Chapter 9
Nerissa's eyes flew wide in shock as she stared at him. She'd been super careful — how the hell did he find out?
"I-I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!" she stammered, biting her lip hard. Panic surged through her — like she was about to be exposed. She had no time for this, just turned on her heel and tried to bolt upstairs.
Liam grabbed her arm easily and yanked her back like she weighed nothing.
"Why run? I know you're strapped for cash. I've got plenty. But since you're no longer a virgin, how about this — spend a night with me, I'll pay you ten grand. Fair deal?"
Nerissa froze. She hadn't expected him to say something that blunt. Her face instantly drained of all color. It felt like someone slapped her soul — an ugly mix of shame and humiliation crashing down.
"I'm not broke anymore. Don't come near me again," she muttered, then turned and hurried toward the dorm.
Behind her, his mocking voice trailed after: "Running won't help. I'll be here when you come crawling back."
She clutched the medicine bag tighter, practically sprinting. Even after making it back to her room, her heart was still pounding like mad, and she couldn't calm down for a long while.
Someone was in the dorm today. Nerissa dropped her bag on the bed, clutched the medicine box in her hand, and hurried into the bathroom. Liam' blunt words were still echoing in her head, making her uneasy all over again.
What the hell was going on?
She racked her brain but came up blank. The only person who could possibly know about this was Jace. Could it be him?
That cold, distant face of his popped into her mind. Her expression tightened as she bit her lip.
She pulled out her phone and opened the chat with Jace. Her fingers hovered for a moment before she typed a quick "Hello?" and tapped send.
Just one gray tick.
Her eyes lingered on the screen. There was no profile picture. No online status. No "last seen."
No response.
Blocked. Quietly. Completely.
Nerissa stared at her screen for a full minute, stunned. So he really didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Probably thought she went to the hospital today just to chase him on purpose.
Pressing her lips together, she quietly exited the app.
Knock knock! Someone banged on the door. "Are you done? I need the bathroom — come on!"
Snapped back to reality, she quickly stashed her phone, tore open the medicine box, popped out two pills and swallowed them dry, then swigged some water from the tap. After hiding the meds back in her bag, she opened the door.
Her roommate Chloe Madison was waiting outside. She blinked when she saw her. "Huh? That's rare. You're not working at the supermarket today?"
Nerissa usually took on gigs during weekends or whenever she had no classes, so it was unusual for her to be around daytime.
"I can't make it today, something came up." Nerissa tossed out an excuse and dove straight into the tent set up under her bed.
With just a month left before her internship started, she was swamped — busy wrapping up her final project while also juggling a part-time gig in survey engineering with her advisor. She needed the cash and the work experience.
So yeah, downtime wasn't really an option. She buried herself in all the school stuff.
The whole week after that, Nerissa stayed in overdrive, constantly shuttling between the dorm and academic buildings.
She was doing her best to steer clear of Liam — not a single run-in all week.
And thankfully, the thing she was most worried about didn't explode into anything. Everything moved along smoothly, and after days of being on edge, she finally let herself relax a little.
Maybe Liam had just lost interest already. That would be ideal.
Her dad's surgery was also done, and now he was in recovery, expected to stay in the hospital for three months.
The surgery had cost a fortune, and the meds for recovery weren't cheap either. After thinking it through, Nerissa clenched her teeth and sent another ten grand over — she just wanted him to get the best treatment.
As long as he could get back on his feet, every bit of it was worth it.
On Saturday night, her roommate Chloe scooted over, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Hey, Neri, wanna make some serious cash?"
