Chapter 37
I ’d been studying until four o’clock for the upcoming exams for the past few days. But it wasn’t just the exams keeping me up—it was Lucie’s music scores. I’d been obsessively scouring her violin cadenza for any hint or clue, but no matter how I approached it, nothing seemed to fall into place. I’d translated each note into numbers, letters; I even tried decoding them into binary, but it was nothing but dead ends.
In the midst of the clutter on my desk, with files strewn about, and Baron curled up on top of them, my phone suddenly buzzed. I squinted through tired eyes and reached for it. I was greeted by yet another link from Grandma to a Facebook video she found amusing.
I froze, facing that preview image of penguins shoving each other off the ice. The URL below was a jumble of letters and numbers, much like the incomprehensible sequences I’d been grappling with in Lucie’s score.
“Wait,” I muttered to myself, the soothing hum of Baron’s purrs filling the room, intermingled by the gentle crackle of Yas’s vanilla-scented study-focus candle burning nearby.
Levi had shortened a URL for Grandma when she came on Parents’ Day—it was no more than ten letters. What if the message inside the cadenza was a URL?
I opened my laptop and typed the sequence of notes into the browser as alphabetical letters. The page showed no results. Undeterred, I made a second attempt, this time inputting only the numerical values into the search engine bar.
And then, there it was.
A surge of excitement coursed through me as goose bumps prickled along my arms. Before me lay the final piece of the puzzle, the key to unraveling the mystery concealed within Lucie’s score.
The last clue.
The web page appeared to have once been a blog, but now it is emptied, with no visible content except for a solitary file to download labeled with Levi’s name.
I wanted to open it myself, my heart about to jump out of my chest. No, it’s not meant for me.
I closed the web page.
Now, I just had to find the right time to tell him.
I handed my exam paper to Mr. Delgado, wearing my brightest smile.
He scanned the pages briefly. His eyes flickered across the answers before snapping the sheets onto his desk. “Do you believe I’ll finally be able to pass you this time, Miss Mercier?”
“I did my best.”
Did my best, meaning that Levi had woken me up at six o’clock sharp, already dressed, so I could cram for the exam—and not think about all the dirty things we did the past few nights. So dirty that Yasmine’s cat was hissing at me when I went back to our dorm, probably smelling of sex.
Mr. Delgado hummed, already bored with my presence. “We’ll see. Also, I heard you turned down the opportunity to work with the Parisian Opera? It’s not nothing.”
“Yes.” I shifted uncomfortably, a line of students forming behind me. “I didn’t think I was ready. I still have so much to learn.”
“To that we agree.”
“Right, I know you think I’m not as talented as—”
“No—it’s because I sense you would have accepted their offer for the wrong reasons.” His posture was upright, and with a precise movement, he adjusted his glasses. “Your way of playing is… not standard.”
I beamed, taking his words like some kind of compliment. “Really?”
“Don’t get too excited. You still have lots to learn.” He cleared his throat as if it’d tear him up from the inside to say the words out loud. “But you’ve made some progress, so maybe you’re not a lost cause after all.”
I planted my hands on his desk, leaning forward eagerly on my tiptoes. “Do you think it’d be enough to play at the Grand Opera?”
“ If it were to reopen this year…” His face distorted into a grimace. “It’s unlikely.”
The person behind me laughed, but my smile remained steadfast. “Unlikely is not impossible! Thank you, sir, you were the reason I wanted to come here to study, and I’m so thankful for—”
He cut me off with a dismissive wave. “Let’s not do this. Emotions make me nauseous.”
I nodded and made my way to the fencing building. The cold air outside transformed my breath into wisps of mist. I crossed the gymnasium, the familiar scent of polished wood and the distant echoes of clashing blades surrounding me. Sylas leaned casually against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest, while Yas gestured animatedly.
“Hey, guys!” I arrived by their side, my footsteps echoing in the corridor. Turning to Yas, I asked, “How did your theater exam go?”
“I would say decent—your playlist helped a lot. I knew when Mozart was striking which act it was, and I’m having my first archery class in… ten minutes.”
“Archery? Sounds badass.” I smiled brightly. She was finally stepping out of her comfort zone to try the things she’d read about. I craned my neck up and turned to Sylas. “And how are you?”
He snorted, taking a deep breath. “Well, since the word got out that I’m gay, I’ve had some people coming to me saying ‘it’s so cool,’ ‘we always knew,’ ‘I suppose you like musicals,’ ‘omg, let’s go shopping,’ as if this makes me a different person. I’m not like the cliché they pictured for the new gay me.”
