Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Edyth Hart POV

I can’t believe my luck…!! Of all the places in Briarwood University, of all the people assigned to guide me, it had to be him!

My ex boyfriend!

I want to bang my head on a wall already. I hung my eyes low as I followed him down the corridor, each step quieter than the last like even the building understands I shouldn’t be here with him.

Nathan doesn’t look back. Of course he doesn’t. He was always like that. Cold, detached, acting like the world should adjust itself around him.

Nathan was a kind of man who could stand in front of you and still make you feel like you were the one intruding on his space.

Back then, I used to mistake that for strength. Now I just see what it really is. He is a cold, ruthless bastard who doesn't care if you live or die!

Suddenly Nathan stopped walking, startling me. I almost walked straight into him.

This bastard…why did he stop!?

My steps halted just in time, but my breath didn’t. It caught in my throat, sharp and sudden as if my body had reacted before my mind could catch up.

Nathan turned and looked at me, straight into my eyes. A kind of stare that pinned you in place without needing to touch you.

An Alpha presence. Controlled, heavy, suffocating in a way I hated that I could still feel even without a wolf. My fingers tightened around my bag strap on instinct.

For a second, I think he is going to say something normal. Something official. But he doesn’t. Instead…

“Why are you here?” Nathan’s voice came out calm, too calm when he spoke.

What!?

“Excuse me?” I look at him with disbelief written in my eyes. Is he seriously asking me that?

“I asked, why are you here, Edyth?” he repeated, slower this time.

Great. Of all the questions he could have asked me after years of silence, but that was the one he chose…?

I glared at him, “I was called here. That's why I'm here.”

“I know that,” Nathan said immediately. “I’m asking why this academy.”

Something tightened in my chest.

“So now you’re questioning my decisions?” I said. “Since when do I owe you explanations for where I study?”

Nathan’s expression didn’t change, instead he stepped closer to me.

“You could have chosen anywhere,” he said. “You don’t end up here without a reason or by coincidence.”

Hah? Unbelievable!!!

“You think I came to Briarwood… and out of all the reasons in this world… the reason must be you?”

Nathan doesn’t deny it. He just watched me, and that was answer enough.

Something in my chest went cold, then hot, then angry.

“I didn’t come here because of you,” I said clearly. “I didn’t even know you were here. And even if I had known, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I would still choose Briarwood.”

“I didn’t build my entire life around you, Nathan. You’re still acting like people orbit around you, like I need permission to exist anywhere you are.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “That’s not what I said.”

“But that’s what you meant,” I cut in.

Nathan stepped closer just slightly, not aggressive, but enough that the space between us felt intentional.

“You should have informed me. My phone number is still the same.” he said.

For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him. Is this guy for real!?

“Informed you?” I repeated. “About my admission into a university?”

Nathan didn’t blink.

“You know what I mean,” he said.

Something inside me snapped at that.

“No,” I said, stepping closer now, refusing to back down. “I don’t. So explain it to me. Why exactly would I need to report my life choices to you?”

Nathan’s expression stayed controlled, but his eyes didn’t leave mine. “You always avoided places tied to me.”

I forced my expression to harden. “That was before,” I said, “This is now.”

“Now you don’t care..?” he said.

I met his gaze without blinking. “No,” I said firmly. “I don’t.”

For a second, something shifted in his expression. Just a brief tightening around his jaw, like my answer had landed somewhere it wasn’t supposed to.

His eyes stayed on me a moment longer than necessary.

“Good,” he said quietly. “Then this won’t be a problem.”

“As if it ever was,” I retorted.

“Good,” he repeated once more, lower this time. “Keep it that way.”

The words felt final, like a door being shut without effort.

I held his gaze for a second longer than I should have, waiting for something more. Anything. But there was nothing.

Just indifference. Pure, controlled indifference.

Nathan had already turned away and had simply started walking. As if I was not part of the conversation anymore. As if I was not part of anything that required attention.

My fingers still tight around my bag strap, before forcing my legs to move. He didn’t slow down. Of course he won't.

Keeping up with him felt almost humiliating. Not because he was fast, but because he wasn’t trying at all.

His pace was steady, natural, like the world adjusted itself to him without asking permission.

I had to push myself just to match it.

We moved through the corridor in silence, the sound of footsteps and distant voices fading in and out around us. Students passed occasionally, some bowing their heads slightly when they saw him.

Alpha.

It wasn’t spoken, but it was there in the way space made itself for him. And I hated how my body still recognized it.

Nathan stopped outside the door, still not looking at me. Just as we were about to step inside, a voice cut through the corridor.

“Nathan!”

A shrill female voice cut through the air. I froze before I even had time to think. My body reacted first, my breath catching in a way I hated.

Freya Williams!??? She was here too!?

My chest tightened painfully, but this time it wasn’t just shock. It was understanding. Slow, bitter, humiliating understanding.

I glared at Nathan's back. No wonder he was so cold and defensive in the hall. It's because of Freya is here, isn't it.

My jaw tightened as anger and humiliation tangled together, sharp and ugly. Of course, it's always her.

Freya’s eyes found me and her expression shifted instantly, the smile on her face completely erasing.

“Edyth Hart..? Why are you here!?” She blurted out, her voice sharper now, laced with disbelief that didn’t bother to hide itself.

Before I could even respond, Nathan’s voice cut in beside her, calm and controlled in that irritatingly effortless way of his.

“She’s joining the internship program from today, Principal said it.” he said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

“What!?” Freya’s voice shot up instantly, sharp enough to cut through the corridor, loud enough that nearby students immediately turned their heads.

I felt it immediately. Whispers starting to spread as attention gathered on me all at once.

Great.

I forced myself to exhale slowly, keeping my face blank even as something inside me sank.

Just perfect.

Way to start my new beginning.