Chapter 16 CHAPTER 16
Vivienne’s POV
I stared at Rafael, my mind spinning in circles.
Did that actually just happen?
Did Rafael Steele — Rafael Steele — just kiss me in front of the entire school?
And then break up with Jessica?
For me?
No. That was impossible. Things like that did not happen to girls like me. This had to be some kind of mistake, some weird dream I was going to wake up from any second.
But I could still feel the warmth of his lips on mine. I could still feel those strange sparks everywhere he had touched me. I could still taste him.
Oh God. I had kissed Rafael Steele.
Or he had kissed me?
Both?
My face felt like it was on fire. My heart would not stop racing. His hand was still holding mine, warm and solid, and every place our skin connected sent little electric jolts up my arm.
What was happening? Why was this happening?
Jessica was his girlfriend. Beautiful, popular, perfect Jessica. And he had just humiliated her in front of everyone. Told her she was shallow and cruel. Defended me.
Me. Vivienne Chen. The nobody with holes in her clothes and no money and no future.
This did not make sense. None of it made sense.
Maybe he felt sorry for me? Maybe this was some elaborate way to make Jessica pay for what she did, and I was just… what? A prop? A way to hurt her?
My stomach twisted. That had to be it. There was no way Rafael actually—
“Vivienne.”
I blinked, realizing he had been talking to me.
“Sorry, what?”
His expression softened slightly. “I asked if you’re okay.”
“I…” Was I okay? I had no idea. “I don’t know.”
“That’s fair,” he said quietly. Then he squeezed my hand gently. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere we can actually talk.”
“Talk about what?” My voice came out shaky. “Rafael, I don’t understand what just—”
“I know. And I’m sorry.” He started walking, pulling me along with him down the empty hallway. “I promise I’ll explain everything. Just not here.”
His thumb brushed across my knuckles — just a simple movement — but the sparks shot through my hand again, warm and electric and overwhelming.
I sucked in a breath.
He glanced at me, something unreadable in his eyes, but he did not let go.
We turned down another hallway, then another, moving away from the cafeteria and the noise. My mind was still spinning, trying to process everything that had happened.
The kiss. God, the kiss. My lips still tingled where his had been. I could still feel the heat of his hands on my face, the way he had pulled me closer like he could not help himself.
And those sparks. They had been there too, stronger than ever, racing through my entire body until I could not think straight.
What were those?
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“The music wing. No one uses the practice rooms during lunch.”
Right. The abandoned wing. Where no one would see us or interrupt.
My stomach flipped nervously.
Rafael pushed open a door at the end of the hall, revealing a small practice room. Just a piano, a few chairs, and soundproof walls. Empty and quiet.
He pulled me inside and closed the door behind us.
Suddenly the space felt too small. Too intimate. I was hyperaware of how close he was standing, how his hand was still holding mine.
I pulled my hand free and immediately missed the warmth. The sparks faded, leaving behind a strange emptiness.
“Vivienne—”
“What was that?” I blurted out, wrapping my arms around myself. “That thing I feel when you touch me. What is it?”
He went still. “You feel it too?”
“Of course I feel it. It’s like electricity or something. Every time your skin touches mine.” I looked up at him, confused and scared and overwhelmed. “Is that normal? Am I going crazy?”
“No.” He took a step closer, and I instinctively stepped back. Hurt flashed across his face. “You’re not crazy. It’s real. What you’re feeling.”
“But what is it?”
He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. “That’s part of what I need to explain. But first…” He stopped, his eyes searching my face. “First I need to know you’re okay. After everything with Jessica, after I just kissed you like that in front of everyone.”
My face went hot again. “I don’t know if I’m okay. I don’t know anything right now.”
“That’s fair.”
“Wait.” I held up my hand, cutting him off. “Before you explain whatever that is—” I gestured at the space between us. “I need answers to other questions first.”
He went still, watching me carefully. “Okay.”
