Killian shook his head at me and said he was disappointed in me. Those words hit me worse than I could’ve imagined. Gareth and Jeremy didn’t have to say it, but I felt the crushing disapproval through their patronizing gazes and excessive sighing.
Maya naturally found out about the recent talk of the town and has been acting butthurt. Unlike the others, she didn’t judge me, but she was mad that I hid something so monumental from her.
The only support I had was from none other than Bran. He texted to apologize on behalf of his ‘twat of a brother’ and asked if I was okay.
I definitely wasn’t, but I also didn’t want to bother Bran, who was clearly distressed throughout the whole night. On top of nearly being shown the door by Nikolai, he also got punched by him, although accidentally.
Glyn later came back and apologized as well before Killian whisked her away. Bran never returned. He probably kept Landon company so he wouldn’t try something crazy again.
Did that stop the asshole? Absolutely not.
He’s been showing up near my classes, without a disguise, as if he’s begging for his face to be beaten and crushed to minuscule pieces.
Naturally, I’ve avoided him and have even sent my bodyguards over so he couldn’t trespass into my space.
Though I should’ve known better. Landon and giving up apparently don’t see eye to eye, because he’s been in my vicinity every day over the past week, carrying my favorite Frappuccino.
I don’t take it, but that doesn’t deter him from his morning ritual.
Then, in the evening or whenever my classes finish, he offers to give me a ride in his show-off car. He’s always blocked by my bodyguards, who accompany me home instead.
It’s clear he doesn’t like that, and I often expect to be reintroduced to his ugly side, but he surprisingly just leaves. Yet not without telling me he’ll be back or that this push-and-pull only manages to turn him on.
In order to escape his vicinity, I’ve also been avoiding the chess club unless it’s an unplanned game with Frank. The last thing I want is to be alone with or in close proximity to the bastard.
While that might be perceived as cowardly, I don’t care. Landon threatens the very foundation of my being and, more importantly, he’s a danger to my family. Even if a part of me longs for his touch and intensity, I’m well aware that it would only end in peril and destruction.
We started as the epitome of a toxic relationship, and those never end well. So if I have to crush these nuisance emotions and my heart in the process, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
His inability to give up isn’t helping. He’s practically a stalker at this point, and that’s creepy, to say the least. His birthday gift was even more disturbing. In the box he gave me, there was a golden QR code with ‘Happy Birthday’ engraved in the middle. When I visited it, I found an image of a half-blurred statue face that looked so much like me.
On top of it, there were the words, ‘If you want to see the whole thing, all you have to do is come to our haunted house. P.S. The plants seem to miss you.’
His attempts at getting me alone again were clear, and no matter how much I wanted to visit the plants and see the entirety of that statue, I didn’t go.
I’d have to be insane to willingly go to Landon’s den.
The door opens and I go still. Please don’t tell me I accidentally conjured him…？
A chill shoots down my spine and my entire body tightens, ready for the inevitable meeting. I don’t have my bodyguards with me right now, though if I send them a text, they’ll be here in fifteen. Maybe less…
My thoughts scatter when a new face strolls inside, his features closed and his pressed suit suggesting a certain level of control. He looks to be in his thirties and carries the aura of a wise, formidable opponent.
“Welcome, Professor Kayden,” Frank greets, his eyes softening.
“Kayden is just fine, Frank.” He speaks in a distinctly American accent that’s similar to mine. His gaze slides to me and he pauses for an uncomfortable beat. “I didn’t realize you have company this time of the day or I would’ve come another time.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Mia doesn’t mind.”
I nod, then push my rook forward and grin.
“Looks like you got a checkmate, Frank,” the newcomer, Kayden, says with a slight rise of his brow.
“Oh my.” Frank looks at the board as if he can’t believe his eyes.
It’s useless to try to find fault in my plan—or little tricks, so to speak. I might have picked up some bad habits from the time I spent in psycho Landon’s presence.