Hearts in Turmoil

Chapter 11: Caught in the Act

Lily looked at the man in front of her and thought her face was probably even paler than Grace's.

She turned and ran.

But Luke tripped on the hem of her dress and yanked her back by her waistband, like she was a little chick. He gave her waist a little squeeze and gave a little smirk, "Nice waist, too."

Lily's face turned red, and under the black dress, she was practically glowing.

"You're a busty, slim-waisted girl like that—how did you manage to upset Jason?" Luke whispered in her ear. "Girls like that usually have guys lining up for them."

Lily was at a loss.

If Jason had said something like that, she would have given him a look that said she didn't appreciate it. Ethan, on the other hand, was pretty indifferent and emotionless. He'd slept with her twice and never even complimented her, as if he didn't see her as attractive at all.

Lily had never been spoken to like this before.

"My apologies, but I'm not your date." "I should be leaving," Lily said with an awkward smile, trying to escape.

"No problem, you can be my date," Luke said. "You could say no, of course, but if you do, I'll ask you to come with me to see Jason."

Lily felt like she might cry. She gave Grace a pleading look. Hey, can you help me out here?

Grace paused and took a few steps forward. She spoke carefully, "Luke, Lily is my friend. Could you not make things difficult for her?"

Luke looked at Lily with a hint of amusement. "Am I making things difficult for you?"

Lily thought, "You're making this so difficult. I'm about to burst into tears."

"The thing is, she's happy to be with me. "Just handle your own business," Luke said, giving her a final order.

Grace couldn't help her.

She wasn't willing to do that. In their circle, Luke was the worst of the bunch. If Ethan was the shining star the elders loved to praise, Luke was the troublemaker that everyone dreaded.

Grace had been bullied by him quite a bit when she was younger. Now that Luke was smiling pleasantly, she decided not to provoke him.

So, she left her friend.

"Well, Lily, I've got some things to take care of," Grace said, not entirely truthfully. "Luke's a great guy. He's not one to give you a hard time."

Now it was just Luke and Lily.

She was really nervous. She didn't know Luke personally, but she had heard of him. Back in university, she had done something pretty foolish that involved him.

They both went to the same university. One time, she lost a game of truth or dare and ended up writing ten love letters to the most popular guys on campus.

She'd never met Luke before, but he was well-known on campus. So, he got one of those letters.

Lily still remembered one of her classmates joking in Luke's letter that he was a "dear big eagle boy."

It was so embarrassing that she remembered it vividly. To make matters worse, she hadn't even bothered to wear a mask when delivering the letters.

Just thinking about it made Lily want to avoid the situation altogether. She couldn't picture what Luke's reaction had been when he saw that letter.

Fortunately, it seemed as though Luke didn't recognize her. He probably wouldn't remember any of it.

...

Luke guided Lily to a quiet corner.

Lily was eager to wrap up this ordeal, but she was so nervous that she drank from the wrong glass—Luke's.

Her face turned even paler.

When she saw Ethan at the table across from them, her face turned completely white, almost ghostly.

Ethan was dressed impeccably, as usual. He briefly looked at her face, then at Luke, before getting back to his conversation.

Given how things had ended between them, Lily knew she had to get out of there as soon as possible.

Luke gave a little smirk. "What's up?" "You're not thinking about your dear big eagle boy anymore?"

Lily was choked up, her eyes watering as she coughed.

Luke wiped her mouth for her, laughing. "I saw you going into my dorm and putting that love letter under my door. "I saw the whole thing."

Lily was silent.

Luke's grin got even wider. "I also saw you leave one for Ethan's dorm."

Just then, Ethan looked back at their table again.