0005
1159 Words
Amira Smith’s POV:
I rubbed my aching shoulders, trying to soothe the dull throb in my bones as I headed toward the cafeteria. The mid-day break was my only sanctuary. It was the only window of time I had to fetch Vanessa’s coffee while also catching a fleeting moment to breathe and eat.
I hadn’t attended a single lecture today. Vanessa had seen to that, keeping me tethered to her side with a never-ending list of menial errands.
In the past, I was invisible at this school—just another scholarship student blending into the background. But now? Now I was a spectacle. I was the mockery of the entire university and the talk of the city. The scandal of the wedding had spread like wildfire, and Vanessa was fanning the flames. She made sure the gossip stayed fresh, publicly treating me like an animal to remind everyone exactly how much of a nobody I was.
“That’s the one,” a girl whispered as I walked by.
“How dare she think she could ever stand next to Alpha Zuko?” another snickered.
“She probably only got that scholarship so she could hunt for a husband in the big leagues.”
“So delusional.”
“Does she really think she can compete with a Hopkins? A stray like her? In her dreams.”
“Even if she died and was reborn a hundred thousand times, she could never afford a single bag from Vanessa’s collection,” a girl laughed, her friends joining in.
“She thought she could climb her way to the top through her bedsheets. I’ve never seen anyone so cheap.”
“It’s always the poor ones,” a guy added with a sneer.
I could hear the voices muttering, each word cutting through me like a serrated blade. I tried not to pay them any heed, but the thought of the scholarship I had sacrificed everything for being reduced to this... it shattered my heart.
I knew the blood, sweat, and tears it took to get here. I had spent years reading while my peers played, working multiple part-time jobs just to afford the textbooks needed to keep up with the elite curriculum. I had always read ahead, always pushed harder, just to prove I belonged. Now, that hard work was being rewritten as the desperate ploy of a social climber.
I had to endure. I had two years left. Graduating from the University of Esposito was my only hope of building a life for myself and my grandmother.
I kept my head down as I entered the cafeteria. I could feel the weight of a hundred gazes pressing against me. I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to ward off the coldness creeping into my soul.
Ignoring the stares, I walked to the counter and placed my order. When the tray was handed to me, I turned to leave, but a foot suddenly shot out in my path. I tripped, my body slamming into the hard floor. The scalding coffee I was holding splashed across my chest and hands. I flinched, a sharp cry escaping my throat as the heat burned my skin.
“Hahaha!” The laughter erupted like a physical wave through the room.
Hot tears gathered in my eyes. Before I could stop them, they began to fall, dripping onto the spilled coffee on the floor.
“Oh, look at that. She’s such a crybaby,” a mocking voice said.
I raised my head to see the girl responsible for the trip. She was beaming with malice, her phone held high as she recorded my humiliation. I quickly covered my face with my hands, trying to hide.
“What do you want, baby? A lollipop or a d**k?” a male voice boomed, and the cafeteria exploded into fresh laughter.
“Probably the d**k,” the girl with the phone replied. “That’s all she’s good for, right? Trying to play with the big leagues. Though, honey, I hope you don't mind the attention of a filthy rogue, because that’s the only league you’ll ever play in, bitch.”
“I can hook you up with my septic tank cleaner,” another voice shouted.
“Enough!”
The voice was like a thunderclap, vibrating with a power that silenced the room instantly. I looked up to see Zuko’s friend—one of the Big Three—Alpha Mattia Badmus.
“I said, enough,” he growled, his Alpha tone sending a shiver of primal fear through the students. He snatched the girl’s phone and, without a second thought, hurled it out of the open window. The girl flinched, looking horrified.
Without saying a word to me, Mattia grabbed my hand and hauled me up. He didn't wait for a thank you, he simply dragged me out of the cafeteria. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and honestly, I didn't care, as long as it was away from there.
He finally came to a halt in a quiet corner of the school compound. He looked livid. Though we had never spoken much, only exchanging brief greetings and glances through Zuko, I had never seen him this angry.
He pulled out a clean handkerchief and began wiping the coffee from my hands and my clothes. As he worked, I felt a piercing gaze on the back of my neck. I looked toward the entrance of the main building and saw Zuko standing there.
Even from a distance, I could tell he was fuming. He had a specific, dark reason for hating this: he had warned me, many times, never to associate with Alpha Mattia Badmus. According to Zuko, Alpha Mattia had no respect for women and viewed every girl in a skirt as a conquest.
I had always obeyed Zuko. I had stayed away to keep him happy. I had done everything he ever wanted, but there was no point anymore. He wasn't mine to obey. I turned my attention back to Mattia.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You should go home and rest,” Mattia said, his voice still tight with lingering rage. “Don't come back until tomorrow.”
I nodded numbly. He gestured to a sleek black car idling nearby. “Take her home,” he commanded the driver. With a sharp nod toward me, he turned and walked away.
I looked back at the spot where Zuko had been standing, but it was empty. He was gone.
I climbed into the back of the car, and as the driver pulled away from the university gates, my eyes lingered on the iron inscription arching over the exit:
“Goodbye from the University of Esposito.”
For some reason, those words felt heavy. I had passed them a hundred times, but today, they gave me an uncomfortable, sinking feeling in my chest.
It was the feeling that the worst was yet to come.
- Writer
