Chapter 41 The cost of a secret
Chapter 41 The cost of a secret
BRISELLE’S POV.
I kept my back to her, focusing on the rhythmic clicking of my locker. I could feel the heat rising in my neck. "It was nothing, Vee. Honestly. It was false info, probably some bitter student looking for clout. Kai already took care of it. The post is gone because it wasn't true."
"Taken care of? Just like that?" Veronica stepped closer, her shadow falling over my open drawer. "You’re starting to sound like him. 'Taken care of.' Like you have a cleanup crew on speed dial."
"I'm just saying it's not a story," I said, finally turning to face her. I tried to keep my expression neutral, the way Kai did. "Arden was giving me some information for Kai, it was business. Boring, administrative business."
Veronica tilted her head, her eyes searching mine with a sharp, inquisitive intensity that made me want to look away. "You’ve been spending a lot of time at his house lately, Bris. First the gala, then the storm, then staying over again..."
I thought of the way Kai had held me during the lightning strikes, and the way he’d looked at me this morning—exhausted but protective. But then I thought of the coldness, the secrets, and the way he’d manipulated his father just hours ago.
"I’m doing what I have to do to keep my relationship stable," I said, my voice hardening. I didn't want to talk about my feelings. I didn't even want to have feelings. "It’s a complicated situation, and I’m handling it. That's all you need to know."
"Handling it? Or being handled?"
"I have class, Veronica," I cut her short, grabbing my bag and heading for the door. I didn't want to hear the rest of the sentence. I didn't want to see the doubt in her eyes—or the strange, glittering curiosity that I couldn't quite place. "I'll see you later tonight."
I stepped out into the hallway and let the heavy door thud shut behind me. I leaned against the cool cinderblock wall for a single second, closing my eyes.
I was becoming a stranger in my own life. I was snapping at my sister and playing a part for a man who was as dangerous as he was broken.
I straightened my shoulders, forced a neutral expression onto my face, and started walking toward the lecture hall. I had to be a student today. I had to be Briselle, the girl who studied hard and stayed out of trouble.
The campus quad was a chaotic sea of denim and North Face jackets, a stark contrast to the hushed, velvet world I’d woken up in. Every time I saw someone holding a phone, I felt a sharp spike of adrenaline, waiting for the "Mystery Girl" whispers to start again, but the silence was deafening. Kai had done exactly what he promised…he had scrubed the digital slate clean.
I spotted Jenna near the fountain, her bright red beanie standing out like a beacon. She looked like she hadn't slept either, her eyes darting toward me the second I crossed the stone path.
"Bris!" she hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward a quieter corner by the humanities building. "I've been checking the Underground every five minutes. The post is gone, the whole thread vanished into a black hole. What happened? Did you talk to him?"
"He handled it," I said, my voice low. I adjusted the strap of my bag, feeling the weight of the secrets pressing into my shoulder. "He went to see his father this morning. He...he lied to him, Jenna. He told Richard that the meeting with Arden was about a surprise for me. Some kind of library endowment."
Jenna’s jaw dropped. "A library endowment? Like, a whole wing? Bris, that’s millions of dollars. He’s throwing seven figures at a lie just to keep your photo off a gossip site?"
"It’s not for me," I whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "It’s for the Thornefield name. He told me it’s currency, he paid the bill so his father wouldn't dig into my life—or Veronica’s."
Jenna shook her head, her expression a mix of awe and genuine fear. "This is getting so big, Bris. This isn't just a fake date anymore, this is institutional. He’s reshaping the university just to cover his tracks."
"I know," I said, a hollow feeling settled in my gut. "I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a landslide and I’m just watching the rocks fall. I told Veronica it was nothing, that it was false info, but she didn't believe me
Before Jenna could utter another word, the heavy bronze bells of the clock tower began to chime, signaling the start of our ten o'clock lecture. "We have to go. Professor Sterling doesn't allow late entries."
The lecture hall was a cavernous room filled with the clicking of two hundred keyboards. I sat next to Jenna in the middle row, my notebook open to a blank page. I tried to focus on the slides about post-modern architectural theory, but the words felt like gibberish.
Halfway through the lecture, the projector screen suddenly flickered, but it wasn't a slide change. The university’s official crest appeared, followed by a live-stream notification that overrode the professor’s presentation.
Professor Sterling stopped mid-sentence, looking up at the screen with confusion. "What in the...?"
A hush fell over the room as the Dean of the University appeared on the screen, standing in front of the Old Library—the very place where Arden and I had stood in just thirty-six hours ago.
"Good morning, students and faculty," the Dean began, his voice booming through the hall’s speakers. "It is my distinct honor to announce a historic gift to our institution. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Thornefield family, specifically Mr. Kai Thornefield, the university will begin construction on the Thornefield Humanities Wing this spring."
A collective gasp rippled through the hall. Necks craned, and the quiet clicking of keys turned into a frantic rustle of whispers.
"This endowment," the Dean continued, a practiced smile on his face, "is dedicated to the advancement of student research. Mr. Thornefield has expressed that this gift was inspired by a personal commitment to the bright future of our student body—and a special tribute to the academic passion of a close companion."
My heart stopped. I felt Jenna’s eyes burn into the side of my head.
"The Thornefield Wing will house over fifty thousand new volumes and state-of-the-art research labs," the Dean finished. "We thank Kai Thornefield for his vision and his heart for this campus."
The screen cut back to the architectural slides, but the lecture was over. The room exploded into noise.
"Did he just...?" Jenna whispered, leaning in so close her breath tickled my ear. "Bris, he actually did it. He went live with it."