*Isabella's POV*
"I was behind on my tuition, and the Dean won't even let me take my finals," I said, the words rushing out in a torrent of shame and frustration. "I can't pay it. I have no money." I looked down at my hands, unable to stand the cold weight of his gaze.
"And why were you so reluctant to tell me?" he asked, his voice sharp, like he was interrogating a witness.
"Because I don't need my goddamn boyfriends to pay my tuition!" I retorted, my head snapping up, a flash of my old fire returning. "No, no. I'd prefer not to graduate at all." The words were defiant, but they tasted like a lie even to me.
"Isabella," Damien said, his tone shifting, becoming calmer, more reasonable, which was somehow even more terrifying. "It's not your boyfriends who will pay your tuition. You know
