Chapter nine: The Past Doesn’t Stay Buried
948 Words
The moment the lecture hall emptied, the air felt different.
Heavier.
Quieter.
More dangerous.
Adrian didn’t wait.
“Everyone out,” he said calmly.
The few remaining students didn’t argue. They gathered their things quickly and left, casting curious glances as they passed Victoria.
Within seconds, the room was empty.
Except for the two of them.
Adrian and Victoria.
⸻
Victoria took her time.
She walked slowly around the room, her heels echoing softly against the floor, her fingers brushing lightly against the desks as if she were inspecting the place.
“This is where you’ve been hiding,” she said casually.
“I’m not hiding,” Adrian replied, his tone controlled.
“Really?” she said, turning to face him. “Because disappearing without a proper goodbye feels a lot like hiding.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“We already said everything that needed to be said.”
Victoria tilted her head, studying him.
“No, Adrian,” she said softly. “You said everything. I didn’t.”
Silence.
Familiar.
Unfinished.
⸻
Adrian crossed his arms slightly.
“What do you want, Victoria?”
Her lips curved faintly.
“Straight to the point. That’s new.”
“It’s necessary.”
She took a step closer.
“What I want,” she said slowly, “is to understand why you walked away from something that was working.”
“It wasn’t working.”
Her expression sharpened slightly.
“That’s your version of it.”
“It’s the truth.”
Victoria held his gaze for a long moment.
Then she smiled again.
But this time—
It didn’t reach her eyes.
⸻
“Is she the reason?”
The question landed quietly.
But heavily.
Adrian didn’t respond.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
And that—
Was enough.
⸻
Victoria’s smile deepened slightly.
“I thought so.”
“She has nothing to do with this,” Adrian said firmly.
“Of course she doesn’t,” Victoria replied smoothly. “Because you, Adrian Hale, would never blur professional boundaries.”
The sarcasm was subtle.
But sharp.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Be careful what you imply.”
Victoria let out a soft laugh.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m observing.”
She stepped even closer now.
Too close.
Her voice dropped slightly.
“And what I see is a man who suddenly looks… distracted.”
Adrian’s gaze darkened.
“I’m exactly the same as I’ve always been.”
“No,” Victoria said quietly. “You’re not.”
⸻
The silence that followed felt different.
More personal.
More revealing.
Victoria’s eyes searched his face.
“And that girl,” she added, almost casually. “Nafisa, right?”
Adrian stilled.
Just slightly.
But she caught it.
Of course she did.
⸻
“Careful,” Adrian said, his voice low now.
“With her name.”
Victoria’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Oh,” she murmured. “So it is like that.”
“It’s not anything,” he said sharply.
Victoria smiled again.
But this time, there was something darker behind it.
“Then why did you just react like that?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Because there was no safe answer.
⸻
Victoria took a step back, giving him space again.
But the tension didn’t leave.
It only shifted.
“I saw the way you looked at her,” she continued. “In front of your entire class.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“You’re imagining things.”
“No,” she said softly. “I’m very good at reading people. It’s part of what makes me successful.”
She paused.
Then added—
“And you’ve never been very good at hiding things from me.”
⸻
Across campus, Nafisa sat on a bench outside, her thoughts spinning.
Everything from the lecture replayed in her mind.
The whispers.
The looks.
And most of all—
Her.
Victoria.
There was something about that woman that unsettled her.
The confidence.
The way she looked at Adrian.
Like she already knew everything.
Nafisa wrapped her arms around herself slightly.
Why did it feel like things were about to get worse?
⸻
“You okay?”
Tunde’s voice broke through her thoughts.
She looked up.
“Oh… hey.”
He sat beside her, his expression more serious than usual.
“That didn’t look like nothing,” he said.
Nafisa sighed.
“It’s complicated.”
“I figured,” he replied.
There was a pause.
Then he leaned slightly closer.
“That woman—who is she?”
Nafisa hesitated.
Then answered quietly.
“His ex.”
Tunde let out a low breath.
“Yeah… I got that vibe.”
⸻
He glanced toward the building.
“You’re in the middle of something you shouldn’t be in, Nafisa.”
The words weren’t harsh.
But they were real.
“I know,” she said softly.
“Then why are you still in it?”
She didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t know how to explain something she barely understood herself.
⸻
Back inside the lecture hall, Victoria had gone quiet.
Which, for her—
Was more dangerous than speaking.
“You should be careful,” she said suddenly.
Adrian frowned slightly.
“With what?”
“With underestimating me.”
The words were calm.
But the message wasn’t.
“I’m not,” Adrian replied.
Victoria smiled faintly.
“Good.”
She picked up her bag.
Then paused.
“And Adrian?”
He didn’t respond.
But she continued anyway.
“If there’s something going on…” she said softly, “I’ll find out.”
Her gaze held his.
Steady.
Certain.
“And when I do,” she added, “we’ll see how well your perfect little world holds together.”
- Writer
