Right Before His Eyes

CHAPTER TWO: The First Humiliation

My heartbeat thundered in my ears as Julian's face hovered inches from mine.

For one foolish, reckless second, I thought my impossible dream was finally coming true.

I closed my eyes.

His warm breath brushed my cheek.

Then

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

His voice was cold.

Mocking.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Julian wasn't looking at me the way a boy looked at a girl he liked.

He was glaring at me.

His fingers tightened around my wrist.

"You think buying me lunch means you I will notice you?"

"I... I just wanted to"

"I don't need your charity."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried enough for nearby students to stop eating and stare.

A few whispered.

Others took out their phones.

"I wasn't trying to embarrass you," I whispered.

He laughed.

"No, you're embarrassing yourself."

My face burned.

Before I could pull away, he held up the tray I'd paid for.

"So this is your plan? Buy my food and hope I'll suddenly fall in love with you?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Someone muttered, "She's the creepy girl who keeps staring at him."

Another added, "I heard she writes anonymous love letters."

My stomach dropped.

How did they know?

Julian leaned even closer.

"Those letters..."

His lips curled into a cruel smile.

"They were yours, weren't they?"

I couldn't answer.

Silence was all the confirmation he needed.

"I never even opened them."

His words sliced through me.

"I threw every single one away."

The laughter grew louder.

Someone actually clapped.

I wished the floor would open beneath me.

Julian tossed the untouched lunch back into my hands.

"Don't waste your money on me again."

With one final glance filled with annoyance rather than hatred, he walked away.

Sophia, who had been watching from another table, slipped her arm around his.

Together they disappeared into the crowd.

I stood frozen.

The tray slipped from my trembling hands.

Food scattered across the cafeteria floor.

No one helped.

Maya rushed through the crowd and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Come on."

I couldn't move.

Tears blurred everything.

"I told myself if he was happy, then I could be happy too," I whispered.

Maya's eyes softened.

"Then stop hurting yourself for someone who doesn't even see you."

That evening, I returned to the dorm in silence.

As I pushed open the door, laughter echoed from inside.

My roommate, Vanessa, was on a video call.

"...She's obsessed with him," she laughed. "It's honestly pathetic."

More laughter came from the phone.

The moment Vanessa noticed me standing there, she smirked but didn't stop talking.

"I've been with Julian once, and she acts like I stole her husband."

I quietly walked to my bed.

Pretending not to hear was easier than crying again.

After Vanessa fell asleep, I reached beneath my mattress and pulled out the stained envelope I had rescued from the trash.

I unfolded the letter.

The paper was wrinkled, but every word was still there.

I stared at it for a long time before carefully placing it back into my notebook.

"No more letters," I whispered to myself.

"If he doesn't want to know me..."

I paused, wiping away the tears.

"...then one day he'll regret never noticing me."

Outside, rain began to fall against the dormitory window.

Julian's Pov

Across campus, inside the boys' hostel, I sat on my bed scrolling absentmindedly through my phone.

A folded piece of paper slipped from the pocket of my jacket.

Frowning, I picked it up.

It wasn't one of Elara's letters.

It was a note someone had slipped into my bag during the cafeteria commotion.

I unfolded it.

Only one sentence was written across the page.

You're looking at the wrong girl. The one who truly loves you is the one you're determined to break.

I stared at the words, my brows knitting together.

Before I could read it again, a manicured hand reached over his shoulder and snatched the note from his fingers.

"What's this?" Sophia asked, unfolding it with a playful grin.

Her eyes scanned the sentence before she burst into laughter.

"Oh, please."

She crumpled the paper slightly between her fingers and tossed Julian a teasing look.

"I'm not the wrong girl, baby," she purred flirtatiously, climbing onto his lap as though the note meant nothing at all.

"It's probably from one of those dramatic girls who watches too many romance movies."

She flicked the note onto the bedside table.

"Forget this little joke."

Looping her arms around his neck, she smiled.

"Let's have some fun instead."

Before I could reply, Sophia leaned in and captured my lips in a slow, confident kiss.

For a brief moment, the mysterious note vanished from my mind.

The paper lay forgotten on the table, its words hidden beneath the glow of the bedside lamp.

Outside, the rain continued to fall.

Neither of us noticed the window left slightly open.

A gentle breeze swept into the room, lifting the crumpled note from the table.

It fluttered silently across the floor before disappearing beneath then bed…

Sophia smiled against my lips before pulling back just enough to study my expression.

"There," she whispered with a satisfied grin. "That's much better than wasting time over mysterious notes."

I let out a quiet chuckle, shaking my head.

"You're unbelievable."

"I know," she replied proudly, brushing an invisible crease from the collar of my shirt. "It's one of my best qualities."

She said winking seductively

Sophia's playful smile widened as she slipped her fingers through Julian's.

"Come with me," she said, her voice light with mischief.

Without waiting for an answer, she tugged me along the quiet hallway. Instead of heading for the rooftop, she stopped outside the shared washroom at the end of the corridor.

She turned to face me, leaning casually against the doorframe with a teasing smile.

"So serious," she murmured, reaching up to straighten the front of my shirt. "You really know how to let one little note ruin your mood."

"It didn't ruin my mood."

"No?" she challenged, stepping a little closer. "Then prove it."

I couldn't help but smile.

"You planned this?"

"I plan everything."

She laughed softly before slipping past me into the brightly lit washroom. A moment later, she peeked back out with a playful grin.

"Are you coming, or are you just going to stand there looking confused?"

She said opening the three buttons of her shirt…