CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ALICE
For the first time in years, the sound that pulls me from sleep isn't the screech of a neighbor's car or the persistent buzz of an alarm.
It's the gentle, rhythmic clinking of culinary tools.
It's a domestic sound.
A warm sound.
Something I haven't heard since... so long ago that the memory feels like a faded photograph.
I slowly open my eyes, squinting as I try to adjust to the dim sunlight peeking through heavy, expensive curtains.
Wait. Curtains? I don't have curtains.
My apartment has a single, box-like window that I've practically buried under a curtain of ivy to hide the view of the alleyway.
Where am I?
The realization hits me like a physical blow. I sit up so quickly the world tilts on its axis, my brain slamming against my skull in a dizzying spin.
"Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?"
That voice. It's smooth, deep, and laced with a familiar, irritating edge.
I look up, and there stands the Great Zade Hamilton.
Even with my vision blurred and hazy, I can see the tilt of his head.
He's mocking me.
The absolute audacity of this man—to hit me with a projectile, drag me to his lair, and then stand there with that smug, superior look on his face.
"You bastard," I croak, my voice sounding like it's been dragged through gravel.
"Why am I here? What did you do to me?"
I frantically hike the silk blanket up to my chest, my heart hammering against my ribs.
It's only then that I realize the weight of the fabric against my skin is different.
The horror is absolute. I'm wearing different clothes.
"You... you changed my clothes?" My voice rises an octave, fueled by pure, unadulterated panic.
"Oh God, you bastard! How dare you? I am going to sue you. I'll file a rape case, I swear to God—"
"Don't get too delusional," Zade interrupts, his voice cutting through my hysteria like an ice pick.
"Touching you was easily the nastiest thing I've had to do all week. I'm not the kind of man who takes advantage of an unconscious witch."
He steps closer, placing a sleek, high-end case on the nightstand.
"Mio came here last night to change you. She's the one who handled your... clothes change," he says, his eyes tracking the movement of my hands.
"And as for your vision, I used your broken glasses to determine your prescription. These were delivered a few minutes ago."
He slides the case toward me and turns to leave, his movements fluid and annoyingly graceful.
"Mio is on her way up with your uniform. If you're up to attending classes, you can. Or you can stay here and hide.It's up to you."
He disappears out of the room before I can throw a pillow at his head.
I reach for the case with trembling fingers. When I click it open, I don't see the cheap, black plastic frames I've worn for years.
The frames inside are bronze-toned metal, intricately detailed with tiny, delicate seashells carved into the temples.
Even the nose pads look softer, more ergonomic than anything I've ever touched.
Charity. The word tastes like ash in my mouth.
It must have been expensive.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars.
I'm tempted—desperately tempted—to put them on just so I can see the world clearly again.
He broke mine, so he should pay.
But Zade Hamilton doesn't just pay his debts; he buys people. And I refuse to be bought.
I force myself to close the case with a sharp snap and set it on the nightstand.
(It's okay, Alice. You'll buy your own. You don't need his bronze seashells. You don't need his pity.)
I force myself out of the bed.
The room spins for a terrifying few seconds, but I grip the bedpost until the floor stays still.
I'm shuffling toward the door when it swings open, revealing Mio.
Her hair is pulled up in a messy ponytail, a few stray strands clinging to her neck.
She doesn't say a word before she lunges forward, engulfing me in a hug that nearly sends us both back onto the bed.
"You're finally looking human again!" she cries, squeezing the air out of my lungs.
"Can't... breathe... Mio," I rasp.
"Oh! Sorry." She pulls back, her eyes shining with a moisture that makes my heart ache.
Her voice breaks at the end.
"I was just so glad you're fine. It was scary, Alice. Really scary."
She looks down, her shoulders shaking slightly.
"I've never had a real friend. Everyone at Oakhaven treats me like an alien, a curiosity. I don't want to lose you. Ever."
The vulnerability in her voice shatters the last of my defenses.
I reach out, pulling her back into a soft embrace.
"I'll never leave you, Mio. I promise. We'll be friends until we're old and grey and complaining about our hip replacements."
Mio giggles through her tears, stepping back to gesture at the bed.
"I brought your uniform. I had it dry-cleaned because... well, there were some bloodstains.
If you feel up to it, we can go. But I really think you should stay and rest for the day."
Heat creeps up my neck as I look at the uniform.
My mind flashes back to the things I just screamed at Zade. I'm going to sue you for a rape case.
I want to crawl into a hole and die.
He told me Mio changed me, and I still called him a bastard.
I hit my head in my mind—not literally, because my skull still feels like it's being hammered by a blacksmith.
"I'm attending classes, Mio," I say firmly, picking up the uniform.
"I don't want to stay here. Besides, I need a fresh dressing for the wound. The university clinic does it for free. If I go to a private hospital, I'll have to skip meals for a week to pay for it."
Twenty minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom, dressed and as ready as I'll ever be.
Mio is nowhere to be found in the bedroom, so I make my way down the stairs of the penthouse.
I find them in the kitchen.
Zade is standing at the stove, actually cooking, while Mio stands beside him, acting like a drill sergeant.
I watch, frozen, as she jokingly hits him on the head with a spatula because he's doing something wrong.
And then, it happens.
Zade laughs.
It's not a smirk, not a mocking huff, but a genuine, deep-chested laugh.
It's the first time I've seen him look happy since I stepped onto this campus.
My heart skips several beats, a strange, suffocating heat climbing up my neck and into my cheeks.
He turns, his laughter dying down as his gaze finds mine.
The air suddenly disappears from the room. His amber eyes are locked onto mine, stripping away my layers of armor until I feel completely exposed.
The silence between us is a living thing, heavy and electric.
Crack.
The sound of Mio cracking an egg on the counter snaps the tension like a rubber band.
I don't wait for a goodbye.
I don't even look at Mio.
I grab my backpack, find the exit, and scramble out into the hallway.
I can hear Zade's heavy, purposeful strides behind me, but I make it into the elevator just as the doors start to close.
As the lift descends, I slump against the mirrored wall, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
One thought screams through my head, louder than the headache, louder than the fear:
What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened?