Back To His 18, I’m Not His Love

Chapter 3

Sylvia's POV:

Adrian actually signed up for a tutoring class. Every night after evening study hall, he'd drag me along to attend with him.

This went on until Sunday, when he burst into my house carrying bags of groceries and made a racket banging around in the kitchen.

Before long, he emerged with a plate of pepper steak strips and set it down in front of me.

The moment I saw that fragrant, steaming plate, I froze.

After we got together, the very first dish he ever made for me was pepper steak strips.

Adrian held out a fork. "Go on, try it!"

I picked up the fork and took a bite. That familiar flavor exploded across my tongue, and memories that belonged only to us drifted slowly to the surface of my mind.

It had only been 11 months, yet it felt longer than a lifetime.

In my memory, 45-year-old Adrian gazed at me with deep tenderness. "You're the only person I've ever cooked for in my entire life."

The sweetness of the past burned behind my eyes until they went red.

Adrian panicked immediately. "Just tell me whether it's good or not! Why are your eyes red?"

Two faces overlapped before me, one young and one old, and I forced my emotions down. "It's good."

I reached for a second piece, but Adrian swatted my hand away.

He packed the rest into a lunch container. "I made this specifically for Bianca. Pepper steak strips are his favorite."

So before me, he had cooked for someone else after all.

Of course, the person he truly liked was Bianca.

I gripped the fork tight and said nothing.

Adrian had already finished packing and was tugging me toward the door. "What are you standing there for? I need you to deliver this to Bianca!"

When we reached the base of Bianca's apartment building, he pressed the container into my hands. "Make sure you tell her I spent days figuring out the recipe and made it all by hand."

Jealousy churned in my stomach, but I still didn't refuse. I turned and walked into the building.

I had barely reached the third floor when I heard Bianca and his deskmate, Evan Chase, talking on the landing above.

"Bianca, you haven't actually fallen for that Adrian guy, have you?"

Then Bianca's clear, bright voice answered.

"I just think he's better-looking than most people, so I talk to him a bit more. That's all."

"But I heard he signed up for tutoring and has been studying like crazy lately. Maybe he really could get into a top university."

"If he actually gets in, I'll humor him for a couple of years. Let him have his little dream."

Listening to Bianca speak with that lofty, charitable tone, indignation flared inside me.

I had watched Adrian pour everything into his efforts these past days.

Maybe his feelings were one-sided, but Bianca had no right to trample on his sincerity like that.

I stormed up the remaining stairs with fury boiling in my chest and called out to Bianca just as he was about to go inside.

"Bianca, everyone's effort deserves respect. What gives you the right to toy with Adrian?"

Bianca stared at me for a beat, then his voice turned icy. "He's the one enjoying himself. Why are you sticking your neck out for him? Sylvia, your grades are decent and you have a bright future ahead of you. Stop trailing after Adrian like you're his dog."

I was struck speechless.

When I thought about it, I had been inseparable from Adrian for 11 months, doing whatever he asked without question. It was only natural Bianca would see it that way.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

I stared at the lunch container in my hands and trudged back the way I came.

When Adrian saw me still carrying the container, he frowned immediately. "Why didn't you give it to him?"

My gaze darted away. "...Bianca wasn't home."

Adrian studied my face, searching for any c***k in the lie.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Then you eat it. Don't let it go to waste."

I stared at the container in my hands, a faint ache swelling in my chest.

I never imagined that the first time I'd taste Adrian's homemade pepper steak strips in this timeline, it would be something Bianca had rejected.

The next day, Adrian didn't come to wake me for the first time, and I nearly overslept.

I rushed into the classroom, and as I passed Bianca's desk, she gave me an inexplicable look. The coldness in it sent a chill down my spine.

Instinctively, I glanced back at Adrian in the row behind me.

His eyes held a detachment I had never seen before.

Before I could even process what was happening, Adrian grabbed my wrist and pulled me straight out to the stairwell.

His accusations hit me like a slap to the face.

"Whether Bianca likes me back or not, I'm happy following her around. What gave you the right to go yell at her? No wonder things between me and Bianca have been moving so slowly. You've been sabotaging us this whole time!"

The color drained from my face and I shot back immediately. "I didn't!"

But Adrian's expression remained hard, and his voice dropped to a warning. "Sylvia, if you lie to me again, we're done. Permanently."

He brushed past me and walked back to the classroom.

I stood frozen for a long time before I managed to swallow the bitterness and grief and return to class.

The group leader happened to be collecting homework just then, and I hastily handed over my notebook.

A few minutes later, the group leader called my name from the podium. "Sylvia, how come you turned in two notebooks?"

I looked up, and my heart lurched.

My diary had been tucked inside my homework notebook.

I scrambled to retrieve it, but Blair Hale, the class troublemaker, snatched the diary first.

She flipped through a few pages, then announced to the entire class with gleeful excitement, "Adrian Shaw! This is Sylvia's diary about her secret crush on you!"