TAINTED HEARTS (ENGLISH)

TAINTED HEARTS 23

Chapter 23

“You’re not in the park. Dating and flirting are inappropriate inside school.” Lennox darkly looked at Kian.

“Yes, sir.”

I bit my lip when I saw Kian’s embarrassment. He was just trying to take my book when Lennox happened to pass by. I got out of the car before he entered the parking area. That’s what we’ve been doing now since a student almost saw us in the parking lot. So now, we’ve become more careful.

As soon as I entered, I immediately ran into Kian. He was smiling and still wearing their uniform. He had no reason to be here, so it seemed he came just for me.

“My class will start soon. I’ll take my student with me if you don’t need anything from her.”

Kian stared at me. Then he nodded and smiled. I awkwardly smiled back when he waved goodbye at me.

“Tss!”

I looked at the grumpy man beside me. He always looked sexy just by wearing a pair of glasses. He undeniably looked strict but hot.

“Are you sure that you don’t like him?” His eyes were mad inside his glasses.

“I don’t!”

“If you really don’t like him, then why don’t you stop him from courting you?!”

I glanced around to see if there were any students nearby. They were far enough that they wouldn’t hear us, even though this was something we should only be talking about in private.

“How could I stop him if he’s not courting me?”

He rolled his eyes and started walking. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were clearly angry even behind his glasses.

“Are you dumb?”

My eyes widened, and I laughed even though the word stung my ears. I wanted to pull him to stop him from walking, but we were in the corridor, and too many people would notice if I did that.

“I’m not!” I answered, still laughing.

“If you’re not dumb, then why don’t you have any idea that he’s already courting you? He doesn’t study here, but he still comes to see you! What do you think he’s doing that for?”

I pouted and fell silent. Before we reached the classroom, he stopped walking. He faced me.

“If he comes back tomorrow, stop him immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah!” I said, laughing.

“Answer properly, Xena.” His lips were pressed tight, looking as though he was trying hard not to shout.

I puckered my lips to stop myself from laughing.

“Yes, sir.” I bit my lip harder since his angry look didn’t fade.

He adjusted his glasses, then turned his back on me. He walked straight into the classroom.

Smiling, I followed behind him. I let him go first and blended in with my classmates who were just entering. Our eyes met when I entered. He shook his head in dismay, which only made my smile bigger. I didn’t know why. Maybe I just wanted to see him like this—jealous.

“Are you giddy?” Abigail sharply asked as I passed by her seat.

I froze for a moment. I glanced at Lennox, who was in front. Did she hear us talking? Did she—

My thoughts were cut when she continued her question.

“Are you giddy because you met Evans?”

I studied her face. Without thinking, I just nodded. “Ah… yes.”

I glanced again at the grumpy man in front. I took a deep breath. I thought Abigail was referring to him.

“Is this your first time being courted by a handsome guy? Look at you! Your smile is irritating!”

Abigail rolled her eyes before returning to her friends to chat. My lips twitched, and I continued to my own seat.

I think Kian Evans is about my age. He is cute and handsome, but I didn’t find him attractive. He had the look of a campus crush, but he never caught my attention. I lifted my gaze to the front. The man’s strong arms rested on the desk as he spoke. His voice was cold and stern, just like his eyes.

I smiled and dreamily rested my chin on my palm. I watched every movement of his lips as he spoke. Even the way he wrote on the board and simply rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt amazed me.

I couldn’t help but sigh every time his firm arms showed through the fabric of his clothes. Whenever the light hit the bar necklace inside his dress shirt, I couldn’t stop my eyes from going to his chest. I bit my lip, remembering how cold it felt when it brushed against the tip of my chest.

My head dropped into my hand when suddenly, I caught his eyes. We looked at each other. He shook his head and arranged his things. My classmates were already starting to leave. I hadn’t even noticed that his class was over because I was too busy staring at him.

I left first to wait for him at the waiting shed near the school. Not many students passed by here since most had their own vehicles. There was no need to walk this way.

The wind was cool, and the sky was overcast. It had started to drizzle. I kept glancing at the corner where Lennox’s car would appear. This was something I insisted on. I would get off here and be picked up here too. I was scared that students might see us again in the parking lot.

On my third glance, my eyes widened in shock when I saw the quick steps of Mama’s former partner. He was coming straight at me. It looked like he had been stalking me, and now he finally got the chance to attack.

