Cole let him hold him, raised the back of his hand, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he curled his lip into a prov
My heart nearly leaped out of my throat.
“Daniel, are you crazy?!”
At my words, he turned his head.
smile
His eyes were so red, they looked like they had been dyed with blood.
He gritted his teeth, every word, laced with fury.
“Aria Astor.”
“I’m not dead yet!”
And beneath the rage, there was a hint of a barely perceptible grievance.
“Don’t you forget, we haven’t broken up!”
“Hannah and I are just classmates. We won’t be working together in the future.”
“Aria Astor, don’t push me away again.”
It was like I had been punched.
My mind went blank. I stood there, stunned.
After a long moment, I finally said, my voice dazed:
“Daniel, in my heart, we were never together.”
At my words, Daniel’s eyes filled with shock.
It was as if he was furious, but also found it absurd and humiliating.
His voice was strained.
“Aria Astor.”
09:23
Chapter 2
“Are you playing with me?”
I looked at Daniel.
A complex mix of emotions swirled in my heart.
So.
In the story.
The thing that “I” had fought for so desperately, the thing “I” had been willing to do anything to get… “I” had already had it all along.17
Daniel left.
The look he gave me as he left was one of nothing but unwillingness and disappointment.
The car drove smoothly.
In the back seat, I took out a first–aid kit, preparing to disinfect Cole’s wound.
“The person you like likes you back. Why are you still leaving?”
Cole leaned back against the seat, his head tilted slightly.
He gave me a fleeting glance, then quickly looked away.
I soaked a cotton ball with iodine.
My face was a mask of profound wisdom.
“What do you know? Daniel belongs to Hannah.”
“They’re not together now, but they will be in the future.”
“It’s called… destiny.”
Cole turned to look at me.
He didn’t argue.
He just looked at me quietly for a long time.
“Aria Astor, your eyes are red.”
He suddenly ran a hand through his messy hair in frustration.
“I know I should be saying bad things about him since he just punched me,” he said gruffly.
“But ! followed them before. There really is nothing between him and Hannah. In fact, because of you, he came to find me…”
Cole’s words trailed off.
His lips were pressed into a thin line, his face a mask of resistance.
1 lowered my eyes.
“Cole, have you forgotten why you were following Hannah in the first place?”
“The first time I came to you, I asked you to find a chance to-”
My throat suddenly tightened. It was a long moment before I could force out the words:
“To cripple Hannah’s hands.”
So she could never do experiments again.
To destroy her, and in doing so, to destroy you.
