Chapter 23
Rose
I’ve spent the entire night awake, staring at the ceiling. Gabriel's words keep replaying in my head over and over.
This has to end. I'm trying to protect you.
The way he looked at me like I was something fragile that he couldn’t risk breaking.
But I'm not fragile anymore. He taught me that. How can he not see it?
By morning, I know what I have to do. I shower and dress carefully because I already know what my next move has to be. I look at myself in the mirror and see the woman Gabriel helped me become. Confident. Strong. Ready to fight.
I'm not going to lose him because of Cassandra's games. Not like this.
The students always gather in the Southern Common Room after the morning classes.
It's their territory, decorated with expensive furniture and portraits of former headmasters.
I find Cassandra there, holding court near the fireplace, surrounded by her usual crowd of admirers.
Liam sits slightly apart from the group, looking uncomfortable.
I walk toward them, and the conversations stop. All eyes turn to me.
"Rose." Cassandra's voice is dripping with false sweetness. "How lovely to see you. You look a bit tired, darling. Did you have a rough night?"
I ignore the others and focus directly on her. "We need to talk."
"Oh, do we? I can't imagine what we'd have to discuss."
"I know about the video. And I know what you're trying to do."
The room goes completely silent. Cassandra's smile falters for just a moment before returning, wider than before.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. You and Liam filmed something you shouldn't have. Now you're using it to manipulate Professor Thorn."
Liam shifts in his chair, his face flushing red. "Rose, I didn’t want to do it. She made me, she…"
"Shut up, Liam." Cassandra waves him off without looking at him. Her green eyes stay fixed on me. "You know, Rose, I wanted to show you mercy like the mut you are when you first arrived. I really did. But you just couldn't stay in your lane, could you?"
"My lane?"
"Your place. You’re a fucking bastard child!
Your father had you with an insane woman in an asylum!
You don’t belong here." She stands. Even her height advantage is making her feel superior.
"Gabriel deserves someone from his own world.
Someone who understands what it means to have real power and real breeding.
Not some pathetic little orphan who got lucky. "
The words are designed to hurt me, but they bounce off me. Gabriel taught me my worth. He showed me who I really am.
"Is that what you told him?" I ask calmly. "That you deserve him more than I do?"
"I told him I'd keep quiet about your little affair if he chose me instead. After all, I'm much more suitable. And he's far too smart to throw away his career for someone like you."
Liam finally speaks up. "Cassandra, this has gone too far. We should just delete the video and forget about the whole thing. Professor Thorn is running for Senate, and Rose is a Devereaux. She has Timothy Devereaux backing her. This is super serious, Cassandra!"
"We should do nothing of the sort." She doesn't even glance at him. "Rose needs to learn that actions have consequences. That there are rules in this world, and breaking them comes with a price."
I take another step forward. The room is so quiet I can hear the clock ticking on the mantelpiece.
"Then here's my counteroffer, Cassandra.”
“I’m not interested, mut!” she laughs in my face.
“Oh, I think you are. You have a video of me and Gabriel, and I have a video of your orgy in the chapel.”
Every single student in the room goes white in the face. Filming is not allowed at their “events” and for good reason. I have evidence of all of them doing unspeakable things.
“What… What are you… No… No. You’re bluffing! Rose, this is serious! You don’t understand. If that video gets out… But you’re bluffing!”
I am stunned to see tears at the corners of her eyes. She is truly scared.
“Am I bluffing? Delete every copy of that video, or I'll go to the headmistress and tell her what really happens at your secret student gatherings."
"Excuse me??"
"The sex parties. The drugs. The orgies. This is going to get you all expelled. But, most importantly, it will likely get the school shut down."
The other students lean toward Cassandra and start talking at the same time.
“Cassandra, my father is going to kill me!!” one of them says.
“No, no! My parents sent me here to make friends with the Vanderbilt kid. My father has three billion dollars sunk into their business! Cassandra! He’s going to break my neck!!” yet another one adds.
“Fuck! Cassandra! We can’t get the school shut down! Our parents will literally disown us. Cassandra, what the fuck did you do?! All because you wanted to sleep with Professor Thorn and he didn’t want you back?! Fix it. Fix it now!”
She is so white in the face that I genuinely feel like she’s going to pass out.
"You're bluffing,” she tells me again.
"Am I?" I pull out my phone and start walking toward the door.
"Let's go together right now to see the headmistress. You tell the headmistress about me and Gabriel, and I'll tell her about everything you've done. One of us is walking out of this school. Come on, Cassandra! If you think I’m bluffing, let’s go right now!!” I laugh.
I pause at the doorway and turn back to face her. "The question is, Cassandra, which one of us has more to lose?"
I can see her mind working. She knows I'm right. A consensual relationship between a professor and a student might cause a scandal, but what she and the other students have been doing goes far beyond that. The orgy alone would destroy her, not to mention that weird ritual.
Liam stands up abruptly. "This is insane. Cassandra, just delete the video. This whole thing was a mistake from the beginning."
"Shut up, Liam!" But her composure is cracking. "You don't understand what's at stake here."
"I understand perfectly." I step back into the room. "You wanted to destroy my relationship because you're jealous. Because you can't stand that he chose me over you."
"He didn't choose you!" The words explode out of her. "He was manipulated by you! You seduced him!"
"Is that what you really think?" I almost feel sorry for her. "That the only way someone could prefer me over you is if I tricked them?"
Her face twists with rage and humiliation. Several students are now openly staring, some recording with their phones. Cassandra notices and realizes she's losing control of the situation.
"This isn't over," she hisses.
"Yes, it is. Delete the video, Cassandra. All copies. Or find out exactly how much evidence I have about your extracurricular activities."
She stares at me for a long moment, fury radiating from every line of her body. Then she grabs her purse and storms toward the door.
"Delete it, Liam," she snaps as she passes him. "All of it."
The door slams behind her. Liam looks at me with something that might be respect.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I never wanted it to go this far."
"Then why did you film it in the first place?"
He looks down at his hands. "Because I was jealous. Because I asked you out and you said ‘no,’ and then I saw you with him." He shakes his head. "It was stupid and petty, and I'm sorry."
I study his face. He looks genuinely ashamed. "Delete everything, Liam. Every copy."
"I will. I promise."
I nod and turn to leave. As I reach the door, he calls after me.
"Rose? For what it's worth, I think he's lucky to have you."
I don't respond, but I feel a surge of triumph as I walk away. I did it. I faced down Cassandra and won. I protected Gabriel and our relationship. Everything he taught me about confidence, about knowing my worth, about standing up for myself—it all came together in that moment.
I practically run through the corridors, eager to find Gabriel and tell him the danger has passed. We can be together now. We might have to lie low until I graduate, but Cassandra can't hurt us anymore.
Happily, I take the stairs two at a time to his apartment. His door is unlocked, and I push it open, already forming the words I want to say.
"Gabriel, you're not going to believe what just happened!!"
But the words die in my throat.
He's standing next to his bed with his back to me. A suitcase lies open on the mattress, half full of neatly folded clothes. Books are stacked in boxes on the floor. His expression when he turns to face me is somber and resigned.
I freeze in the doorway, my triumph evaporating.
"What are you doing?"