sleep.

I was eating in silence while Matteo was stealing glances at me, but I couldn't shake off the noise outside the cafeteria.

When I caught someone from the corner of my eye taking pictures of Matteo and me, I placed my fork down on the plate and got up from my chair.

"Is everything okay?" Matteo asked when he saw me heading toward the door. I didn't answer him.

My stomach dropped as I tried to understand what was happening. And when I saw three pictures on the wall near the corner, my chest tightened.

I pushed through the crowd and when I saw the pictures of Dominic and me on the wall, my whole world tilted underneath my feet.

The pictures were taken when Dominic was carrying me into his room. I was leaning on his shoulder while he was opening the door because I was drunk.

None of those pictures meant anything.

The noise around me became silent and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing.

Every single image had been stripped of its context and made into something ugly.

Beneath three of the photographs, someone had written in thick black marker: "Who's seducing Kaila's fiancé?" And beneath another: "Homewrecker. No shame."

My stomach dropped.

"Is that her?" a girl whispered somewhere behind me.

"That's definitely her. Look, same jacket."

"I mean, I'm not surprised. She's always lurking around him. Poor Kaila."

"Some girls just have no respect."

The words hit me one after another, each one landing in a different place. I didn't move, staring at the photographs, and I felt my face go hot.

I hadn't done anything wrong. I hadn't wanted any of this.

"Aveline." Matteo's voice came from behind me. He must have followed me over. "Hey. Don't—"

I turned and walked away from the wall.

I couldn't stand to look at the pictures anymore. I couldn't stand to listen to the students still gossiping about me, still holding up their phones to take pictures of the pictures, making this spectacle larger just by watching it.

If I stayed another second I was going to say something I couldn't take back, or worse, I was going to cry, and I refused to give any of them that.

I moved fast, out of the cafeteria and into the corridor, not quite running but close to it.

"Aveline, wait." Matteo was behind me. I could hear his footsteps trying to catch up with me. "I've taken the pictures off the wall and I will—"

I didn't stop. I walked through the side corridor toward the east exit and pushed through the door into the open air, crossing the path between buildings without slowing down.

All I wanted was to be outside and figure out how to breathe normally again.

The entrance of the dormitory building came into view and I pushed through the glass door without looking up.

I walked straight into someone.

I stumbled backward and caught myself against the door frame. The person I'd collided with barely moved, and when I looked up, my heart stopped beating.

Dominic.

He was standing just inside the entrance with a large traveling bag hanging from one shoulder, dressed like he was on his way somewhere.

He took one look at my face, at whatever mess of emotion was written across it, and his brow drew together.

"Aveline," he breathed, leaning closer.

I stepped back and refused to let the tears at the corners of my eyes spill.

I knew where he was going, and if he still refused to sever the mate bond between us, the humiliation that Kaila was causing me would only get worse.

"I can't take this anymore, Dominic," I murmured. "End this and carry on with your engagement to Kaila. I don't want to be in the middle of it anymore. It's not worth the humiliation I am experiencing because of you."

"I thought we've talked about this—"

"What's the point of holding on to something that will never work?" I asked, cutting him off. "You and I will never be together, Dominic, and you know—"

"Because this is all I have!" He snapped. "How can someone so smart like you be so dumb to know that this is all I have?"