Chapter 264

ROWAN

The creak in the floorboards outside my door had silenced, leaving only the resounding of Aurora’s words within my mind: “You need to figure out who you are outside of what you think others expect.”

I shut the door behind me, my breaths hard and fast, my mind reeling with anger and confusion. Aurora’s words tangled in my mind with frustration at never being good enough.

I slammed my fist against the desk, a sharp breath escaping my lips. “They’ll never see me for what I can be,” I muttered.

“Won’t they?” a smooth and unexpected voice asked.

I spun around, my pulse spiking. Alina stood there, leaning casually against the doorframe, her eyes sharp and assessing.

“How did you get in here?” I demanded, the irritation in my voice barely masking my unease.

She smirked, stepping further into the room. “You left the door unlocked. Not very careful for someone who’s been under so much scrutiny.”

I gave her a glacial stare, to which she paid no mind, her eyes wandering around the room in feigned curiosity. “Nice place. A little bare, though.”

“What do you want, Alina?” I asked, my tone sharper than I meant it to be.

She didn’t answer, instead walking closer with a deliberately seductive sway in her hips. “I couldn’t help but notice how tense you were during that meeting earlier. Thought I’d see if you needed someone to talk to.”

“I don’t need anything from you,” I said firmly, though my resolve wavered when her gaze locked on mine, steady and unyielding.

“Is that so?” She challenged me. “Because from where I am standing, you seem to have much on your mind. And not very many people share it.”

Her words jabbed, and I turned back, pretending an interest in neatening up my stack of papers. “If you’re here stirring up trouble, you can leave.”

She laughed low in her throat, a sound that set my teeth on edge and sent a shiver down my spine. “Stir up trouble? Rowan, I’m trying to help you.”

“Help me?” I snapped, whirling on her. “Why would you want to help me? You’ve done nothing but make things worse."

Her face softened, or at least I think it did. “I’ve seen how they treat you. Like you’re expendable. Like no matter what you do, it’s never enough.”

The words came a little harder than I wanted to admit, and she stepped closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “You deserve to be seen, Rowan. To be valued."

I clenched my fists, pulled between a desperate wish to believe her and a gnawing suspicion that she was out for her own reasons. “And what’s in it for you after betraying me and landing me in detention earlier?”

She smiled wryly; the tips of her fingers grazed my arm. “Maybe I see what no one else does. Not even Aurora herself.”

She left her touch, her gaze falling to my lips, then rose again to meet mine. “You’ve been carrying so much on your shoulders. Don’t you think it’s time someone took some of that weight off?”

“Alina,” I began, but the words stopped as she stepped even closer, the scent of her perfume wrapping around me.

Her hand slipped onto my chest, sending a wave of heat through her touch to inflame something I’d been trying for weeks to suppress.

“You don’t have to fight this,” she said, her mouth inches from mine.

My will broke, and before I might come to my senses, I closed the space, capturing her lips in a kiss that was as much anger as desire.

Except for our labored breathing, as we pulled apart, her lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“See?” she murmured, tracing my jaw with her fingers. “I understand you in a way they will never be able to.” I said nothing.

My chest twisted with guilt and confusion as she turned and slipped out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts.

As the door clicked shut, I stared at the space she’d left behind, her words echoing in my brain: “I understand you in a way they never will.”