THE PUBLIC PROPOSAL
1289 Words
Blackridge Academy had never been this loud before the first periods.
The courtyard overflowed with students dressed in expensive uniforms.Whispers spread wildly from one corner to another.Several girls stood in circles gossiping excitedly while others rushed toward the center courtyard as though a celebrity had arrived.
“Did you hear.Brandon just book the whole courtyard this morning”
“No way.For what?”
“A proposal obviously”
“God if I had a boyfriend willing to do all this for me I would keep him for sure”
“.So who might he be dating”
“I heard he has been chasing you know who”
The last girl subtly tilted her head towards Avery.
Several students glanced her way.
Avery ignored then.
She adjusted the straps of her bag and continued walking towards the lecture halls.Her expression remained calm but something about the atmosphere felt strange today.
Too many people were staring.
Too many whispers stopped when she walked past.
Then suddenly
Her phone vibrated.
Avery lowered her gaze toward the screen.
On the notification bar were several messages sent last night by Brandon .Apologies and pathetic excuses.But one caught her gaze immediately.
Alice’s
“Sister find me urgently”
Avery stared at it longer before replying.
“Ok”
Something uneased beneath her chest.Still.She quickened her pace.
The moment Avery stepped into the main courtyard, she froze slightly.White roses decorated the center fountain.Silver ribbons hung across the stair railings.Students crowded around in excitement while several teachers stood nearby looking annoyed by the noise.
Then a familiar voice called out brightly.
“Sister! Over here!”
Alice waved at her warmly from the center of the courtyard.She looked beautiful today.
Her curled hair rested perfectly over her shoulders and her expensive cream-colored coat hugged her figure elegantly. The moment Avery approached, Alice immediately linked their arms together affectionately.
The crowd suddenly grew quieter.Then one by one.Students lifted their phones.Recording.
Avery’s brows furrowed faintly.
Something felt wrong.Very wrong.
Then the crowd slowly parted.
Brandon walked with a huge bouquet of red roses.
Avery’s favourite.
For a moment surprise crossed her face but was quickly replaced by disgust.
In his hands was a red box.
“Oh my God.”
“He’s actually proposing.”
Brandon slowly walked forward before stopping directly in front of them.
Then.
He knelt.
Everyone gaspped and some closed their phones .
Other pushed in the front to see clearly.
He was on his knee.
But not to Avery but her sister Alice.
Avery’s heartbeat slowed strangely
“Alice,” he began softly. “Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”
The world went silent for one brief second.
Avery stood completely still.
Beside her, Alice covered her mouth dramatically in fake surprise.
“But...” Alice spoke hesitantly. “What about sister?”
The crowd instantly shifted.
Whispers spread viciously.
Several students turned toward Avery mockingly.
“Oh please.”
“She really thought he wanted her?”
“How embarrassing.”
Brandon looked toward Avery coldly.
“It’s Alice I want,” he said clearly. “Why would I want someone like her?”
The cruelty in his voice was deliberate.
Sharp.
Calculated.
“Alice is beautiful. Elegant. A real heiress.” His gaze darkened slightly. “Not some unwanted fatherless stray.”
A faint tightness settled in Avery’s chest.
Not because of Brandon.
Because this entire thing had clearly been planned together.
Yesterday she had broken things off with Brandon after discovering the truth.
The rumors.
The manipulation.
The way he approached her only because he thought the Laines favored her.
And now this.
Public humiliation.
Alice smiled brightly before extending her hand.
“Yes Brandon,” she squealed happily. “I’ll marry you.”
Cheers erupted instantly.
Brandon slipped the ring onto her finger before kissing her dramatically in front of the entire school.
Alice lifted her hand proudly to show off the diamond ring.
But for a brief second
Her smile stiffened.
The ring was small.
Tiny even.
Brandon had promised her a two-carat diamond.
Instead he brought a pathetic quarter-carat ring.
Disappointment flashed briefly across her face before she quickly hid it beneath another smile.
“How dare you stand here after trying to steal your sister’s man?” a girl from the crowd suddenly shouted at Avery.
Several students immediately joined in.
“She’s shameless.”
“A fake heiress acting above her station.”
Her lips curved smugly.
“So what exactly did I steal?”
The crowd burst into laughter.
For a moment Avery said nothing.
Then slowly
“Congratulations, Alice.”
The words came out calm.
She turned to leave.
But Brandon suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.
“Who told you to leave?”
Avery immediately tried pulling away.
“What else do you want from me, Brandon?”
He stepped closer.
Close enough for only her to hear the first few words.
“I want you to understand the difference between you and Alice.”
His lips curled cruelly.
“You were temporary.”
The courtyard quieted again.
Everyone listened.
“Tell me honestly,” Brandon continued mockingly. “Did you actually think I loved you?”
A few students laughed loudly.
“I only approached you because I lost a round of truth or dare.” He looked disgusted just saying it. “Thank God you kept rejecting me because touching you already made my skin crawl.”
Avery’s expression finally shifted slightly.
Not pain.
Something colder.
Brandon did not notice.
“No powerful heir would ever want someone like you,” he continued loudly. “You’re just a scholarship bastard the Laines picked up somewhere in the mountains.”
The crowd erupted again.
“You don’t even know who your parents are.”
“A fatherless stray abandoned because nobody wanted her.”
Alice slowly walked forward next.
“You should be grateful my family even allowed you to take our surname.”
Her voice carried loudly across the courtyard.
“A bastard should know her place.”
Something inside Avery snapped quietly.
Heat rushed violently beneath her skin.
Her nails dug painfully into her palms before splitting the skin completely.
Then
They started growing.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Avery’s breathing became uneven.
Her hearing suddenly sharpened violently.
Every whisper.
Every laugh.
Every heartbeat around her became painfully loud.
Even the distant footsteps of the security guard near the front gates echoed clearly inside her ears.
Her vision blurred slightly before her eyes flashed gold.
The laughter around the courtyard slowly faded.
Several students stared at her nervously now.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Then suddenly
The crowd parted.
Fear spread across the courtyard like wildfire.
Caelan Blackridge had arrived.
His dark academy blazer rested perfectly over his tall frame as he walked through the crowd.
No one dared stand near him.
Students instinctively moved aside before he even reached them.
His presence alone felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Every step he took landed like pressure against the courtyard.
Avery lifted her gaze slowly toward him.
Caelan’s sharp eyes settled directly on her.
Then the atmosphere changed.
Brandon immediately straightened nervously.
“Young Master Caelan,” he laughed awkwardly. “You should stay away from trash like her before her stench reaches.”
The punch landed before he finished speaking.
Brandon’s body crashed violently onto the marble pavement.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Blood dripped slowly from Brandon’s split mouth as he stared upward in shock.
Caelan calmly tossed a black card onto his chest.
“This should cover your medical bills.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then.
Caelan turned toward Avery.
And caught her scent fully for the first time.
Ancient.
Wild.
His wolf snapped awake instantly.
Mine.
- Writer