“Why?” The word came out sharper than I intended. “Why did you do all of that out there? Why did you break up with Jessica? Why did you kiss me?”
“Vivienne—”
“No, let me finish.” My hands were shaking, so I clenched them into fists. “You’ve been awful to me, Rafael. For months. You told me to stop staring at you like some pathetic stalker. You looked right through me in the hallways like I didn’t exist. You made it very clear I was nothing to you.”
He flinched. “I know—”
“And then suddenly…” My voice cracked. “Suddenly you find me after what happened, and you’re being nice. You bring me to your house. You take care of me. And now you’re breaking up with your girlfriend and kissing me in front of the entire school?”
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“What kind of twisted game is this? Because if this is some kind of revenge thing against Jessica, or you feel sorry for me, or—”
“It’s not a game.” His voice was firm. “None of this is a game, Vivienne.”
“Then what is it?” I shouted. “Because I don’t understand. One day you hate me, the next day you’re defending me like I actually matter to you. Which is it, Rafael? Because I can’t—” My voice broke. “I can’t handle being toyed with right now. Not after everything else.”
He stepped toward me. “I never hated you.”
“You sure acted like it.”
“I was trying to protect you.” He ran his hand through his hair again, frustrated. “From me. From what I am. From this… this thing I knew was happening but couldn’t explain.”
“Then explain.” My voice cracked. “Because I’m about to lose my mind here, Rafael. Just tell me what’s going on.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Ran his hand through his hair again. “There are things I can’t explain. Not yet. Not right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not ready to hear them.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “I’m not ready? You just kissed me in front of the entire school and broke up with your girlfriend and now you’re telling me there are things you can’t explain?”
“Vivienne—”
“No.” I shook my head, backing toward the door. “No. This is too much. I can’t do this right now. I have too much other stuff going on to deal with… whatever this is.”
“Wait—”
“I need to go.” I turned toward the door. “I’m sorry, Rafael, but I just… I can’t.”
His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.
The sparks hit immediately, stronger than before, almost overwhelming. I gasped.
“Let me go,” I said, trying to pull away.
He did not let go. Instead, he moved fast — too fast — spinning me around and pressing me gently but firmly against the wall.
My heart jumped into my throat. “Rafael, what are you—”
“I can’t let you leave.” His voice was low, rough. “Not like this. Not when you don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand.” I pressed my palms against his chest, trying to create distance, but he did not move. “Because right now you’re scaring me.”
Pain flashed across his face. “I don’t want to scare you. That’s the last thing I want.”
“Then let me go—”
“I can’t.” His hands came up to frame my face, and the sparks exploded everywhere he touched me. “Don’t you get it, Vivienne? I can’t let you go. Not now. Not ever.”
I stared up at him, breathing fast and shallow. He was so close I could feel his chest rising and falling against mine, could feel the heat radiating from his body.
“Rafael, please—”
“You’re mine.” His voice dropped to something almost primal. “I know you don’t understand it yet. I know it sounds insane. But you’re mine, Vivienne. And I’m yours. Whether you accept it or not.”
“That’s not—” My voice shook. “You can’t just decide that I’m yours. That’s not how this works.”
“I didn’t decide anything.” His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made me shiver. “It just is. From the moment you touched me that day, everything changed. You became mine and I became yours, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Let me go. Please. I need to leave.”
“No.”
“Rafael—”
“Look at me.” His voice was commanding but desperate. “Really look at me, Vivienne.”
I did not want to. I wanted to keep my eyes closed, to pretend none of this was happening.
But something in his tone made me look up.
And I froze.
His eyes were changing.
The blue I was used to was bleeding away, replaced by something else. Something darker. Deeper.
Red.
His eyes were turning red.
“What—” My voice came out as a whisper. “What’s happening to your eyes?”
He stared at me, struggling with something. Fighting something. His jaw clenched so tightly the muscles jumped.
Then he leaned in close, his lips nearly brushing my ear, and whispered a single word.
Low. Possessive. Certain.
“Mine.”