Rumored To Be His

chapter 2

Twenty minutes late. I rushed through the school gate with my bag hanging heavily from my shoulder, every step feeling more difficult than the last. Exhaustion weighed down my entire body, but slowing down wasn't an option. Between working night shifts at the convenience store, helping at the cafe in the mornings, and somehow finding enough time to attend my classes, I barely had a moment to breathe. My life had become a never-ending cycle of work, school, assignments, and sleepless nights. But I had no choice. My scholarship depended entirely on my grades, and losing it was something I couldn't afford to imagine. If my grades dropped, I wouldn't just lose financial support. I would lose everything I had worked so hard to build.

I slipped quietly into the classroom, hoping I hadn't attracted too much attention.

That was when I saw him.

Of course, Damon was already there.

Damon Sterling sat at the front of the classroom, looking as though he belonged somewhere far more impressive. His sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms in a way that several girls in the class seemed to find distracting. Three students stood around him as he explained something, all of them listening to him with complete fascination, as though every word that came out of his mouth was important enough to remember.

He looked perfect.

Annoyingly perfect.

Even the way he spoke was perfect.

And I hated that.

I quietly made my way to the back of the classroom and dropped into my usual seat, hoping that, for once, Damon Sterling wouldn't notice me.

Unfortunately, Damon noticed everything.

His eyes briefly moved across the room and landed on me.

The moment our gazes almost met, I quickly looked away. The class eventually began, and I forced myself to focus.

But concentrating was almost impossible.

My body was tired. My mind was exhausted. Mrs. Smith was lecturing but I didn't get a single word of what she said. I tried taking notes, tried reading the slides, tried convincing myself that Damon was just another student sitting in the same classroom.

But his presence made that difficult.

It was ridiculous, really.

He wasn't even sitting near me.

Yet somehow, I was always aware of him.

When the class finally ended, the room immediately came alive with the sound of students gathering their books and talking about assignments. I packed my things slowly, deliberately taking my time. All I wanted was to leave, go back to my room, study for a few hours, and maybe—if I was lucky—get enough sleep before another exhausting day began.

"Mia."

I froze.

I knew that voice.

Slowly, I turned around.

Damon was standing a few feet away from me, watching me with that same unreadable expression that always made me wonder what was going on inside his head.

"What?" I asked, perhaps more sharply than necessary.

His expression remained calm, but there was something strange in his eyes. Something I couldn't quite understand.

"Nothing," he said.

I frowned. "Then why did you call my name?"

A small smile appeared on his face.

"I just wanted to see if you would answer."

I stared at him.

"You're impossible."

"And you're interesting."

My heart skipped.

I hated that it did.

Before I could think of a response, Damon's phone suddenly rang.

He glanced down at the screen.

At first, nothing about his expression changed.

Then he answered.

"Hello?"

There was silence.

For several seconds, Damon didn't say anything.

And then his entire face changed.

"What?" he asked sharply.

The colour drained from his face.

I had never seen that expression on him before.

Fear.

Real fear.

"Which hospital?"

My eyes widened.

For the first time since I had known Damon Sterling, he looked genuinely afraid. The confident, arrogant Damon who always seemed to have complete control over everything suddenly looked like someone whose entire world had just collapsed.

"I'll be there."

He ended the call immediately.

"Damon..." I called.

But he was already moving toward the door.

He stopped for only a second and looked back at me.

For a brief moment, our eyes met.

Then he turned around and left.

The classroom became strangely silent after he was gone.

No one seemed to understand what had just happened.

A few minutes later, everyone's phones began vibrating.

Messages appeared one after another.

The class group chat exploded.

Damon's little brother has been in a car accident.

He has been rushed to the hospital.

He's in critical condition.

My stomach tightened as I stared at the messages.

I didn't know his little brother.

I barely knew Damon.

So why did I suddenly feel so worried?

For him.

Later that evening, I returned to my room completely exhausted.