“Fuck them, we’re going to win the House Cup for you this year,” Yasmine cheered.
“That’s right. And how are things with… Kay?”
He sighed, passing a hand through his golden hair. “I don’t know. I’m still pissed at him for acting without taking my feelings into account. He said he was sorry and he’d fix this because he’s in love with me, but I still need some time.”
“You’re worried about your dad and going home for the holidays?” I said, knowing I was too. Christmas was never an easy time for us since Mom’s death, but now we’d have to address the big elephant in the room.
“Kay invited me over for the holidays, and my dad told me not to come home if I’m still… into men.” Sylas gulped, faking a smile. “Anyway, we should be the ones asking you what you’ll be doing this holiday.”
I turned to Yasmine, who frowned. “Oh, he was talking about you! I’m just going to be with Tara and all of my siblings, fighting for who got the most presents while Tara terrorizes all of us. So things got pretty serious with Levi, huh?”
On the track, Tara, already in her fencing uniform, came to a halt when she spotted us by the door. She raised her sword, pointing it directly at Yasmine. “Do you think you have enough spare time to waste? You’re on scholarship, remember.” She then pointed it at Sylas. “You’re gay, and I don’t give a fuck. I’ll still put you out of your misery in fencing.” Then it was my turn. “And you, maybe you’re as perverted as him after all; you hide your true nature well.”
Our gazes darted between each other, our mouths slightly agape. That was Tara in all her splendor. Without another word to us, she stormed off to her next victim, leaving us in stunned silence.
“What did she mean by that?”
“About you and Levi, we all saw the picture.” Sylas chuckled as if it was the hottest gossip on campus. “I guess your father is aware you’re dating him.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Picture? What picture?”
“On Instagram,” Yasmine chimed in. “You collaborated with his post.”
I furrowed my brows and quickly grabbed my phone. I scrolled frantically through my Instagram feed, my heart racing as I searched for the damning post, and oh my…
“What?” I screamed.
The picture was the one of Levi and me kissing heavily at the Tactician party. My breath caught in my throat, my hands trembling. It was all there: me sitting on his lap, his possessive arm encircling me, his lips devouring mine, his finger tilting my chin up. It was dirty. Messy. Provocative.
It was a collaboration post with me that I had apparently already accepted, with the caption “Mine.” My eyes widened. Levi had no more than five pictures altogether—he was a ghost. Why did he fucking do that?
“I’m screwed,” I said, my voice already breaking. “What if my father sees this? He’ll go insane thinking I did this on purpose to piss him off! I’m so screwed!”
“He’ll definitely kill you. Your father is even more conservative than mine.” Sylas’s comment was so not helpful. “But, at least, I’m sure he knew before that. My father must have told him the minute he disinherited his son.”
Yes, but he didn’t know the boyfriend in question was Levi Delombre.
“It’s just a kiss, and he’s like your official boyfriend, so that’s cool.” Yasmine tried to be positive, stroking my arm softly. “I mean, we’re in a generation when you have to beg for a guy to unfollow girls and to post a picture with you—at least he did it.”
“Nice picture,” Amelia commented casually as she passed by, heading straight for the lockers.
I buried my face in my hand. This was a disaster. “I should delete this.”
“I don’t advise you to do that,” Levi, my unsummoned boyfriend, said from behind me.
I turned around. He wore his long black coat tailored to perfection, accentuating his tall frame. Beneath the coat, he sported his Tactician uniform, which he paired with black leather gloves. He always had a deadly elegance, yet he also looked like he had just buried a corpse in the woods.
His stormy eyes locked onto mine, and before I could protest, he leaned in and claimed my lips, his cold mouth closing on mine.
I slapped his shoulder, pushing him away. “I’m mad at you. You can’t kiss me like that!”
“Alright, I’m off to find a target.” Yas clasped her hands, pointing toward the exit. “Preferably not a person. Catch you later!”
“Yeah, I’m off to practice with… Tara,” Sylas echoed her departure, and with that, they both stormed off.
Levi tilted his head to the side. “So I assume you didn’t like my romantic statement?”
“No,” I shrieked. “I look so… You’re kissing me like I’m…” I struggled to articulate my thoughts, gesturing with my hands in frustration.
“You look beautiful, and I’m kissing you like you’re mine. I don’t see what the problem is here. We’re official, aren’t we?”
