49. Rina is always watching.

48. Rina is always watching.
Garber's POV

“Garber,” her eyes darted around before settling back on me with a resignation in them as if she decided not to run away.

A gesture I was secretly grateful for.

“I’ve been sick, you know. Plus I was looking for you as well,” she said, and I tried not to remind her of the number of times we never really crossed paths because every time she sighted me from a distance, she would go the opposite direction of where I was headed.

So I just said, “In the principal’s office.”

“Oh,” she mumbled like she didn’t notice. “I’m sorry.”

“No…” I took a long but slow stride to cover the distance between us, “it’s me who is sorry, I shouldn’t have brought you home with me and made you experience all that,” I said immediately.

Beating around the bush wouldn’t work when she seemed to be either fight or flight.

“It’s okay, it was my fault too,” she didn’t move away, but she didn’t look any less defensive.

I guess I’ll take that.

“I was trying to share in your glory and ride on your popularity. I deserved it,” she said, and my guilt deepened.

Definitely she would need some months of therapy to get over her self-depreciative words, and my counter wouldn’t change anything but I said it anyways.

“You did what any other person who didn’t know better did and it’s my fault for not warning you beforehand.”

“But I…” she started to say, but I shook my head and continued.

“It doesn’t matter if it was you who came at me first. Things could have gotten really worse back then. Your allergy and everything in between…” I said and a pained expression flashed in her eyes as she recalled the moment.

“Oh right, how is Gardener Alfred… Did you bury Tabby?” I had to say, she was quite good with names, remembering them when they were mentioned just once, but this was the absolute wrong time to give such compliments.

“Mr. Alfred is still in a coma, but Tabby was resuscitated,” I said and she let out a happy gasp at the knowledge.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” then her face dampened with emotion again.

“The doctors called it a miracle and…”

“Would you do it again?” she suddenly asked and I had to furrow my eyebrows to understand where she was coming from or what she meant at all.

“I understand that you didn’t have a choice with your sister seeing how she turned on someone who had been working with you for the longest time. She probably wouldn’t have spared you if you had gone home without me,” Mia said and I nodded.

That was true.

Rina believed in a twisted sense of judgment where everything had to be ruled by her standards. Family were never spared.

I was still letting this ruminate when she said—

“If you truly love him then you would never bring him to that family.” My eyes darkened and I turned to face her.

“What do you mean? I already said there was nothing between us,” It would be dumb to pretend not to know who she was talking about, so I went straight to denying the relationship instead.

“Regardless of what you say, regardless of the relationship you have. It’s clear that Luis is deeply in love with you, so if you even cared about him, you wouldn’t bring him close to your family, especially after what happened three years ago,” she suddenly dropped a bomb with that defying, unintimidated gaze in her eyes.

While I was happy to have her look as terrified as before, I didn’t enjoy being the receiver of that gaze.

“Be careful what you say with your pretty mouth, Mia. My sister would really love to see you again,” I said, not bothering to conceal the threat in my tone.

I wasn’t certain if it would work, but it worked like magic.

The goosebumps on her flesh and the way she closed her eyes and stepped back.

Clearly, she had just tried to block out the trauma I dug up for her.

A wicked glint flashed in my eyes and disappeared before she opened hers.

When she did, it was as if I was back to that evening: the moment Mr. Alfred dropped from the balcony.

She held onto my hand like a lifeline, tremors going through her whole body.

“Please break up with me,” she pleaded with a shaky breath.

That was a sudden change of events. I didn’t know how to react.

“I was looking for you so we could break up,” the eagerness and mania returned to her voice as her eyes started to lose focus.

Oh not again.

A panic disorder in front of the principal’s office was not a good thing. It would become unredeemable if she started screaming or crying.

“Mia, how about we find a better place to talk,” I said as I grabbed her arm and she followed me only until the edge of the corridor.

“That’s right,” she stated out of nowhere, “Let’s go to the cafeteria. The louder the breakup, the better,” she said as she looked at me with clearly focused eyes.

“You’re really serious about this.”

“Yes,” she nodded eagerly. I feared her head would fall off but what really bothered me was the not-so-clean breath that fanned my face as she brought hers so close to mine.

I guess I wasn’t hallucinating in the car.

“Okay, but why?” She had every reason to, but…

“I’ll be moving anyways. After my brother found a hacker to look it up, he said it was better for us to move to France with Dad. It’s too dangerous to stay here,” she mumbled unto herself but I was able to at least confirm that the rumours were true.

“If we break up, then it won’t be my fault and if the devil… if she finds out about it then she would come for you, not me,” her fingers snapped like she had just said the smartest idea ever.

And as selfish as she sounded, I couldn’t help but agree with her.

It was better that way. Cleaner. And once again reminded me of why I never really committed in the past.

Every girl I had sex with knew she wouldn’t be in my life the next week and they were all okay with it, except this one girl who decided to lay claim on my dick.

The only good thing I got out of it was that every other girl backed off, scared of her. That I was grateful for because the one who whet my appetite wasn’t them anymore, regardless of their color and size.

“Please Garber Yarros, please. I beg you in the name of whatever gods you worship,” she was begging profusely, too close to my face and I had to step back to catch my breath.

“Yes sure. Let’s go,” I said as I stormed forward, looking angry.

The more realistic, the better. After all, Rina would be watching.

PRIDE MONTH, DAY 22 STILL. 2025.
Guys I know youve missed Luis and smut,
So I want to use this medium to appreciate you for coming this far.

also luis and another interesting charcter will be joining next chapter.
My boys are grateful to you for paying to read their story and oh well, they will reward you with some smut(toxic maybe) soon enough.