CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ZADE
The next day at Oakhaven is so silent that it feels as though the cosmos itself has been emptied out.
But I know better.
This kind of silence is never peace; it is just the suffocating stillness that settles right before the eye of a storm hits.
"You don't have to look like you're about to commit a mass murder."
Nate's voice violently yanks me back to reality.
I glance to my side.
Sure enough, he's walking half a step behind me, his hands shoved into his pockets, observing me with entirely too much perception.
"Cut the shit, Nate. Don't talk to me like I'm some heartbroken, pathetic puppy," I growl, my pace punishing against the polished floorboards.
"Trust me, you definitely don't look like a puppy," Nate counters smoothly, completely unfazed by my glare.
"But you do look like a mob boss who's ready to execute anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path today."
"Why aren't you with Ellie?" I snap, aggressively shifting the topic.
If I don't divert him now, this motherfucker will spend the rest of the morning dissecting my psychological state.
"She's on her way here. With Mio. And Alice."
The mere mention of that
name—Alice—burns a sudden, toxic heat straight into my chest.
It's a sensation I refuse to give a name to.
It fills my head with a chaotic, murderous noise, pushing me dangerously close to choosing the exact violent path Nate had described seconds ago.
"Zade!"
A sharp, familiar voice pierces through the corridor. I stop and turn around. There stands Briar.
Before another word can leave her mouth, I decide to end this once and for all.
We had never been in a relationship; it was nothing more than a transactional arrangement of adrenaline and cheap friction.
The moment I caught her giving a blowjob to some loose, nameless fuckers at a party weeks ago, I had washed my hands of her entirely.
But she is persistent. Too persistent for her own good.
"Listen to me clearly, and understand that this is the last time I am saying it," I growl, stepping into her space until she has to tilt her head back.
"I don't want you near me. I don't want to hear your fucking voice. Do you get me?"
I don't wait for her to process the venom in my tone.
I spin on my heel and walk away, abandoning the route to the lecture halls entirely.
Instead, I head straight for my personal suite in the administrative wing.
Nate follows me inside, the heavy door clicking shut behind us.
"Zade... don't be upset about what happened last night."
"I'm not upset about anything, Nate," I say, my voice dropping into a flat, dead register.
I shrug out of my blazer, draping it carelessly over the back of the leather chair.
"Because to be upset, I'd actually have to feel something. And I don't."
"Want a drink?" Nate asks, walking over to the mini-fridge and passing it up to open a cabinet instead, pulling out a fresh pack of cookies.
This motherfucker has an annoyingly childish sweet tooth for a guy who breaks ribs on the field.
"No. I don't want anything right now. And if you utter another syllable, I'll have you cemented into the foundation of the stadium by morning."
Nate just lets out a quiet laugh, completely ignoring the threat as he takes a bite of a cookie.
I lean back against the desk and close my eyes, but the darkness offers no relief.
Instead, it plays a vivid, mocking loop of last night's repentance. I see the red, luscious waves of her hair.
I see the pale curve of her skin, exposed and glowing under the chandeliers.
And that dress. That fucking crimson red dress that looked like spilled blood against the marble.
Most of all, I see Marcus's hands on her waist.
The memory alone makes my blood boil into pure liquid fire.
On the very first day she stepped onto this campus, I decided she was a glitch in my system.
A toy to play with, a nuisance to break... mine to own.
And I have never, not once in my life, allowed anyone to touch what belongs to me.
She thinks she shattered my mask last night.
She thinks her hatred is a shield that will keep her safe from me.
But as I lay in the silence of my suite, the sting of her slap still phantom against my jaw, a terrifying realization settles into my bones.
She didn't push me away.
She only made me realize exactly how far I am willing to go to cage her.
Alice Miller is not getting away from me.
Even if she has to put a bullet through my heart to stop me.