Chapter 35 35

Chapter 35 35
Zara’s POV

The color drained from Vanessa’s face so fast it was almost satisfying to watch and one moment she stood there with that usual sharp, venomous confidence but the next she looked like she might collapse under the weight of her own lies.

I could see as panic flickered wildly in her eyes and for a second, I couldn’t even process what Darius had just revealed and she tried to desperately come up with a story to justify her actions. I knew Vanessa was a lot of things but paying someone to write her exam?

How did she manage to do it?

Out of everything I had ever accused her of being cruel, arrogant and relentless I had never once thought she would stoop to something like that. She had always prided herself on being the best and earning it but yet, here she was.

“I… I don’t understand,” the dean said slowly, his gaze sharpening as it locked onto her trembling form. “Is this accusation true?”

“N—no!” Vanessa rushed out, her voice cracking despite her effort to sound composed. “It’s a lie, God I swear it is!”

But even as she spoke, her confidence was gone and completely stripped away.

The door opened again, and the tension in the room thickened as Darius Beta Draven stepped inside with quiet authority. He moved directly to Darius, handing him a document with a respectful nod.

“I gathered everything you asked for.”

Darius barely acknowledged him before scanning the contents. His expression turned colder with every passing second and his jaw tightening, his presence filling the room like a storm about to break.

Then he stepped forward and without even sparing me a glance, he placed the paper on the dean’s desk.

“This,” he said evenly, his deep voice slicing through the silence, “is documented proof.”

The air felt heavier and my heart pounded as the dean picked it up, his eyes moving quickly across the page.

Darius continued, his tone calm but ruthless. “Records show she received full marks on an exam she never physically attended. Impressive, isn’t it? Being in two places at once.”

Vanessa’s breathing turned shallow.

“There are also transaction logs,” he added, almost lazily. “Payments made and names listed.”

The dean’s face hardened. “I...it’s not what it looks like…” Vanessa whispered, but even she didn’t sound convinced.

“No tolerance,” the dean said sharply, his voice cutting her off. “This institution does not tolerate any form of academic fraud.”

Darius shifted his gaze, and when his eyes landed on Professor Matthew, something dark flickered there.

“One of those exams was under your supervision,” he said. “Are you claiming you didn’t notice her absence… yet still passed her?”

The professor went pale and just like that, everything clicked into place, so they were working together.

A bitter taste filled my mouth as realization sank in. Someone I had respected and someone I thought believed in me had been part of trying to tear me down.

I stared at the floor, my hands curling into fists at my sides. The betrayal stung, sharp and deep, but I refused to let it show not here and in front of them.

“Miss Zara,” the dean said after a tense pause, his attention finally shifting to me, “you may head to the banquet hall. The celebration has already begun.”

For a moment, I couldn’t move and my body felt frozen, like I had been rooted to the ground by everything that had just happened.

Then I looked up my eyes met Darius and just like that, everything shifted, he gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t kind but it was enough.

Heat curled low in my stomach again this time dangerous, forbidden and grounding.

I exhaled slowly, feeling the tension leave my body piece by piece. “Thank you,” I murmured, my voice steadier than I felt then I turned and walked out without looking back.

The moment I stepped into the banquet hall, the noise hit me like a wave and conversations paused, heads turned even whispers followed and every pair of eyes seemed glued to me, curiosity burning behind them.

“She’s back....”

“Did she lose it?”

“What happened in there?”

I could practically feel the speculation crawling over my skin but before it could swallow me whole.

“Oh, fantastic,” Bella’s voice rang out sharply from the center of the room. “Did everyone enjoy the free entertainment?”

All eyes snapped to her as she stood tall, arms crossed, her expression daring anyone to speak.

“Maybe,” she added with a sweet, fake smile, “you can all find something else to gossip about now?”

A few people looked away, embarrassed but most didn’t.

The murmuring continued, softer but still there.

I made my way toward her, my chest tight, my emotions still tangled and raw.

“You okay?” she asked quietly once I reached her, her tone completely different now very gentle and protective.

I nodded, though it wasn’t entirely true. “I will be.”

But even as I said it, my mind drifted back to him, Darius.

The way he walked into that room like he owned the world and the way his voice had wrapped around every word with quiet authority.

The way he didn’t hesitate to destroy anyone who tried to come for me.

My ex-fiance father, the most dangerous man in the pack and the one man I should stay far, far away from but yet…

My pulse betrayed me, quickening at the mere thought of him because somewhere deep down, beneath the chaos and humiliation and victory…

I knew one thing for certain, this wasn’t over and not even close.