Chapter 14
919 Words
James’s POV – “Something’s Off”
It started with a missed lunch.
Bianca texted him that she had a headache and needed to nap between classes. He didn’t question it—everyone got exhausted sometimes. He dropped off soup at her door with a smiley face sticky note. No reply.
The next day, she ghosted their late library session. When he asked, she blamed a group study for psych and said, “Rain check?”
But something about the way she said it felt off. Too formal. Too light.
By Friday, he knew something was wrong.
He saw her walking out of class and called out, “B?”
She didn’t turn.
He jogged up beside her. “Hey, I’ve been trying to catch you all week.”
She glanced up, smile brief, eyes guarded. “Yeah, it’s been a crazy one.”
“I noticed.” He matched her stride. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
Liar.
“Bianca, talk to me.”
She stopped, arms folded tightly over her chest. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
His jaw tightened. “Is this about the photo?”
She didn’t answer.
“Bianca.”
Finally, she looked at him, and the sadness in her eyes sliced deeper than any words.
“I get it, James. Okay?” she said softly. “You don’t owe me an explanation. It was just a photo.”
“It was just a photo,” he said, frustration rising. “You know that.”
She gave a hollow smile. “Yeah. But some pictures say a thousand words.”
“Bianca—” He reached for her hand, but she stepped back.
“Please don’t,” she whispered. “Not if you’re just going to break my heart in high definition.”
Then she turned and walked away, disappearing into a sea of students.
And James stood there, stunned, cold all over, his heart pounding with a single thought:
“I’m losing her.”
LATER THAT DAY
Grand Gesture for Bianca
He found her by the riverwalk at dusk, sitting alone with earbuds in. She didn’t look up when he approached, not until he sat beside her and held out a single white peony.
Her favorite.
She looked at it. Then at him.
“I’m not giving up on us,” he said quietly. “No matter how loud the noise gets.”
Bianca’s eyes welled up. “You don’t get it, James. Your world—it doesn’t want me.”
He scooted closer. “Then I’ll change the world.”
She let out a broken laugh. “You sound insane.”
“I am,” he said. “Insanely in love.”
She swallowed hard, fingers brushing the edge of the flower. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to. I need to. Because without you, it all feels hollow. The fancy dinners. The legacy. Even the future.”
Bianca stared at him, emotions storming behind her eyes.
He reached for her hand. “Let’s draw our own line. Screw the rules. Screw the pressure. Just us, Bianca.”
A beat.
Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him like the world had gone quiet.
When they broke apart, she whispered against his lips, “One condition.”
“Anything.”
“No more surprises. If you need me to stay… you tell me.”
James cupped her face. “Stay. Forever, if you’ll have me.”
Bianca’s POV – The Bee Incident
The moment was perfect.
The riverwalk. The golden haze of sunset. James’s soft laughter still lingering from one of her bad puns. The peony resting in her lap—its petals already half-wilted from being crushed in the emotional whirlwind of the last few days.
And then… the bee.
It buzzed lazily near James’s collar, oblivious to how close it was to ruining everything.
Bianca flinched. “Don’t move,” she warned.
He froze. “Why? Is this one of those ‘let me kiss you while you’re still talking’ tricks?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. Bee. Neck. Hold still.”
He blinked. “What?”
But she was already moving. She grabbed the peony and swatted at the bee with what she hoped was grace—but in reality, probably looked more like a panicked tennis serve.
The bee zipped away, but James recoiled anyway. “Ow—Bianca! You just hit me with my own romantic gesture!”
She laughed, mortified. “It was a weapon of necessity!”
Unbeknownst to them, a passerby had paused long enough to raise their phone. A click. A tap. A post.
By the time they got back to campus, Twitter was already on fire.
@vipersnapped:
> when your broke gf starts acting like she owns him
#GoldDiggerSwat #HeDeservesBetter #NaomiWouldNever
Attached was the picture: Bianca mid-swat, her expression intense, James recoiling, the peony midair. Completely out of context. Completely viral.
It didn’t take long for her phone to light up with group chats, mentions, and gut-twisting anxiety.
#BiancaTheBrute trended before dinner.
Someone even slowed down the video and paired it with dramatic music, titling it "When she smells money and goes feral."
Bianca stared at the screen in disbelief. Then at James, who had just seen it, too.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she muttered, heart pounding.
James slid beside her, brushing a thumb over her cheek. “We can fix this.”
But she wasn’t so sure anymore.
- Writer
