Is she Worth It?

Chapter 4

The atmosphere in the university courtyard was electric. Elara walked toward the lecture

hall, her head held high despite the sour taste of fear in her mouth. As she crossed the stone

bridge, a group of Chloe’s friends stepped out, blocking her path.

"Found a new boyfriend, Elara?" one of them sneered, holding up a printout of the photo with

Marcus. "Does Julian know you moved on so fast, or are you just a pro at playing both

sides?"

One of the guys reached out to grab her arm, intending to pull her toward the edge of the

fountain for another "accident."

Across the quad, Marcus Vance stood up from a stone bench, his face darkening. He began

to stride toward the group, his intent clear. But he wasn't the only one.

Julian Thorne appeared from the side entrance like a hurricane. He saw the guy’s hand on

Elara, saw Marcus moving in, and the jealousy exploded. He ran, pushing past students and

nearly knocking over a table, reaching Elara seconds before Marcus could.

Julian stepped between Elara and the bullies, his chest heaving, his blue eyes wild and

lethal. "Get. Away. From. Her," he spat, his voice vibrating with a rage that silenced the entire

quad.

The bullies backed off instantly, terrified. Julian turned to Elara, his hands reaching out to

grab her shoulders, his voice cracking with a desperate, jealous heat. "Elara, are you okay?

I've got you.”

He expected her to fall into his arms. He expected her to be relieved that the Golden Boy

was finally claiming her.

Instead, Elara looked at his hands on her sweater as if they were filth. She didn't see the

hero. She saw the boy who had laughed while she tripped. She saw the boy who had called

her disgusting in front of the whole school.

She stepped back, violently brushing his hands off her shoulders. The sound of her palms

hitting his leather jacket echoed in the sudden silence.

"Don't touch me, Julian," she said, her voice cold and steady as a grave.

Julian knew what he did was terrible, he knew Elara had helped him, but all he did was hurt

her all because of a viral post that didn’t affect his status at school.

Julian froze. His heart felt like it had stopped beating. "Elara... I was trying to—"

**

Julian stood frozen in the center of the quad, his hands still hanging in the empty air where

Elara had just been. The rejection was visible on his face, a raw wound opening up in front

of the entire student body. He reached out again, his voice a frantic, low plea. "Elara, wait, I

was just—"

Before he could take a single step toward her, a heavy shadow eclipsed him. Marcus Vance

moved into the space between them, his towering frame acting as a physical wall that Julian

couldn't bypass. Marcus didn't look like he was in a hurry; he looked like a man who was

simply cleaning up a mess that Julian had made.

"That’s enough, Thorne," Marcus said, his voice smooth, low, and carrying a lethal edge that

made the nearby students pull back in a collective shiver.

Julian’s eyes snapped to Marcus, his jealousy flaring into a desperate anger. "Get out of my

way, Vance. This is between me and her. You have no idea what's going on."

Marcus let out a short, dry laugh that sounded like snapping wood. He didn't move an inch. "I

have a very good idea of what’s going on. I’ve spent the last week watching the Great Julian

Thorne act like a coward while this girl was hunted in his own hallways. You aren't

'defending' her, Julian. You’re just trying to manage your own guilt because you realized

someone else did the job you were too weak to do."

"You don't know anything about my life," Julian hissed, his fists clenching at his sides.

"I know that you’re the main reason she’s going through this," Marcus countered, his voice

rising just enough to ensure the surrounding crowd heard every word of Julian’s disgrace.

"You stood by while they shredded her work. You laughed while they tripped her. You’re the

one who painted a target on her back to satisfy your father’s ego, and now you want to play

the hero? You don’t have the right to even speak her name, let alone protect her."

Marcus stepped closer, looming over Julian, forcing the "Golden Boy" to either back up or

look up. "You’re not a king, Thorne. You’re just a boy in an expensive jacket who’s terrified of

his own shadow. Don't touch her again. You’ve done quite enough damage for one lifetime."

Julian looked past Marcus toward Elara, his eyes searching for even a flicker of the girl who

used to listen to his secrets and tend to his bruises. But Elara didn't look back. She stood by

the stone pillar, her expression unreadable, letting Marcus’s words hang in the air like a final

sentence.

The embarrassment was absolute. Julian, the boy who owned the campus, was being

dismantled in front of everyone by the only person he actually considered a peer. He felt the

weight of every smartphone camera, the sting of every whispered comment. He had treated

the only person who truly knew him like trash, and now, he had to watch her walk away with

a man who wasn't afraid to stand in the light.

Marcus turned his back on Julian, offering Elara his arm with a quiet, genuine grace. As they

walked away together, Julian remained standing in the center of the quad, the "king" of the

school, surrounded by hundreds of people. But as he watched Elara walk away with his rival,

he had never felt more invisible, or more deservedly alone. He had given up the only person

who ever truly saw him, and the cost was finally starting to sink in.