Chapter 2
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I had to admit that Gabriel showed up at the perfect time.
For the 17 years before he appeared, I had only one dream.
When my dad got blackout drunk and his fists came down on me like a
storm…
и
When my mom, trying to save up for my younger brother’s future dowry, dragged 13–year–old me to be sold off to a 50–year–old widower…
“Get into the best university and escape this place.”
I never forgot that–not for a second. I couldn’t afford to.
Even later, when I casually picked up a practice test and saw it was the most difficult version of the new SAT math paper, and still scored a perfect 100 without breaking a sweat…
I knew then that top universities in America were well within
my
reach.
I just had to wait for the SAT next year. One clean shot. Bull’s–eye.
But when I looked back at those dusty, gray 17 years of my life–all I saw was a depressive childhood and a numb, robotic routine of endless studying.
That day, Next View TV was re–airing “The Thorn.Birds”, with Richard Chamberlain’s handsome, devil–may–care face on the screen. I watched in silence, zoning out.
“If only I could fall in love at 17 with a boy that beautiful.”
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And then Gabriel showed up.
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He was younger and even more beautiful than Richard Chamberlain in his prime.
Every movement he made on the court–his jersey clinging just enough to hint at his lean frame–tugged at something deep and hidden inside me.
I wanted him. But I knew I could never have him.
Like I said before-every skill point I had was sunk into academics.
Outside of that, I was painfully average. The kind of person no one
remembered.
The kind Gabriel, who was always the center of attention, would never look at twice.
But now, thanks to Rebecca, he was standing right in front of me. She handed him to me on a silver platter.
And I–pretending not to notice anything–gratefully accepted every deliberate approach Gabriel made after that.
In the noisy, crowded cafeteria. In the empty gym after everyone else had left. Somehow, Gabriel always managed to “bump into me” for another one of our “accidental” encounters.
He started spending more and more time around me. The way he looked at me grew hotter by the day. And then one day, he pushed through the crowd and walked straight toward me.
“Evelyn, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”
When I threw myself into his arms, I pretended not to notice the disgust he was trying to hide behind those long lashes.
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I just closed my eyes and breathed him in–his scent, a mix of licorice and laundry detergent, clean and addicting.
Books hold the keys to wealth and wisdom.
The old saying wasn’t wrong.
But I also knew–this treasure was never meant to be mine for long.
Maybe he’d get bored soon and end this little revenge game by dumping me in public, just to help his childhood sweetheart blow off steam.
Or maybe he’d drag it out, make me fall deeper and deeper–then pull the plug when it hurt the most.
What I didn’t expect was that Gabriel didn’t just come into my life to play. He came to destroy everything I’d built.
The first time I realized that was at the internet café.
I was sitting beside him, quietly working through a MasterPrep Plus practice packet, while he was deep into his game. But then he suddenly yanked off his headset, clearly irritated.
I looked up at the sound. “What’s wrong?”
He stared at me for a moment, then said, his voice low and moody, “I don’t like it when you do practice problems next to me.”
I was more than happy to go along with whatever the beautiful boy wanted. I stuffed the paper away and tossed it aside.
“Then I won’t.”
But he kept staring. His expression only got colder.
“I feel like the gap between us is too big,” he said.
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“I don’t like it.”
My heart started racing. I felt something shift.
“So… what do you think would fix that?”
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He suddenly leaned in–so close our foreheads almost touched. His voice turned soft, almost pleading.
“Can’t you just be a failing student with me?”
The blue light from the screen glowed softly in his glassy, marble–like eyes. He looked at me like a siren luring prey, his voice low and seductive.
“Evelyn, come into my world. Stay with me forever.”
At that moment, I was nearly ecstatic.
So that’s what he wanted.
That’s what Rebecca wanted, too.
I wrapped my arm around the back of his neck, fingers brushing against the lips I had long, long craved.
“Kiss me.
I knew Gabriel didn’t like me. He didn’t like being touched by me.
Before, I never dared to go too far. I was afraid that if I pushed it, Gabriel would get turned off and call the whole game off..
But now, he wanted something from me. And in return, wasn’t it only fair that I asked for something back?
So when those soft, cool lips finally hesitated and pressed against mine,
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all I could do was silently thank the version of myself who spent the past 12 years buried in books.
Evelyn, the universe really didn’t let you down.
I stopped reading, stopped studying, and let myself fall completely and shamelessly into Gabriel’s world.
Naturally, my ranking started to drop–again and again.
The first time, I handed over the top spot to Rebecca.
When the teacher read out her name after the words “first place in the grade,” Rebecca looked like she’d lost her mind from happiness.
She stared at her report card over and over, then buried her head in her arms, unable to stop the tears.
Of course, I caught the smug glance she threw at my score–pretending it was casual, but I acted like I didn’t notice a thing.
I just thought quietly to myself, “It’s time to collect my reward.”
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