CHAPTER FOUR – THE MORNING HE SAW HER DIFFERENTLY
1392 Words
The sun hadn’t fully risen when Bella walked across the empty courtyard. The air was still cold, the kind that stung her cheeks softly, but she didn’t mind. She needed the silence. She needed the distraction. She needed something stronger than the humiliation clinging to her from yesterday.
She held a fresh folder of papers against her chest, gripping them tightly as if they were her last hope.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, the dean’s voice echoed—
You have no skills except being a nerd.
Her heart twisted again.
But Bella wasn’t the kind of girl who cried twice for the same thing.
She pushed open the resource room door. The lights flickered awake, and she breathed in the familiar dusty smell. She sat down, smoothed the papers, and began typing.
The new sponsorship file.
Her hands moved quickly, professionally, forcing her focus to stay sharp. She didn’t have time to break. She didn’t have time to feel.
She definitely didn’t have time for Max.
So when the door opened, she didn’t even turn around.
But she sensed him.
She always sensed him — like the air shifted around him.
Max stepped inside quietly. He didn’t slam the door. He didn’t throw his bag. He didn’t whistle or joke or do anything that showed he wanted to annoy her.
He just stood there.
Watching her.
The morning light from the sole window fell on Bella’s hair, turning it a warm, soft brown. Her fingers moved fast, her brows slightly furrowed. She looked tired. Really tired. And the sight made something pinch in Max’s chest again.
He hadn’t meant for things to go that far.
He’d wanted competition. Fun. A challenge. Not tears. Not fear. Not… her voice breaking the way it did.
For the first time in years, Max didn’t know how to start a conversation.
Bella didn’t look at him. She kept typing.
He moved closer until he was standing beside her table. She still ignored him.
Finally, she said without looking up, her voice low but sharp:
“Haven’t you had enough humiliation fun with me already?”
Max blinked.
He deserved that.
“Bella…” he said softly.
She didn’t stop typing.
Max exhaled and spoke again, this time slower, not mocking, not arrogant—almost sincere.
“I’m… truly sorry.”
Her fingers froze for a second.
He continued.
“I wanted to create this tit-for-tat thrill. Competition. I never knew—”
He hesitated.
“—that you were… a good girl.”
Bella finally looked at him.
Her eyes weren’t angry. They were confused.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Max rubbed the back of his neck, searching for words he wasn’t used to saying.
“Girls who come to this college…” he shrugged, “they’re mostly spoiled. Money, attitude, zero responsibility.”
Bella stood up slowly, placing both palms on the table.
“Well, they all are just girls,” she said, voice steady.
“I’m a woman. I have responsibilities. I have a future to build. I have a single mother to take care of. I don’t have time to be spoiled. I want to be powerful.”
Max stared at her.
Really stared.
There it was.
The fire.
The spine.
The woman she was.
And he saw her differently.
Not as a nerd. Not as a challenge.
But as someone who carried the weight of her life with quiet strength.
A smile — real, warm — spread across Max’s face.
“You will be,” he said.
His voice was soft but sure.
“You will be, Bella.”
Her breath stopped for a moment.
He had never called her by her name before.
And when he said it, something fluttered in her chest. Something new. Something confusing. Something… pretty.
Bella looked away quickly, pretending to fix her papers, but Max had already seen the faint redness creeping up her neck.
Max left the room after a moment, still smiling absently—thinking about her words, her eyes, her determination.
He didn’t know what it meant.
But it felt good.
⸻
AFTERNOON – THE COLLEGE HOLDS ITS BREATH
The cafeteria was loud, crowded, buzzing with gossip as usual. Students laughed, shouted, teased each other.
But when Max entered, the noise dipped.
Everyone knew who he was.
Boys admired him. Girls stared at him. People moved aside automatically to make space for him.
He walked straight—past the racers, the influencers, the noisy table full of rich kids—and stopped in front of Bella.
She was sitting alone, quietly eating her lunch. She never blended in with the flashy crowd. She never tried to. She always carried herself like she had bigger things to think about than gossip.
Max stood in front of her table.
Silence dropped around them.
Every eye turned.
Bella looked up, startled.
Max leaned down slightly.
“Come on,” he said.
“Let’s look at the file together.”
A collective gasp spread across the cafeteria.
Bella blinked.
“W-what?”
“Come on,” he repeated casually. “Bring your food if you want.”
For a moment, she considered refusing. But something in his tone—something not mocking, not fake—made her stand.
Softly, she followed him.
People whispered instantly.
Why her?
What is he doing?
Since when do they talk?
Is Max actually helping someone?
Bella felt their stares burning her back, but she stayed silent.
Max pulled out a chair beside him and motioned for her to sit. She placed the folder gently on the table.
He opened it.
Instantly, his eyes sharpened—professional, focused, surprisingly skilled.
He pointed at a paragraph.
“These fonts should be more formal. Elegant, not decorative.”
She leaned in, watching his fingers move confidently.
He continued.
“And the headings should differ more. Give them contrast so they stand out.”
His hand slid down the page.
“Decrease the size here—this paragraph is too heavy. Add spacing between segments so readers don’t lose interest.”
Bella stared.
He looked… serious.
Smart.
Precise.
Almost… impressive.
She had heard rumors that Max was good at design work, but she had always assumed it was exaggerated. Now she saw it firsthand.
She found herself staring at him.
His jawline.
His lashes.
The way he focused.
The unexpected intelligence in his suggestions.
He caught her staring.
His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smirk.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
He leaned closer.
“Are you falling in love or something?”
Bella snapped out of the trance instantly.
“No!” she said, snatching the file from him.
Max laughed, leaning back with amusement.
Bella stood up.
“And look at your own mistakes more,” she shot back sharply, “because if you had fewer, the first place would be yours too.”
Max froze.
The cafeteria froze.
He stared at her, shocked.
People never said that to him.
No one ever challenged the Voltori prince.
He cleared his throat.
“What does that even mean? You don’t like being first?”
Bella sighed softly, as if explaining something obvious to a child.
“I wanted funding for this college,” she said.
“Not a poster saying I’m first.”
He frowned.
She continued, voice steady and simple:
“I want a secure future while doing this degree. Not a quiz champion title that lasts ten minutes.”
Max felt something inside him soften.
Simple.
Honest.
Real.
He liked that.
More than he should.
Bella gathered her things. She looked at him—just once—with a small, shy smile.
“Bye, Max,” she said quietly.
It was the first time she said his name.
Max felt the warmth from that single word.
“Bye, Bella,” he replied, his voice gentler than he meant.
She blushed. Actually blushed. And walked away.
As soon as she did, a girl sitting near the window leaned toward her friend and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear:
“She’s nothing. Again, she’s nothing.”
Max heard it.
His jaw clenched.
He turned slowly.
The girl froze under his stare.
And for the first time in a long time—
Max wanted to defend someone.
Wanted to defend Bella.
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