When I Knew The Truth, I Left Him

Chapter 3

Talia's POV:

"Ronan, thank you for looking out for me. You're right. I should know my place... and there's no sense clinging to one person forever.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother these past months. Don't worry, I won't trouble you again."

Every word drew a clear line between us, putting all my feelings to rest.

Ronan's mouth curled into a cold sneer. He rapped his knuckles lightly against the table.

"Talia, you said it yourself. What if you change your mind later?"

"I mean every word." I said firmly.

"Every word, hm?" A sharp, ugly glint flashed in his eyes. "Well, don't forget to send me an invitation to the wedding."

The farce ended in a way none of them had expected. Even so, one question kept circling in my head.

When exactly had he hypnotized me?

Back in my dorm room, I stared at the new contact on my phone screen, then turned the display off.

"Talia... why does Ronan even let you around him? You've got nothing going for you except good grades! What do you have that I don't?"

Two of my roommates were obsessed with Ronan. One even openly called herself his future wife.

Her anger flared out of nowhere. "Did you throw yourself at him at that party? Is that how you got his attention?"

"I barely ever went to social gatherings. Why would I have done something like that?"

"Don't play dumb! I saw everything. You were practically hanging off his arm!"

"Talia, don't you remember our dorm dinner two months ago?" the other roommate chimed in.

Vague fragments of memory drifted back to me. At that dinner, everyone kept pushing me to drink.

I couldn't hold my liquor well, and soon my head was spinning. I went to the restroom to get some fresh air and clear my head.

After that, everything went blank. And that was exactly when I started having those dreams about him every night.

"Actually, this is partly your fault," the second roommate said. "You were the one who kept pouring her drinks, saying you wanted to see how she'd act when she was tipsy."

The first girl went quiet, her anger fading fast. "I was the one who made her drink that much?"

So she'd been hypnotized too.

Ronan had gone to such lengths just to help Ariana move past her pain. But I still couldn't understand.

Why fill my head with dreams of being married to him?

Just thinking about all those tender moments in my dreams made my stomach turn.

That night, I skipped sleep entirely and pulled an all-nighter in the lab.

By the time the sky paled, and the sun began to rise, I stretched my stiff limbs and headed to the campus dining hall for breakfast.

The moment I stepped inside, Ronan and his friends spotted me. Predictably, they started right away.

"Talia, weren't you the one swearing yesterday you'd stop chasing him? Barely a day has passed and you're already back at it?"

"Do you really think acting like this will make him look at you differently?"

There were plenty of other students around, some whispering, others pulling out their phones to take photos.

Fine. This was the perfect chance to shake off that stupid nickname for good.

Ronan rested his hands lazily on the table edge, his gaze challenging, as if daring me to beg for his attention one more time.

I glanced at him without expression, picked up my tray, and walked straight past.

Behind me, someone kicked a chair hard, the sharp crash echoing through the dining hall.

It was time for someone else to be the fool chasing after him.