Chapter 458 -
~CLARA~
If Alaric told me that he was getting back with Nicole, I would lose my mind. I don't know how I would react.
I knew I should just walk away; I knew that I shouldn't torture myself anymore.
However, I had to know. I had to find out the truth.
What did she say to him? What had caused him to believe that he ruined any chances of us being together? Or did he say those words to me in order to turn me down quickly?
I wish he would tell me the truth. I wish he would trust me enough to be honest with me.
He seemed desperate to get me out of his office, and I wouldn't say I liked it. Nicole was inside here for a long time, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to get her out. Instead, I remember seeing him impatient to push her inside. I try not to overthink about it, but I couldn't deny that I was extremely jealous. I can't remember ever being this jealous of anyone else.
It bothered me to the point that I wasn't about to leave until I got an answer from Alaric.
"I can't answer yet, Clara." he finally tells me after a long pause. "But I can confirm that she's going to be in my life for a very long time, and there isn't anything I can do about it."
His words feel like someone just took a sharp sword and pushed it straight through my chest.
She hadn't lied to us. She said that whatever it was that she had to tell Alaric, it would bring him back to her, and there would be nothing any of us could do to stop it.
What she didn't know was that I wasn't about to back down. Alaric's responses told me that he didn't truly want to get back with her. It made me believe that she was most likely blackmailing him about something. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
"I refuse to forget about you," I inform him.
He looks shocked by my response.
"Every second that we spent together meant something to me, and I would like to believe that it meant something to you as well," I tell him.
His jaw clenched, "I asked you to leave my office, Clara. Please, listen to me. This is not the time or place for this discussion."
His hands were still on the door handle, and I knew he was desperate for me to leave.
"I don't care about that." I snap. "You started this when you kissed me in this very same office and then disappeared without a single word. I'm not going to let you push me away again. I'm going to do what I want to from now on."
"What do you mean by that?" he growls. "What do you want to do?"
I don't think twice as I close the distance between us. He stiffens at my closeness and it feeds my motivation to keep going.
I knew I affected him; at least, his body language told me so.
"I want to show you what it means to be happy," I whisper. "I want to show you that someone like Nicole could never satisfy you like I can."
His breathing gets louder, and I inwardly smile. It was working. I knew it was.
My body is inches away from his, and both of his hands tighten into fists at his side. He's no longer holding onto the door handle, and I know I'm winning this round.
"I want you to know that you can kiss me any time you please," I whisper. "I'll come to your office after each of your classes from today onwards and you can do whatever you want to me while I'm here; I promise you that I will not complain."
His eyes snap to mine, and the heat there almost melts my insides. My words weren't just affecting him; it was affecting me as well. I meant those words. I always wanted to offer myself to him. It felt good to gain the courage to do it finally. Alaric was the only man I would ever act this crazy for. He was the only person I'd offer myself to like this.
"Clara," he growls. "You're playing a very fucking dangerous game with a grown man. I'm not a fucking little boy. Know exactly what you're offering to me because if I ever decide to take it, there will be no going back."
I place my hand on his chest, and his breath hitched, "I know exactly what I'm offering to you. I've wanted to offer this to you since the first day I realized how much I wanted you."
His eyes flash dangerously, "do you know what you're saying to me?"
I nod, "I can hear my own words. I promise you that I will never take them back."