One Night

Chapter 431

Audrey & Third Person

Audrey’s POV

The walk back to campus was mostly silent, save for the occasional sniffle or cleared. throat. Other than that, the only sounds between Gavin and I were that of our footste echoing on the pavement.

It wasn’t until the brick facade of the campus dorms came into view that Gavin finally broke the awkward tension between us. He stopped in his tracks, his hands stuffed into his pockets, and turned to look at me.

“Audrey, could we… talk?”

That word made me blanch visibly: talk. I knew this was coming. I supposed a part of me had known the moment those pictures went viral, but even more so when I

would mit to Edwin that Gavin and I were on a date.

Goddess, I had acted like such an idiot. I could still hear the way my voice had quavered when Edwin had asked if we were on a date, the way that I had floundered like an idiot. Gavin had to answer for me, all because I was too much of a coward to tell Edwin the truth.

“Um… Yeah.” I turned to face him despite my urge to flee, and he gestured to a nearby bench beneath an arched streetlamp. I nodded stiffly and sat beside him, the light casting a serene amber glow that would have normally calmed me if it weren’t for the current set of circumstances.

Gavin settled onto the bench beside me and was silent for some time, but I said nothing, waiting for him to speak first. When he seemed to gather his thoughts, he turned to look at me.

“I thought tonight was a date.”

I swallowed and averted my gaze to my lap, where my fingers were worrying the hem of my dress. “It was.”

“Why didn’t you want to admit it, then?”

His question left my head spinning. I couldn’t tell him the truth: that, deep down, I

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idn’t want Edwin to know I was with someone else. Hell, I couldn’t even admit that uth to myself. All I could do was sit there, silently, my lips pressed into a thin line.

When Gavin realized that I wasn’t able to speak, he sighed and ran a hand through his air. I watched for a moment as he hung his head between his hands, his elbows. ropped on his knees.

ook,” he finally said after several beats of silence, “I get it. You don’t… see me the y 1 see you. But you could have just been honest with me from the start, rather

in….

ne

s voice trailed off, leaving the implication hanging heavily in the air above our heads. eared my throat and murmured, “I was trying to be honest. Really, Gavin. But I just n’t know how I felt.”

in shot me a withering look over his shoulder. “Is that it, then? You don’t know how feel about me?”

idn’t at first.”

you know how you feel now?”

re was another long silence after that. I felt that familiar p**ng sensation of hot at the backs of my eyes, and I quickly looked away, blinking rapidly to dispel

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ow now,” I admitted. “But I really did want to give us a chance.”

5 true; I knew that there was no real reason for me to reject Gavin. He was perfect e in every way, and yet…

nit. I couldn’t stop thinking about that dark hair, those icy gray eyes, those broad ders. Every time I was close to Gavin, even now, I couldn’t keep myself from ing Edwin’s cologne or picturing the stubble on his chin.

e there was something wrong with me. Edwin and I could never work, and yet…

‘t want anyone but him.

course, I couldn’t tell Gavin that. I couldn’t tell anyone that. Tina was the only 10 knew, because I would have exploded if I hadn’t at least told her.

y do like you, Gavin,” I said softly, regaining my courage. I turned to face him

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Chapter 43

again and touched his knee, causing him to jerk his head up to look at me. “And I never meant to lead you on. I just… I think we’re better off as friends.”

Gavin blinked at me for a moment, his soft eyes searching my face as though he were trying to find some kind of hint that I wasn’t being entirely truthful. But I was being completely transparent, and he knew that.

“Friends,” he said quietly with a wry snort. “That’s it?”

I nodded, my eyes misting over with tears. “I love spending time with you. I just… can’t see us together. I’m really sorry that I didn’t realize that sooner.”

There was yet another long silence. Gavin looked away for a moment, his jaw working uselessly. Finally, he murmured, “I understand.”

My eyebrows raised of their own accord. “Really?”

He nodded, and when he turned back to me, his face softened. “I know you love someone else.”

“Gavin, I-

“No. It’s okay. I’m not going to even try and guess who it is, and I won’t pry. But I could tell, whenever we were together, that there was someone else on your mind. And I like you enough to want you to be happy.”

I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Love… I never said anything about love. But Gavin was right about one thing: no matter how hard I tried, someone else was always on my mind. And I hated and cherished it at the same time.

“So… What now?” I asked, swallowing hard. “What about us?”

Gavin met my gaze and reached out one last time to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. This time, I didn’t pull away-because I knew he wouldn’t do it again.

“I’m happy with being friends,” he said, smiling despite the sadness in his eyes. “And I really do hope you find happiness with… Whoever it is that won’t leave your mind.”

Third Person POV

Linda giggled as she swiped through the pictures posted online. “The background

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Chapter 43

lovers are getting closer,” the caption read, and Linda felt a sick sense of delight course through her.

There, on the screen in front of her, was a picture of Audrey and Gavin; they were smiling together as they looked at an outfit on a mannequin at the museum, Gavin’s hand resting on Audrey’s arm.

But Linda wasn’t looking at them, not really. No-she was looking at the m background who was staring at them with ice in his eyes.

Professor Brooks.

in the

Another gleeful little giggle escaped Linda’s lips as she logged out of her main account. and logged into her burner account, which she used under an alias specifically for times like this. This would serve Audrey right-after everything that Audrey had done to put Linda down, she would finally pay.

You see, Audrey thought that the little spider incident was Linda’s way of getting her back for everything. Audrey thought that it was over, but really, the spider was just a distraction while Linda’s real plan brewed.

And now, Linda was finally ready to take that little human s**t down. After far too long, Linda would get her real revenge.

“Look at Professor Brooks in the background, Linda commented on the post using her, burner account. “He looks so upset… Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye?”

Linda grinned and posted the comment before quickly logging out of her burner account and tossing her phone to the side.

Oh, yes. The end was far from over.

In fact, this was just the beginning.

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