Chapter 42 Broken heart!
|| Author POV ||
A sharp ringing broke the stillness of the room. The alarm clock was blaring like a siren.
Sunlight slipped past the curtains and the soft beams fell across Rosa’s delicate face.
The noise cracked into her sleep. Her lashes fluttered. She stirred with heavy eyes, vision fogged. As the blur cleared, an unfamiliar ceiling stared back.
Her body felt so numb, it ached.
Confusion twisted in her chest. She blinked once. Twice.
Then--
Memories came crashing. The whole night flashed before her eyes.
Piece by piece.
Touch by touch.
Word by word.
Rosa couldn’t feel her legs. She blinked, her throat sickening with the need of water. She tried to move but her legs, they felt foreign.
Weak. As if they no longer belonged to her.
A reminder of the night etched into her body. Rosa’s head snapped to the side.
Empty!
The space beside her was cold. He wasn’t there.
Her hands hesitated before slowly pulling the duvet up. Her eyes trembled as they glanced beneath it. And then she froze.
The sight hit her like a wave. The mess.
The undeniable proof of what had happened.
Rosa pulled the duvet back over her body with her cheeks flushing. A strange heat bloomed in her chest. Every breath she took felt too loud.
She remembered.
Each of his touches.
Each of his doings.
The alarm buzzed again making her flinch. She stared at it dizzily. Her eyes dropped to the time and then realization crashed down.
Exam?
Panic surged.
Rosa’s eyes widened and all her strength drained away. She had forgotten about her exam. She forced herself upright, wincing as soreness flared through her body.
She felt weak.
Her palm pressed against the edge of the bed, gripping tightly as she fought to steady herself on numb legs. A sharp sting flared between her thighs, a cruel reminder of last night. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.
She was running out of time. The exam would start soon.
Without thinking, Rosa pushed off the bed and took a step only to have her legs betray her. They wobbled violently.
“Ah!”
A sharp gasp escaped her as she collapsed hard onto the cold marble floor. Panic clawed at her chest. At that moment, she couldn’t think of anything else other than her exam.
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NATIONAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY
10:05 AM
The sharp ring of the bell silenced the murmurs in the classroom. Exam papers were shuffled briefly and soon stillness took over the classroom.
Aria grew more worried. Rosa hadn’t come. Last night she left without saying anything and now she hadn’t reached the exam hall either. It was messing with her head.
The room was dead silent. No one dared make a sound because the examiner was Killian Salvatore.
“M-may I... come in?”
Rosa’s voice trembled like a breath caught in winter air. Her voice echoed in the silent classroom.
She stood at the doorway, head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor. Every heartbeat echoed louder in her ears.
Her legs were barely holding her up. She could feel her body so weak, fingers nervously fidgeting with each other. Then footsteps. A pair of black shoes appeared in her view.
“Exam has already started.”
That cold voice.
Her head snapped up and her heart stopped. Those haunting blue eyes stared back.
Rosa’s fingers tightened around the fabric of her uniform. Her heartbeat raced in her chest and a soft flush bloomed across her cheeks when flashes of last night invaded her thoughts.
But he looked the same as before. Still cold and distant.
“You’re five minutes late.” Killian said flatly.
Her heart sank.
Rosa confusedly stared at him, his expression was distant. There was no hint of softness in his gaze. Only the furrow of his brows as if her very presence annoyed him.
Rosa pressed her lips together, trying to steady the storm rising inside her. That rough and detached look on his face made her chest ache. His eyes looks like a dead pool.
Why does he looks like nothing happened between them?
Rosa’s legs wobbled beneath her. “Stand here for the next five minutes!” Killian ordered sharply.
She flinched at the harshness, heart sinking deeper into her chest. His voice sounded colder than she ever remembered.
“Then I’ll let you in.” he added, turning on his boot and walking back into the classroom without sparing her another glance.
Rosa stared blankly at the floor. Her mind spun with questions, confusion and a creeping sadness. Her world came crushing over her head.
Is it her fault?
Is it her fault that he fucked her like an animal and left her alone?
Her legs trembled. He could have spared her the punishment today, for being late.
He shouldn’t have been so harsh when he was the reason! But he acted like nothing had happened.
His eyes were the same like before, cold, dark and holding literally nothing!
Rosa’s breath turned uneven. Her legs felt so sore, the sting between them growing sharper with every passing second.