“I can’t do whatever the fuck I want like you, Levi! I don’t want people to believe I’m your whore. My dad is going to be pissed. I have a reputation to—”
“You’re my equal, Dalia.” His thunderous eyes pierced into mine. “If anyone thinks that of you, I’ll ruin their lives. Are you embarrassed?”
He advanced a step, his fingers brushing my cheek in a soft touch. But his eyes—his eyes were stormy, his jaw clenching with barely concealed tension.
“Are you embarrassed of me?” he demanded once more.
“No.” I dropped my gaze. “But you can’t control me or us. You should have asked me first.”
“You would have refused.”
I shook my head, taking a step away from him. “Not the point!”
“You can fight me on lots of things, Dalia. I’ll give you everything you ask for. I’ll always take your side, torture anyone for you. You asked me to stop interfering with your music, so I did. I may be yours, but I’m still me. All I need is for you to give me this. Your grandmother already knows about us, and you called me your boyfriend. You rejected me four years ago, so I made sure that wouldn’t happen again.”
A flash of anger flickered across his face, his lips pressing into a thin line, the corners downturned slightly. I had hit a nerve. So that was what all of this was about. Levi feared I’d be ashamed of him, so to prevent that, he struck first.
“If you’d have explained to me that it was important to you, maybe I’d have said yes. But you should have trusted me to pick you, to fight for you.” I paused, landing my eyes hard on him. “It wasn’t okay to go behind my back and—”
The jarring ring of my phone halted me in my tracks, and my eyes fixated on the caller ID displaying my father’s name. I’d been waiting for him to call for so long that now that he was doing it, I felt on the verge of having a heart attack.
“I have to pick up,” I muttered, pacing in the hallway. “Tell the teacher I’ll be late.”
“I’ll stay here if you need me.”
I picked up my phone, clenching my fist.
“Hi, Dad,” I managed to say, my words punctuated by the erratic thudding of my heart. “I’m about to go to fencing class, maybe—”
Before I could finish my sentence, my father’s voice sliced through the line, his words striking me like a physical blow. “I saw the picture on your account. I won’t state how disappointed I am. I got words from Sylas’s father about your ‘boyfriend.’ Out of all the men, it had to be him . Again.”
“I didn’t want to talk to you about him unless it got official,” I mumbled, turning in a circle across the hallway.
“I see.” He paused. “It looks like a very serious relationship indeed. I shouldn’t have trusted you. Partying. Kissing boys. Probably drinking and having sex? Dammit!” I closed my eyes as his roar echoed in my ears, and he slammed something on his desk. “I have problems at work, and you’re making everything about yourself again! I called the headmaster of his high school. He’s a bully—”
“You don’t know him like I do,” I pleaded, feeling my eyes watering.
“Right.” He chuckled. “We’ll talk about that boy problem when you’re back on Friday. I’ve been more than patient with you and your teenage crises! You’re nothing like your mom. You’re not the daughter we raised.”
He hung up, and I stared at my phone in defeat, my hands shaking.
“Well, it happened as expected,” I breathed.
I sensed Levi’s presence beside me without needing to turn around.
“I don’t even want to go back for Christmas. After Mom’s death, Grandma tried to keep the magic happening, but now it’s ruined.” I tugged at my sleeves, fighting to hold back the tears. “He’s going to stop loving me, but he can’t protect me forever from the world. I-I should have been honest. I should—”
“I’ll make him change his mind about me,” Levi declared, cold and unwavering.
This time, I spun around to face him, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “You hate my father, Levi, and he hates you. He punched you and broke the Cigno Nero because of a single kiss. He looked into your past. He’ll never approve, and he never loses to anyone.”
“But I’m me.” Levi crossed his arms. “I’ll charm him.”
“You posted that picture without telling me because you’re selfish. You don’t care about my relationship with my father. What you want, you take, no matter the collateral damage!”
“I can fix this.” His tone, laced with threat, sent shivers down my spine as his dark eyes locked onto mine. “How about I promise he’ll change his mind and give you your freedom?”
I took a step forward, raising my chin. “And how are you going to do that?”
“I’ll come with you.”
I blinked. “This Christmas?”
“Only if you want me to.”
“I don’t know.” I crossed my arms, avoiding his stare. “I need to think this through. Let’s go to class.”
As I turned to walk away, his hand gripped mine, anchoring me in place.
“Are we good?” he asked, his eyes searching mine for reassurance.
I took a deep breath. “If you let me use you as a fencing punching bag, maybe.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “It’s my pleasure.”