Chapter 23 #2
“Hey, hi, let’s go grab food,” Kelton suggested as he moved in front of me, blocking my view from the cafeteria. “I’m craving—”
“Anything but the drama going on here?” I asked, moving to glance around him. “I’m going to find out so just tell me.”
“Fucking assholes,” my guard growled. “Seriously, these top-tier assholes are just—”
“We’re what, pleb?” that British asshole from a top-tier family, Adam, demanded as he walked up to us. “Why are you bothering—”
“Because he matters more than you, dickhead,” I muttered as I snagged my guard’s phone from his hand. I scrolled a bit and snickered. “This is it? This is the big drama that everyone’s watching me over? Do people really have no life besides me?”
I handed the phone back to my guard, patted Kelton’s chest, and walked past them all.
“That’s not the end of this, Millen,” Adam snapped.
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “No, probably not. I’m sure those profiles are confidential and my attorney is going to eat whoever leaked them.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at me. “That wasn’t what I meant unless you’re too dense to understand that.”
“Watch it,” Winter warned as he came walking briskly towards me.
I didn’t glance at him and kept Adam’s gaze. “What do you think could happen? It’s not me being dense, but you being so far out there that—”
“People are saying you can’t be head of a top-tier family,” Gloria interjected as she joined us.
I blinked at her. “And be hot? Like what is the complaint?” I gave a half shrug when she snickered along with Carmen. “Those are photos from the mating profile my parents sent out. Underage photos sexualizing me that the council was disturbed over. So what is the actual like… Complaint?”
“That it’s unbefitting for the head of a family,” Winter told me.
I snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that.” I smirked at Adam.
“Go tell that to Jean and she’ll fucking eat you.
” I nodded when he frowned. “Jean is breathtaking and her body is killer. I’ve seen her in a bikini and so have others.
There are pictures probably up on her social media too.
So good luck when you go use that argument on her. ”
“That’s not—” he started to argue.
“It wasn’t nice knowing you,” I chuckled and walked off, completely unbothered and done with the whole thing.
But apparently, no one around me believed me that I was really okay with it? Winter kept asking. Kelton—even Gloria and Carmen. My guards.
Too many people.
The only one was Tracey. She just asked me how did we want to handle it.
Which was really the only thing to discuss about it.
Right?
Or was I really that fragile and messed up to everyone that they thought something like pictures—not even naked ones—would destroy me?
Pictures I knew were out there and traded all around by disgusting men from top-tier families.
All the women in those circles knew they kept those pictures and sent them to their friends.
Most just didn’t go to the extent my disgusting parents had. I didn’t think they normally would have except they wanted to basically punish me for being a magical null and get the best price for me.
And it was all over campus. It was beyond ridiculous.
I hit my limit on ridiculous. When I woke Friday morning with more notifications of it blowing up bigger and people asking me if I was okay… I hit my limit.
Beyond my limit.
Luckily, I had what I required and texted that I needed to reschedule my pre-breakfast sessions.
I hopped in the shower and chuckled at my plan.
I did myself up to the nines and texted Jean that I was making a statement so hopefully she would be ready to put an end to this bullshit and we were on the same page for at least this drama.
I wasn’t surprised when she immediately responded that she was beyond ready and if she had to deal with much longer she was going to explode.
I actually believed that when she hated idiots as much as I did.
My hair was gorgeous with big curls and wild. I put just a bit of product in it the way Clare had shown me along with magic to make it perfect and shine. My makeup was killer. I went with the wedges Winter and Sergey loved that tied up around my ankle.
I finished the look off with the bikini from the pictures… And nothing else.
They wanted to shame me and try to act like I wasn’t fit to be head of a family because others were passing underage photos sexualizing me?
They could kiss my very fine ass.
I made it to the elevator without anyone seeing me, but there were several people in the lobby clearly heading home. They had bags and parents there to pick them up even.
I walked right by them like I was wearing anything else and not giving a care.
I strutted right past a bunch of students and more outside. Cars there grabbing people and bags. Parents. Faculty… Didn’t care.
Word had gotten out because there were a lot of people by the cafeteria. Not even the normal amount for a typical Friday morning and definitely more than I would have expected the last day of midterms when most were done.
And one very unhappy professor.
Wyatt was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. A bit flustered, so I would guess he had run there. His eyes were full of upset and a bit too much heat that others should not see.
Still, I was ready to ignore it and make my point.
My body was mine and people would not hold it against me. I wasn’t unqualified to be head of a family because I was in good shape and self-confident when I’d suffered under an actual sociopath no one had a problem with.
“No, nope, not happening, little sexy,” Winter announced as he was suddenly in front of me.
“Excuse me?” I demanded as I blinked up at him.
“This,” he growled gesturing to me and then everyone else around taking pictures and filming me. “I can’t. I—even I have lines, Bev.”
“Are you seriously telling me what to do?” I asked, shocked he was acting like this.
He adjusted his neck and then whipped off his shirt before kneeling in front of me.
“No, I would never.” He handed the shirt to me.
“But I will fucking beg you to put this on. Please. Please, Bev. I’m going to end up in prison.
” He lifted his head and I saw something dark in his eyes.
“Hear me that I’m going to end up in prison. ”
“Because of me or the idiots?” I checked.
“The idiots. Always the idiots.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought of that.
I had the shirt out of his hands and over my head in a flash. “Fine, but tell the other idiots that I’m fine and stop acting like I’m so damn fragile. And I was just making a point not—”
“Point made. Enough people saw you,” he interrupted but then ran his tongue over his teeth. “But I think we need a talk about things we should check with each other on when dating, yeah? Like lines and things we discuss first?”
Shit. That was fair and I’d clearly stepped in it. “That’s probably a good idea.”
He stood so fast that I didn’t realize what was happening until I was over his shoulder. “Glad you agree. I know a really great pancake place and now I want them. Let’s go.”
“Winter!” I gasped, smacking his back. “Put me down! What are you doing?”
“Taking my girlfriend out for pancakes so I don’t murder idiots,” he said his voice tight.
“Put me down,” I demanded as I pushed up at least so I wasn’t over his shoulder. The shirt was like a dress on me, so it wasn’t like my ass was hanging out.
It wasn’t like I cared walking around in that bikini.
“At least carry me in a way that isn’t disrespectful after the point I was making,” I snapped.
He sighed and easily slid me to basically sit on his arm and my elbow was on his shoulder. He kissed my cheek. “Sorry, little sexy. You asked a lot on this one, but I would never just be an asshole who carried you off like a prize. I—I needed us out of there.”
I hugged him and let him carry me back to my dorm willing and ready to accept my punishment for being a bad girlfriend. Because I was very, very sure there was one coming with the way he was acting.
I got some sort of forgiveness since it was my first time being a girlfriend, right?
The End