I never thought he would find out which school I attended; that he might be waiting for me here.

I stood up and stepped back. Before he could reach me, I started running away. I kept glancing back because he was chasing me.

Just like before, his eyes were red, and his cheeks were more sunken. His hair was different too. It used to be long, but now it was completely bald. Maybe because he was afraid the authorities would catch him, so he tried to change his appearance.

The rain poured hard. On my next glance back, I spun around when I suddenly didn’t see him anymore—like he vanished into thin air. I clutched my bag tightly, trying to keep my eyes open despite the rain blurring my vision.

“I’ll kill you!”

I screamed. I swung my bag at him when he grabbed my arm from behind. I was trembling from the cold and fear, but I managed to keep running when he let go of me.

His red eyes glared. Again, he ran fast to chase me. The street was empty. If there were any vehicles that saw us, they’d probably just think we were running because of the heavy rain.

I gasped and froze when I ended up in a closed alley. The gate was tall, and a huge padlock hung there. I turned and leaned against the gate to face Amel. A large knife was in his hand. I raised my trembling hands and covered my quivering lips.

“Be thankful you had money back then, or else I would have killed you and your family! You’re ungrateful! You even had me jailed!”

I broke down in sobs and sank to the ground in weakness. I had no strength left to answer him. We were drenched in rain. The sky was dark from the thick clouds. There was nothing around I could use to fight back.

“I’ll kill you! After you, I’ll go after your family!”

He raised his hand with the knife. I shut my eyes tight and screamed. I just waited for it to strike me because I was exhausted from running. I couldn’t even move my stiff fingers from the cold and fear.

Several seconds passed, yet I didn’t feel any pain. No knife struck me. The rain kept pouring. My tears kept falling when I opened my eyes.

In the distance, a man was grappling with Amel. He had already disarmed him, and the knife was far away in the alley. Even blurry in my sight, I knew his back all too well.

Amel was already pinned beneath him, and he kept raining punches down on him. His eyes were full of rage, and he didn’t stop even after Amel lost consciousness.

I worried when I saw blood on his side. He was taller and bigger than Amel, so it was no surprise he quickly disarmed and took him down. But still… he was wounded? Was he stabbed?

Some men appeared, probably the ones who heard my scream earlier. They came from behind the building, and judging from their uniforms, I guessed it was a restaurant. They quickly rushed over to Lennox. They froze at the sight of the unconscious man on the ground. One of them ordered to call the police.

Lennox was breathing heavily as the men restrained him. If they didn’t, he probably would have beaten Amel to death. Weak as I was, I forced myself to stand straight.

“Lennox…” I called softly, just enough for him to hear.

His anger still hadn’t left as he stood to come closer to me. The police arrived. I approached Lennox, crying as I walked to him, then I held the source of the blood on his side.

“It’s just a graze,” he whispered and pulled me into his arms.

I wept against his chest. I really thought earlier that it was the end for me. Before Lennox arrived, I even wished in my mind that he would come, even if it was impossible since he didn’t know where I was. Even if it seemed unlikely. Even when I thought it wasn’t possible. But here he was now, holding me.

“He’s caught now. This won’t happen again. Don’t be afraid anymore.”

I nodded. His embrace was tight. The cold I felt earlier slowly faded away. I only pulled back from Lennox when the police started talking to him.

“Can you walk?” he asked after speaking with the police.

I smiled and stepped toward his car. He turned off the aircon as soon as I got in. I was still trembling from what happened and from the cold. The heavy rain didn’t help. I couldn’t see the road anymore, and Lennox had slowed down his driving.

We got stuck on the way home to his house. There were many cars that weren’t moving. He reached for the jacket on the back seat and draped it over me. We were both wet, so I was sure he was cold too, but he still put me first.

“Why can’t we go through? Is there a problem on the road?” he asked a man by the side of the car when he opened the window.

“Flooded! Small cars can’t get through! They’ll sink! Only trucks can pass!” the man shouted because of the loud rain.

Lennox nodded, thanked him, and closed the window again. He backed up and looked around at the motels we could stop at.

“We’re fully book, boss! Lots of people are stranded because of the flooded roads!” That was all he kept hearing.

Lennox looked at me worriedly. I bit my trembling lip. Even with the air conditioner off, it was still cold inside because of the rain.

He exhaled deeply and drove again. After a few minutes, we stopped in front of a building.