Hate That I Love You

Chapter 8: The Queen Bee Strikes

Chapter 8: The Queen Bee Strikes

Kael Veyra’s POV

The last thing I wanted was to be the center of attention. But thanks to Draven and that damn gossip post, it was like someone had painted a neon sign above my head that said, Talk About Me.

By Tuesday morning, the whispers had only gotten louder. Everywhere I went, people stared, snickered, and exchanged knowing looks. And Draven? He was eating it up.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I snapped as we walked toward the lecture hall, the stares trailing behind us like a flock of nosy crows.

“Maybe a little,” he said, flashing that infuriating grin. “You’ve gotta admit, it’s kind of funny.”

“It’s not funny. It’s mortifying.”

He shrugged. “Could be worse.”

“How, exactly?”

“We could actually be dating.”

I shot him a withering look, but he just laughed, clearly unbothered by the chaos he’d helped create.

As we reached the lecture hall, I spotted Livia waiting for me near the door, her arms crossed and her expression a mix of amusement and exasperation.

“Enjoying your fifteen minutes of fame?” she asked as I approached.

“Kill me now,” I muttered.

“Hey, at least you’re trending,” she teased, holding up her phone to show me the latest post on the gossip page: a poll titled Kael and Draven: Real or Fake? with hundreds of votes already cast.

“Unbelievable,” I groaned. “This is the last thing I need.”

“Yeah, well, you might have bigger problems,” Livia said, lowering her voice as she glanced over my shoulder.

I turned to see Sera Langford striding toward us, her blonde hair gleaming under the hallway lights and her designer heels clicking sharply against the floor. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a magazine shoot—perfectly polished, perfectly poised, and perfectly pissed off.

“Brace yourself,” Livia whispered. “Here comes the Queen Bee.”

Sera stopped in front of me, her icy blue eyes raking over me with barely concealed disdain.

“So, you’re the new girl,” she said, her voice smooth and sweet, like poison wrapped in silk.

“That’s me,” I said, keeping my tone neutral.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, her lips curving into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You’ve certainly made an impression.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered under my breath.

Her smile tightened. “Just a friendly word of advice, Kael. Draven has a short attention span. He gets bored easily. So don’t get too comfortable.”

Before I could respond, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the faint scent of expensive perfume in her wake.

“Wow,” Livia said, raising her eyebrows. “Subtle.”

“Yeah,” I said, my fists clenched at my sides. “Real subtle.”

By the time I made it to my seat, my nerves were shot. Draven, of course, noticed immediately.

“What did Sera say to you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” I said, pulling out my notebook and avoiding his gaze.

“Kael.”

I sighed. “She just gave me some unsolicited advice. Something about not getting too comfortable because you have a short attention span.”

Draven’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, his usual cocky expression disappeared, replaced by something colder, sharper.

“Forget her,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Doesn’t she, though?” I asked before I could stop myself. “I mean, she does have a history with you, right?”

Draven leaned in, his gaze locking onto mine. His eyes were intense, and his usual smugness was gone, replaced by something that almost looked like sincerity.

“You’re not her, Kael. And I’m not the same guy I was when I was with her. Got it?”

I blinked, momentarily stunned. Draven Ashford didn’t explain himself. He didn’t apologize, didn’t justify, didn’t open up—ever. And yet, here he was, looking at me like he actually wanted me to understand.

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, my voice softer than I intended.

“Because I don’t want you to believe her bullshit,” he said, his tone gruff but not unkind. “And because maybe I actually give a damn what you think.”

I stared at him, my heart racing and my mind scrambling to process what he’d just said. Was this the same Draven Ashford who had spent the past week teasing me relentlessly, who seemed to thrive on driving me crazy? Because right now, he looked serious. Vulnerable, even.

Before I could respond, he leaned back in his seat, his cocky mask slipping back into place as if the moment had never happened.

“Now, let’s focus on more important things,” he said with a lazy grin. “Like how we’re going to crush this presentation.”

And just like that, the moment was over. But as the lecture started, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Draven had looked at me—like he actually cared. And that scared me more than anything Sera Langford could ever say.