Ice cold secrets, claimed by his rival

Chapter 3

Aria’s POV

The moment I stepped foot into my department’s building, I just knew I might have made the worst mistake of my life by even daring to show up.

I had my face down like it always was, hoping people would ignore the weird girl who found the ground more interesting than the bright faces of the people around her.

But since when had fate ever worked in my favor before? The snickers that followed me had me balling my fists and speeding up in a bid to get to my first class faster.

I was about to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing the door to the classroom just a few inches away but I gasped as someone brushed their shoulder harshly against mine.

“What the—” I tried to say but the words got stuck in my throat at the same time I looked up and saw the people before me.

So much for wanting to lay low today.

Chloe and her minions with one standing before me and another one — the one who intentionally bumped my shoulder — stood behind me.

“Aww, look who it is.” She said like she was trying very hard to stifle her laughter, “It’s the most popular b***h in school at the moment.”

She hastily fished out her phone, unlocking it and thrusting it into my face as a video was already playing on the screen earlier.

Then, I saw it.

The part of the conversation where Chloe said something about my family and instead of refuting her statement, I asked Ryder if he had told her.

“So what? A lot of people have family issues.” I said as I finally found my voice, “It’s too early in the morning for any of these.” I tried to walk past her but her next words made me stop in my tracks completely.

“Yeah, but not everyone is an orphan who lives with their Aunty and gets treated so badly all through high school and the beginning of college that they can barely drink water at home.”

“What?” I muttered, shocked.

Ryder… that fucker! He told her even that?

“Your pathetic story is on the school blog now. Everyone knows you sleep outside at times.” She smirked and her minions let out cackles of laughter. “You poor baby, even your Aunty hates to see your face.”

Just then, Ryder walked over in his stupid glory and Chloe’s smile intensified.

“Baby.” She smirked, wrapping her arms around his torso in the form of a hug.

“I was just showing Aria here the little present that I curated for her.” She added and that was when Ryder looked up, almost like he hadn’t noticed my presence at all.

He let out a bout of laughter, “Oh, I didn’t even notice the insignificant pest.” He said.

“After that horror-filled night, I needed something to cool off.” Chloe said back, looking back at me, “You can just be a good girl and come pick up my assignment alongside Ryder’s in the afternoon… or I’ll leak more embarrassing voice notes of you.”

Ryder twirled her hair in his hand, “That’s the only thing your smart head is good for after all. I mean, you couldn’t even see that I hated you more than I loved you.”

A sudden surge of anger burst through me, and it wasn’t just the kind that had me balling my fists, but the kind that made me want to do something… to stand up for myself even if there’s a high chance that it’d backfire.

So without thinking further, I squared my shoulders and looked straight into Ryder’s eyes.

“You know what I think?” My voice came out bolder than I intended to, “It’s that you’re the dumb one here.”

I had no idea what I was doing or saying, I just kept talking.

Chloe gasped alongside the other people that I didn’t notice had gathered around us.

Before anyone could talk or get over the shock of what I just said, I continued. I stepped closer to both Ryder and Chloe and even though it felt like I was stepping into a lion’s den, I still went ahead.

“I’ve always been way ahead of you, Ryder Hayes.” I took it a step further by lifting my hand and adjusting his collar.

Well, that snapped him back to reality because the next thing I knew, his eyes went red and his right hand found its way to my neck. He snarled and pushed me against the wall, his eyes glaring daggers at me.

“Did you get high on drugs after I sent you out last night?” He growled.

It was a bit hard to talk through my enclosed mouth, but I did. “Now why would I do that when I can equally face you with clear eyes?”

Chloe pushed at his shoulder, “Step aside, let me deal with her.”

“I’ve been with Kingston too.”

At first, everyone carried on with what they were doing. Then the next few seconds were so chaotic that I couldn’t resist the smile that broke through my face. Epic.

“It seems she’s really high on cheap drugs.”

“She can’t be in her right senses to say such nonsense.”

“Kingston Lance? Is the nerd even okay?”

I heard the people’s whispers loud and clear and more phones went up as more people recorded the scene.

I should probably call it quits there, but that’d be very… cowardly. I’d rather lie this through to the end.

“You’ve added lying to your long list of woes?” Ryder said then let out a sound that seemed like a laugh, “No hockey player in their right senses would willingly choose someone like you as their girlfriend. Have you ever seen your face? Your face should be in the dictionary, placed side by side with the word ugly.”

Ouch.

“At least I have something up here. I really can’t say the same about you. Tell me, other than f*****g around with Chloe like a dog, what other life ambition do you have? Boycotting hockey players till you grow old—” The words died in my throat as his grip on my neck got more vicious.

It seems I really crossed a line there.

“F*cking b*tch!” He snarled, breathing hard into my face.

“Kingston… will kill you.” I managed to say amid coughs, clawing at his hands.

“Kingston will not cross over to my block here.” His eyes grew dark, “And lying that Kingston is your boyfriend won’t save you—”

The hallway suddenly went silent and even Kingston went still before me.

Someone just entered. I could tell from the way everyone turned to the right direction — the same part of the hallway that I couldn’t see because of Kingston’s hard steel hold on me.

Then, his cologne that I had caught a whiff of only once, or twice wafted into my nostrils. I smelt it before he even took a few steps closer.

“Get your hands off her.” His voice carried an authority that made even me feel like he was talking to me, “Or I’ll break them.”