Chapter 8

My eyes widened as I silently mouthed to my roommate.

"How did you bring him here?"

He gave me an innocent look.

"Didn't you say you wanted to treat him to dinner?"

I smacked my forehead.

How could I forget about that?

Well, debts of gratitude must be repaid.

I forced a smile and turned to Zachary Evans.

"What would you like to eat?"

He smiled gently.

"Your choice. I'm not picky."

At least he's easy to please.

During dinner, Zachary kept staring at me with that silly grin.

My roommate made up an excuse and bolted.

I fidgeted uncomfortably but couldn't bring myself to leave early.

"Have you been busy lately? Why aren't you answering calls?"

"I need to explain what happened last time."

"I already know. Don't misunderstand—I just want to be friends."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"You should've said so earlier. You scared me."

Zachary was easy to get along with.

No matter how boring my topics were, he listened patiently.

Aside from the occasional deranged texts from Ethan Sullivan, the evening went smoothly.

A few minutes without checking my phone, and there were already a dozen messages.

"Why is he here?"

"Does he know about us?"

"Why does our relationship have to be a secret?"

"Stop smiling at him. I'm begging you, okay?"

After seeing Zachary off,

Ethan stormed into my dorm like a hurricane.

I explained the whole situation to him.

Only then did his expression soften slightly.

"When will you give me a proper title?"

"No rush. We'll talk after graduation."

"What are you worried about?"

I looked at him amused.

"Afraid of being dumped?"

"Terrified!"

I laughed and kissed him.

The dorm bed was too small—Ethan hit his head when he tried to climb in.

He simply pushed me onto the bed and pinned me down.

"Are you insane? It's nap time. My roommate could come back any minute."

"I'll lock the door."

"Two guys locking themselves in a dorm? That's even weirder."

"Let's go to my place."

"Now?"

"I don't care!" Ethan kissed me again.

Suddenly, the door burst open as my roommate kicked it in.

I immediately shoved Ethan off the bed.

Seeing Ethan on the floor, my roommate looked shocked.

"Were you two... fighting?"

......

Ethan gave a humorless smile.

The air around him turned icy, his gaze murderous.

My roommate nearly wet himself and bolted after dropping his things.

Only after Ethan left did my roommate dare to return.

"Julian, what did I do to piss him off?"

"I nearly died of fright. For the sake of my life, keep him away from our dorm."

Ethan was insatiable.

His mind was always filled with indecent thoughts.

To spare my roommate further distress,

I moved into Ethan's place for summer break.

For the first two weeks, we barely left the house.

I was worn to a shadow, dark circles heavy under my eyes.

"Can you tone it down? At this rate, I'll end up in the hospital."

Ethan reluctantly let go.

"What's wrong? Sore back?"

"What do you think?"

"Fine. I'll cool off."

He headed to the bathroom and turned on the cold water.

I seriously considered making a run for it.

That night, Ethan finally behaved.

I finally got a proper night's sleep.

The teddy bear got kicked off the bed.

I didn't know when I'd broken that habit.

Probably after getting back together with Ethan.

That habit had formed after our fallout, when I'd cry myself to sleep.

Maybe I'd liked him all along.

I was just too naive to admit it.

At noon, Ethan surprisingly took me out for lunch.

Of all times, I ran into Chloe Watson when I went to the restroom.

She glared at me with the same hatred.

"I know you're together."

I suspected she'd been stalking us.

How else would she know? Was it that obvious?

"I know everything about you two. You're disgusting!"

"Oh? So what?"

"Do you think his parents will accept you?"

That was something I hadn't considered.

But whatever. I preferred not to overthink things.

"You'll turn into a leech. After your family went bankrupt, you became nothing. What makes you think you deserve him?"

I flicked water off my hands and smirked.

"He loves me. He wants me. If you're so jealous, go bother him. See if he gives you the time of day?"

Chloe gritted her teeth in rage.

But she held back, probably remembering what happened last time.

I moved to leave, but she grabbed my arm.

"Julian, I'm pregnant."

"I never even held your hand."

"It's Ethan's!"

I fell silent for a long moment before slowly pulling my arm free.

Chloe upped the ante.

"I went to see his parents. They've approved of us. All we need is your blessing."

"Really? Show me the prenatal report."

Her tears dried instantly—she hadn't expected that.

"Who carries that around?"

"You expect me to believe you? Countless girls chased Ethan growing up. He couldn't be bothered to glance at them. As for you—you're the eighth girlfriend who stole me from him. He didn't lay a finger on the first seven. What makes you special? Got a third eye or something?"

"Julian, you—" Chloe was livid.

"Don't come looking for me again. And don't drag Ethan into this. I've got nothing to lose. Push me too far, and I won't hold back."

Chloe left, thoroughly defeated.

After lunch, back at home,

Ethan got a phone call.

He stepped onto the balcony to take it.

I could guess who it was.

When Ethan returned, his face was grim.

Grabbing his jacket, he said he needed to go out.

"Wait here for me. Be good."

Ethan didn't come back that night.

The next morning, as I ate breakfast in the living room, I heard the door open.

I rushed over eagerly.

It was Ethan's father.