She moved unsteadily, her hands grabbed the doorframe for support.
But what hurt most wasn’t the pain in her body, it was the weight in her heart.
She had hoped his eyes would show something different, some trace of care but instead he left her standing there, fully aware of how agonizing it was for her to balance on sore legs.
Her exam time was slipping away and the pressure was suffocating. Rosa’s eyes blurred with unshed tears.
He can’t! He can’t just act like everything happened between them was nothing. No!
Killian glanced at his wristwatch then back at the doorway.
“Five minutes up. Get in.” His voice was cold.
Rosa’s throat tightened and she stepped forward to his desk with her unsteady legs. She gripped the exam and question paper with trembling hands.
She noticed the seating arrangement, each student isolated on a separate bench. Slowly she lowered herself into the seat, her eyes briefly met his but Killian’s gaze was fixed coldly on the other students. The sight of his indifference crushed her silently.
Forcing her attention to the paper, Rosa clutched the pen, hands trembling with anxiety. From across the room, Aria glanced her way. She noticed the way Rosa looked so nervous and exhausted.
Max also watched her from a distance. He needed to talk with her.
Rosa stared at the questions but her mind was blank. She couldn’t think straight. Everything she had studied vanished into fog.
She wiped her forehead. Her heart sending her anxieties. She couldn’t write steadily. Her fingers were trembling. But she has to pass.
Hours passed.
“Students, only fifteen minute left for your exams.” Killian announced looking at the his wristwatch.
Rosa sighed in relief. Her handwritings were fast. She managed to write to at least come up with pass mark.
She was still focused, brows furrowed in concentration when a faint whisper called her name from behind. Her pen paused mid-sentence. Slowly, Rosa turned her head and peeked over her shoulder, spotting one of her classmates gesturing subtly at her.
“Hmm?” Rosa hummed softly and leaned back toward the girl.
“Can you help me with question number 7? I forgot the answer.” the girl whispered.
Rosa blinked and made a small ‘o’ shape with her lips before quickly scanning the question paper. She leaned in again and carefully murmured the answer, keeping her voice low and cautious.
Just as she turned back to her own desk, a sudden motion made her flinch. Her exam paper was snatched away from her desk by a large hand.
She froze.
“You’ve got some nerve, Miss Sinclair.” Killian’s stern voice echoed through the entire classroom.
“Telling someone the answer when you can barely pass yourself? How pathetic.” he sneered. His tone was cold enough to freeze the blood in her veins.
Rosa’s palm fisted into a small ball on her desk. She couldn’t lift her head. Her face burned with shame as every pair of eyes in the room locked on her.
Killian’s gaze flicked to the girl behind her who shifted nervously then back to Rosa. Without another word he turned and walked off with her exam paper clutched in his hand.
He didn’t look back.
Rosa felt like she’d shattered into a thousand pieces. She wished the ground would open and swallow her whole.
Rosa’s numb eyes fixated on nothing. Her heart felt like shattered glass, splintering silently inside her chest.
Why her?
There were whispers all around. Quiet exchanges. Others helping each other. But it was only her who got punished.
Just why?
She sat motionless like a doll. Her lashes trembled and her vision blurred. A single tear escaped, trailing silently down her cheek. She didn’t want anyone to see. Slowly, she leaned her forehead to the desk, hiding her face into her crossed arms, letting the tears fall in silence.
Aria’s face curved down seeing Rosa hiding her face in her arms. Is she crying?
What happened to her? She wouldn’t cry just because the teacher took her paper away. Aria thought.
After a while, the bell rang loudly. Killian collected the sheets before stacking on his desk. The students bowed to him before walking out of the class.
Rosa wiped her red swollen eyes with the sleeve of her uniform and lifted her head. She stood up with that thumping heart.
She didn’t even dare glance at him, not once. Aria tried approach but Rosa silently slipped out of the room like a ghost.
Aria looked at Killian. She cursed him silently and walked out.
\---
Frosty night
11 PM
Killian stepped into his mansion. His neck cracked as he tilted his head. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the maid at this hour.
“Master, is little miss with you?” Lilia asked desperately.
“She hasn’t returned today.” Lilia added with anxiety thick in her tone. “I-I assumed she was with you.”
Killian’s eyes darkened. The muscle in his jaw twitched.
She hadn’t returned?