THE NIGHT WE FORGOT

CHAPTER ONE

Emilia’s POV

It was at an arts party.

One that I didn’t want to be at.

I sat in one corner of the room, watching as conversations floated around me. It was supposed to be the home of some popular and rich arts collector who loaned his space to students in the summer on the assurance that nothing would go missing.

“Come on!” Adrian rolled his eyes as he walked up to me with his third red cup tonight. “Don’t tell me you are going to stay huddled up in here for the rest of the night.”

I shrugged, bringing my glass to my lips and taking a sip. It didn’t burn. That was better than whatever my best friend was having.

“Emilia, you’ve got to be for real. This is the last night of the summer break. Are you going to waste it just sitting here when you could be in that hot pool with the rest of the crowd?”

I paused, bringing the rim of the glass away from my lips. “He has a pool?”

“Apparently,” Ashley laughed, her wet hair sticking to her face as she joined us. “Oh my God! This is so fun! I can’t remember the last time I did something like this. My mother would flip out if she realized her precious little baby was partying instead of reading.”

“Then you should probably…”

“Listen to my mother?” Ashley looked at me like I was delirious. “Hell no! When classes start tomorrow, I am going to go back to the status quo. But for now, let me just enjoy my last night of freedom.”

“Talking about classes,” Adrian started, sliding onto the stool beside me. “Have you guys heard?”

Ashley angled her head. “Heard what?”

“Professor Dudley retired at the end of last semester,” he started, his eyes twinkling with excitement. It wasn’t novel that Adrian was not really a fan of the man. “We are going to be getting another professor tomorrow for behavioural psychology.”

“That’s not good,” Ashley groaned. “What if we get some old woman from an unhappy home, desperate to make us feel every inch of it?”

My best friend shook his head. “I didn’t tell you this, okay?” he whispered, scooting to the edge of the stool. We locked eyes with him immediately, blocking out the rest of the room.

Adrian worked on the school council as the students’ representative. That meant he was privy to every information that passed through that desk. As his friends, we got to hear it all. Only on the condition that no one else heard it from us

And we held it as close to our hearts as the Holy Grail.

“During the last meeting, I heard we are going to be getting some young billionaire. I think his company does something related to tech. Or business. I can’t remember which, but all I know is that everyone is confused. He doesn’t need the University’s money, so why apply to lecture?”

I pulled away from the group, tilting my head. “Are you sure, Adrian?”

“You know I am,” he answered. “It was discussed at the meeting.”

“How much are you willing to bet on the fact that he is going to be as hot as they come?” Ashley muttered excitedly, her legs hitting the ground in no particular fashion. “Oh my God! What if he is hotter? s**t! I’ve got these bangs from the break, but I need to…”

“Slow down, Ashley,” I laughed, surprisingly in a much better mood already. I’d tried not to think about it tonight. About the fact that my scholarship had been temporarily suspended.

Unverified irregularities.

That was another description for “we realized we would rather channel the funds of the school into something more important than a broke student from Illinois.”

I couldn’t afford the tuition. And that meant I probably would never meet this hot-shot billionaire professor. But he was the least of my worries.

“Even if Adrian was right,” I continued, sliding off the stool. “He is probably going to be grumpy. With an attitude that will drive anyone crazy.”

“I would take that as long as he has a hot face,” Ashley said with a grin. I hoped she was joking.

“And where are you going?” Adrian asked as I pushed away from them.

“Taking a tour!” I called over my shoulder, feeling their eyes boring a hole into my back as I disappeared away from view.

***

The music swirled around me while I stood in front of an art piece, staring up at the gigantic frame on the wall in the narrow hallway. It was upside down. The image of a caricature that seemed to have been designed by a toddler, yet had very intricate details.

Like the eyes. They were wide with surprise, like they’d just seen something they shouldn’t have. Its mouth was wide open, and its little hands stretched out, blocked by the limitations of the frame.

Disturbing wasn’t the perfect word to describe it. It was…quite the impression. One that was so hard for me to look away from.

Other pieces lined the hallway, but they were so distinct from this one. With my glass in one hand, and my heels clicking against the floorboards, I made my way further down the hallway, my eyes taking in the bold paintings, some very emotive and others, quite the sight.

A door was cracked open at the end of the hallway, and the lights from the hallway spilled inside. From where I stood, I could make out a bookshelf tucked away in one corner, its assemblage so alluring.

I knew I shouldn’t go in there. The rules were quite clear. Keep away from any room upstairs.

“I am only going to be a minute in there,” I whispered to myself, my feet inching towards the door. I just had to see those books. No one would know I was in there. And besides, what was the fear about?

The man wasn’t coming back until tomorrow. It was the reason the arts club was using his home for the party.

My fingers splayed against the fine wood as I pushed the door open, and my feet ushered me inside, burying my feet in the softest rug I’d ever seen.

An easy smile met my lips as I pushed towards the shelf, my fingers grazing the spines of the books. They were all first editions.

Oh my God.

Was that….

A door cracked open in the distance. I leaned closer to the books, my eyes scanning the titles, when suddenly, the room went still. I froze, my hand still on the shelf, my eyes wide open.

Then, a low voice pierced through the dark.

“What the f**k are you doing in here?”