My roommates were already asleep, their quiet breathing filling the darkness as I dropped my bag beside my bed and checked the time.

10:00 PM.

Any normal person would have gone straight to sleep.

I should have been sleeping too.

Instead, I opened my books.

Exams were getting closer, and I couldn't afford to fall behind. No matter how exhausted I was, I knew I had to keep going. My future depended on it.

I had barely started reading when my phone buzzed.

I reached for it without thinking.

Then my heart stopped.

Damon.

For several seconds, I simply stared at his name on my screen.

Then I opened the message.

Meet me at the rooftop of the main building. Now.

My eyes immediately moved to the clock.

It was almost midnight.

Why would Damon want to see me?

Especially after what had happened earlier.

His brother was in critical condition.

He had left the classroom looking terrified.

And now, hours later, he was asking me to meet him alone on a rooftop in the middle of the night.

I told myself not to go.

I told myself to ignore the message.

Whatever Damon wanted had nothing to do with me.

I didn't know him.

I didn't owe him anything.

And meeting him alone at midnight was probably the worst idea I had ever considered.

But curiosity was stronger than fear.

So, against my better judgment, I went.

The rooftop was freezing.

The cold wind immediately moved through my hair as I stepped outside, sending a shiver through my body. The campus below was almost completely dark, and the distant sounds of the city seemed strangely quiet from that height.

For a moment, I thought I was alone.

Then I saw him.

Damon stood near the edge of the rooftop with his hands buried inside his pockets. His back was turned toward me as he stared into the darkness.

He looked different.

Quieter.

Smaller somehow.

Almost broken.

"You called me?" I asked.

Damon slowly turned around.

He wasn't smiling.

That alone made me nervous.

"I know you heard about what happened today," he said.

I swallowed.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Damon took one step toward me.

Then another.

"Stop pretending."

My heart began beating faster.

"I wasn't pretending."

He stared directly into my eyes, and suddenly, I wished I had never come.

"Everyone thinks they know me," he said quietly.

I remained silent.

"They think they know who Damon Sterling is."

His voice was low, almost bitter.

"Rich. Perfect. Arrogant."

I folded my arms.

"Aren't you?"

For the first time, something almost like pain crossed his face.

Then he laughed softly.

But there was no humour in it.

"You don't know anything about me, Mia."

"Then why did you bring me here?"

Damon moved closer.

Too close.

I could barely breathe.

The cold wind continued blowing around us, but suddenly, I felt warm.

Too warm.

"Because you're the only person who looks at me differently."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

For several seconds, he simply stared at me.

Then his hand slowly lifted.

My breath caught.

His fingers gently brushed against my cheek.

My entire body froze.

His touch was warm against my cold skin.

"Damon—"

"You're interesting, Mia Black."

I quickly stepped back.

His eyes darkened.

"You realize something?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"You're the only person who looks at me like that."

"Like what?"

For a moment, he didn't answer.

The silence between us became heavier.

Then he moved closer again.

"Like you can see through me."

The wind suddenly felt colder.

I didn't know what to say.

I didn't know why my heart was racing so fast.

And I definitely didn't understand why Damon Sterling—a guy who barely seemed human when it came to showing emotions—was standing in front of me and looking at me as though I was the only person in the world.

Then his expression changed.

Something softer appeared in his eyes.

Something dangerous.

Something that made my stomach twist.

"You shouldn't have come here tonight, Mia."

My breath caught.

"What?"

Damon smiled.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

"Because now, I don't think I can stay away from you."

My heart stopped.

For one terrifying second, I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak.

I could only stand there and stare at him while the meaning of his words slowly sank into my mind.

And for the first time, I realized something that frightened me more than anything else.

Maybe Damon Sterling wasn't the problem.

Maybe he had never been the danger.

Maybe...

The real danger was me.

Because somewhere between his arrogant smiles, his unreadable eyes, and the broken guy I had seen standing alone on that rooftop...

I was already falling for him.