Chapter 35

Chiara

The day starts out all wrong.

The second I step into the school, I can sense it. It’s in the glances I keep getting, no matter where I walk. I hear it in the hissed whispering and the way conversations stop when I pass past.

I’ve barely stepped over the school’s threshold before I’m set on high alert, awareness prickling me all over. I duck my head, trying to move quickly through the sea of people, but as I do, I catch snatches of people’s hushed converations.

“She’s probably got Vedant wrapped around her finger.”

“Yeah, I saw the video. She’s not even subtle about it.”

My stomach drops. The video.

Immediately, I’m thinking back to Alice standing in Vedant’s home, fuming with fury. “I got it all on video!” her voice echoes in my mind.

If she really had recorded me and posted it, then I was certain she would frame it in whatever unfavorable light she could muster. Already, Alice’s revenge is in action.

I pull out my phone, fingers trembling. It’s not hard to find it. So many people I follow have already posted or reshared it. Alice even dared to tag me in the initial post. The message was clear: she wasn’t hiding.

The video is at the top of my feed, captioned: “Caught her sneaking around Vedant’s house. Guess being an orphan makes you creative about how to get what you want… and she’s paying the only way she knows how to;)”

My own face stares back at me from the screen, grainy but clear enough. Me, getting comfortable on Vedant’s sofa, holding the box of supplies on my lap. Perhaps it’s not the most damning or incriminating video ever, but the caption and the setting combined paint a particular picture.

They make me look as if I’m a silly little girl, happy to bask in Vedant’s home. Naive and foolish.

Frankly, the comments are worse than the post itself. Every single one is disgusting, mocking, and full of assumptions. Absolutely no one has come to my defense.

My thumb flicks as I scroll quickly, gathering flashes.

“Trash.”

“Of course she’s trying to sleep her way in.”

“She must be sooo desperate.”

My chest tightens so hard it hurts.

This isn’t just a rumor anymore. It’s a weapon.

I stuff my phone away, feeling so numb it’s like I’ve been robbed of all my senses. By the time I get to my locker, I can barely breathe. There aren’t just whispers now, but there is whistling too. Open catcalling follows me and makes me wince.

When I look around, I catch the attention of some of the boys, and it’s like they’re trying to strip me down with their eyes. One even snaps a picture when he thinks I’m not looking. Or maybe he knows that I caught him out of the corner of my eye and simply doesn’t care.

I open my locker and lean my head in, desperate for a single moment to gather my thoughts and struggling to catch my breath. I wish I could lock myself inside this locker, snuggle into its cold, dark embrace, away from prying eyes and—

“Hey,” a voice says behind me.

I tear my head out of the locker, turn, and freeze. It’s Mark, a junior. He’s bigger than me, and his eyes are glinting. The corner of his mouth is pulled up slightly in the beginnings of a smirk that puts me even more on edge.

“Didn’t know you were into guys like Vedant,” he says, leaning in so that I can smell the remnants of his breakfast on each word. “But if you’re giving it up, maybe you should spread the love, huh?”

He grabs my wrist, trying to pull me closer. I can feel other eyes watching on, amused, but no one cares enough to intervene.

I yank my wrist back. “Let me go.”

He steps closer. “Come on, Chiara. Don’t play shy. Everyone’s seen the video. I can give you something in exchange too. I’ll make it a… mutally beeficial transaction.”

My pulse skyrockets. The world narrows down to just Mark and the fear rising in me like a tide. My wolf, Molly, stirs in response, a low, dangerous growl echoing in my mind as she prepares to defend me.

I take a shaky breath. My hands start to tremble, the shift tugging at the edge of my control. I try to resist her approach—I don’t want to cause even more of a scene—but she cannot be controlled when my life is threatened so blatantly.

Yet before I can indulge in her protection, there is a blur of motion from the left side of us.

And then there is a terrible crack of impact as flesh meets flesh.

Mark’s head jerks sideways, blood and spittle spraying from his lip. He collapses against the lockers with a groan.

I blink, staring down at him uncomprehending. And then I turn to see Mark’s assailant.

Vedant stands there, breathing hard. The knuckles on his right hand are red, and two of them have split and begun bleeding.

“Touch her again,” Vedant growls, “and you will get more than a punch. That’s a promise.”

Mark scrambles up, muttering something. But his eyes are wide with fear, and his split lip is dripping blood. And I know in an instant that he will not challenge Vedant.

“Watch your girl, Vedant,” Mark warns before he stumbles away, clutching his face.

The entire hallway is staring now, but this time, their focus is tinged with awe. Yet Vedant only had eyes for Mark and his retreat. Vedant’s gaze is blazing as he watches the other boy go, looking like he wants to land another strike for good measure.

But then, Vedant turns to me. His jaw is almost as tight as his clenched fists. He looks just as mad as he did while confronting Alice in his home.

“Are you okay?”

I can’t speak. My heart is hammering so loudly that I almost can’t even hear over it. But I manage a mute nod.

He looks down at his hand and curses under his breath. “I shouldn’t have hit him,” he mutters. “Not a great look but… It was the quickest way.”

The quickest way to get Mark away from me, he means. The quickest way to rescue me.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

He watches me for a moment as though he is surprised by my gratitude. I can feel him studying me, eyes trailing all over me. I wonder if he is checking for injuries.

Then he nods once, quietly. “Their abuse, these rumors… it’s unfair.”

This simple acknowledgement nearly chokes me. It is more than anyone else has ever done for me.

He walks away before I can muster a response, leaving me standing there, shaken but unharmed. I watch his receding form and wonder what I could have said to express my gratitude if I had been capable of speech just then.

Molly hums inside me, calmer now. She seems almost pleased. He’s better than the rest, she whispers. I like him.

And maybe he is. Because twice now, Vedant has stepped in when no one else would, defending me against the masses and their accusations.

For the first time in my life, it feels like I have someone truly in my corner.