5.Words He shouldn't Say.
1119 Words
Enya’s Point of View
Why did my heart betray me?
Wasn’t I supposed to stay far away from him in this life? So how could I let myself enjoy his warmth, even for a second?
“Enya…” Raphael’s voice rose again, sounding a little worried. Or was that just my imagination?
I pushed myself free as quickly as I could, almost stumbling again. “I… I’m fine,” I muttered, avoiding those green eyes.
“Be careful,” he said softly, then turned his attention back to the others, as if he hadn’t just caught me in his arms. Good. Stay like that. Don’t pay me any extra attention.
“Are you okay?” Rose, looking both shocked and worried, held my hand.
“Yeah… I’m fine.” I forced a smile.
“But you look like you just saw a ghost.” Then she leaned closer and whispered teasingly, “Or was it because our sexy mentor caught you in his arms?”
“What?” I pouted at her, but my heart betrayed me by beating harder. And when I looked around, I caught several girls from our group watching me with thinly veiled envy.
Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have anything to do with that man! I’d rather have fallen and broken my hip than been caught by him. I wanted to scream those words out.
Oblivious to all of this, our bubbly peer mentor Sandy clapped her hands. “Okay, everyone! Move on. Let’s see the science block!”
Everyone started walking again. Raphael slipped to the rear, his expression unreadable as always. He didn’t look at me once after that humiliating incident… yet why did I still feel his eyes on me? Something was seriously wrong with my head. Why would someone like him—prince charming to everyone else—watch me?
The tour ended late in the afternoon. Everyone was tired but excited. Sandy raised her flag one last time.
“We’ll keep in touch through a group chat. You’ll be informed about our next activity soon. Classes begin next week, so you have one more day to explore and get familiar with the campus. And if you need help, you can always contact me or Raphael. Though…” She winked at the group, then at her stoic partner. “I have a feeling most of you will be contacting Raphael, not me!”
The girls giggled, and a few boys shouted, “We’ll contact you, Sandy!”
But Raphael didn’t react at all, even with everyone staring at him. His indifference made it seem like no one would dare approach him.
“And before we wrap up, we’ll need one representative,” Raphael said, finally breaking his silence. “Someone to coordinate between us and the group.”
Before I could pray myself invisible, Rose spoke up. “Enya would be perfect! She was our class rep for years in high school.”
I whipped my head toward her. “Rose!”
I love you, girl, but right now I hate you with everything in me.
She just winked. “You’ll thank me later.”
Of course. I’ll thank you for pushing me closer to the very person I’m trying to escape.
“I—” I tried to protest, but the rest of the group was already nodding in agreement. Sandy clapped happily.
“Wonderful! Thank you, Enya!”
Thank me for what? Did I ever say I’d do this?
“We’ll contact you with details,” Sandy added brightly.
I plastered on a weak smile, though inside I was screaming.
Perfect. Fate was determined to chain me to Raphael in this life. However, I would ensure that this remained strictly a mentor-and-mentee relationship. Nothing more.
When I finally got home, I was utterly exhausted. My head throbbed.
I collapsed onto my bed and covered my face with my hands. Today had been too much: seeing Raphael again, being assigned to his group, becoming the representative. And worst of all, the way he caught me, the way his deep voice said my name.
It shouldn’t mean anything. If someone else were going to fall, he would’ve caught them, too.
So why did it feel so different? Was it because, in my past life, he would have let me fall… but this time he chose to catch me?
God, I needed to stop thinking about him.
The buzz of my phone snapped me out of my spiral. I sat up.
It was a message from an unknown number.
"Enya, it’s Raphael, your peer mentor. I’m sending you the list of your teammates and their numbers. I’ll also include Sandy’s contact. Please create a group chat and add us all."
Raphael.
It was Raphael.
My hands trembled as I read it. It was perfectly normal, exactly what a mentor should send. Polite. Harmless. So why did my chest tighten?
Another message came, Sandy’s number and a file with the rest.
I forced myself to breathe. Calm. To survive, I had to stay calm.
Me: Okay, I’ll create the group and add everyone :)
I tried to sound friendly and polite, nothing more.
Almost instantly, the two blue ticks appeared. He’d read it. So fast… as if he’d been waiting.
I set the phone down.
Breathe. It was just business.
Then my phone buzzed again.
"Have you eaten?"
My heart stopped.
What?
I read it again. This wasn’t business. Why would my mentor ask me that?
Another message popped up.
"Sorry. That was meant for another chat. Ignore it."
I almost threw my phone against the wall. Was he trying to give me a heart attack?
Of course it was an innocent mistake. But what unsettled me was imagining Raphael asking anyone that question. The Raphael I knew never cared about anyone but himself.
I replied with a simple smiley, and he read it instantly. Then—silence.
I shut my eyes tightly, willing myself to forget everything. But the thought haunted me: What if it wasn’t a mistake? Raphael doesn’t make careless mistakes.
But why on earth would he want to ask me that?
I was being silly. I had to forget about him. Focus on something else.
The phone buzzed again. My pulse quickened. What now?
But this time, it wasn’t him. It was the unknown number.
"Hope your first day of college was wonderful. Wish you an even more wonderful day tomorrow."
A wonderful day? How could seeing him again be considered wonderful?
Maybe whoever sent these texts knew my past and could predict my future. But they didn’t know my heart. They didn’t know what I truly needed.
Another wonderful day tomorrow? I doubted it.
- Writer
