~4~
1241 Words
Cassie
I didn’t walk out of Andrew Morgan’s residence.
I fled.
The moment the door closed behind me, I practically ran down the stone pathway leading away from his luxurious apartment.
The cool afternoon breeze whipped strands of my hair across my face, but it did nothing to cool the heat burning in my cheeks.
“Just say the word if you’re interested.”
His shameless words echoed inside my head.
What insolence!
Interested?
Interested in what exactly?
Joining him and that girl?
I shuddered.
That arrogant jerk was unbelievable.
Here I was, risking my scholarship because he refused to attend tutoring sessions, and there he was… skipping lectures to fool around as though the world revolved around him.
If I had my way, I would have marched back inside and given him the beating of his life. Maybe then his brain would finally return to where it belonged.
How could someone be so irresponsible?
How could he care so little?
The Principal had summoned me three times that week alone because of him.
Three times.
And every single meeting ended the same way.
“It is your responsibility, Miss Blake.”
“You must ensure Mr. Morgan passes his examinations.”
“Failure is not an option.”
Her words rang painfully in my ears.
I bit down hard on my lower lip as my vision blurred.
It wasn’t fair.
How was it my responsibility when the brute refused to study?
Was I supposed to drag him to class by his ears?
Tie him to a chair until he finished reading?
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous everything became.
I slowed my pace, pressing a trembling hand against my forehead.
The saying about there being no free meal in a lion’s den suddenly made perfect sense.
I’d thought life had finally smiled on Mom and me.
When the scholarship letter arrived, we’d both cried.
Happy tears.
Mom had hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.
“We finally have hope, Cassie,” she’d whispered.
“I always knew that the Goddess would make a way.”
Hope….That was exactly what Westbrook High had become for me and for my mom.
Hope that my mom can now live with less stress as a maid in the pack’s kitchen and would no longer have to work herself to exhaustion.
Hope that people would finally see me as more than just a maid’s daughter.
But now…
That hope felt as though it was slipping through my fingers.
If Andrew continued refusing to cooperate, the school wouldn’t blame him. They would blame me.
After all, I was only a scholarship student.
The expendable one.
My throat tightened.
What would I tell Mom if they revoked my scholarship?
How would I look into her eyes and tell her that all her sacrifices had been for nothing?
No.
I shook my head fiercely.
I couldn’t think like that. I refused to lose before the battle had even begun.
There had to be another way.
Maybe…Maybe I should go directly to the Principal.
Surely someone would understand that I couldn’t tutor someone who refused to even show up.
I wiped quickly at the corners of my eyes before anyone could notice the moisture gathering there.
Not here.
I wasn’t going to cry here.
Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and continued walking.
I had barely taken three steps when I slammed straight into something solid. Or rather…Someone.
The impact sent me stumbling backward.
“What the hell!” The words escaped before I could stop them.
I rubbed my forehead and looked up.
Standing before me was a young man who looked to be around my age.
He was tall.
Easily over six feet.
His dark hair fell effortlessly across his forehead, and unlike Andrew’s sharp, intimidating features, this stranger wore an expression that seemed almost… relaxed.
His gray eyes studied me quietly before shifting downward.
I followed his gaze and my heart nearly stopped.
A PlayStation 5 lay on the ground between us.
Or whatever was left of it.
Its sleek white casing had cracked apart from the fall.
Beside it lay an iPad with a spiderweb of fractures running across the screen.
“Oh no…”
The words barely left my lips.
Without thinking, I hurriedly crouched and reached for the damaged devices.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out. “I honestly didn’t see you.”
My fingers trembled as I carefully picked up the shattered tablet.
This couldn’t be happening.
A PlayStation.
An iPad.
Together they probably cost more than everything Mom and I owned.
My heart began pounding.
How was I supposed to pay for this?
I couldn’t.
Even if I worked for years, I probably still couldn’t.
“I’m really sorry,” I repeated, handing both devices back to him.
“It was an accident.”
The young man accepted them without the slightest change in expression.
Instead of checking the damage, however, he looked past me.
Toward Andrew’s residence.
Then back at me.
His brows lifted slightly.
“Heartbreak?”
I blinked.
“What?”
He nodded toward the building behind me.
“You came running out of there looking like the world had just ended.”
His eyes lingered on my face for a brief second. “And…” He smiled faintly. “You’ve been trying very hard not to cry.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
Was it really that obvious?
“N-No.” I quickly shook my head. “It’s nothing like that.”
He tilted his head. “No?”
“No.” I answered a little too fast. “I wasn’t…”
My words trailed off.
How exactly was I supposed to explain why I’d been inside Andrew Morgan’s residence?
That I was secretly assigned to be his tutor?
That Alpha Morgan himself had ordered me never to speak about it?
I couldn’t.
Not even if I wanted to.
The stranger waited patiently and when I failed to continue, he simply nodded. “I see.”
No. You really don’t.
I forced an awkward smile. “I’m sorry again about your things.”
“They’re replaceable.”
His answer came so casually that I almost thought I’d misheard him.
Replaceable?
Did he know how much those things cost?
Of course he did.
People like him probably bought new gadgets the way ordinary people bought notebooks.
Lucky him.
“I should go.” I took a step to the side.
His voice stopped me once again. “If you’re looking for a replacement for that brute…”
I slowly turned back.
“…I can make it worth your while.”
For a second, I simply stared at him. Then my annoyance returned in full force.
Honestly.
What was wrong with these rich boys?
Were they all born without functioning brains?
Or did money somehow make common sense disappear?
First Andrew.
Now this one.
I didn’t even bother answering.
Instead, I shot him a look that could have frozen fire itself before walking past him.
“Brat,” I muttered under my breath.
His laughter rang out behind me.
It wasn’t mocking. If anything, he sounded amused.
“If it helps…”
I kept walking.
“I play baseball too.”
I rolled my eyes without looking back.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
One arrogant baseball player had already turned my life upside down.
The last thing I needed was another one.
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