STRINGS BETWEEN US

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX OF LOCKED GATES, LOUD WHISPERS, AND A CURFEW THEY COULDN'T OU

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX:  OF LOCKED GATES, LOUD WHISPERS, AND A CURFEW THEY COULDN'T OUTRUN

Riyee's POV

I should've known.

The moment I stepped out of Sovereign Court, the heaviness was already there—clinging to me like humidity you couldn't wipe off. Thick. Sticky. Persistent. The kind of weight that didn't just sit on your shoulders—it followed you, breathing down your neck.

It seeped into the folds of my uniform, into my hair, into the skin behind my ears where I'd tied it too tight. Even the air felt like it had teeth.

And of course, the whispers didn't waste time.

They always started the same way—soft, rehearsed, sugar-dipped for anyone else listening.
A glance from the corner of someone's eye.
A tilt of the head that wasn't curiosity—it was judgment in disguise.
Then the not-so-subtle turn of shoulders as if keeping their backs to me might make their words quieter.

It didn't.

Every syllable felt like it was being weighed and measured before being thrown into the air for me to catch. And I always caught them—like I didn't have a choice.

"There she is."
"God, the audacity, right?"
"After the Marriage Booth thing, now it's a back gate scandal? WILD."

I kept walking. Head up. Shoulders straight.

My hands, though—already trembling. I curled them into fists inside my sleeves like that would hide it. Every step was steady by design, but my pulse was sprinting.

And no matter how perfectly I wore composure, their stares still burned—hotter, heavier—the kind that made you feel like your skin didn't quite fit right anymore.

"And with President Del Vega, too? Say no more."
"Presidential privilege, they say. Tsk."

My phone wouldn't shut up—buzz after buzz, every second another tagged forum post I knew better than to open.

Screenshots. Blurry zoom-ins. Crystal-clear photos.

Captions that felt like someone was slicing me open, word by word.

#PresidentialPrivileges

#NotSoInnocent

KD and I—caught in 4K, as they say—slipping out the back gate after curfew.
He was holding the keys.

Me? Clinging to him like a complete idiot.

The whole school had already tried, judged, and sentenced us.
And, technically... they weren't wrong.

I wasn't even halfway across the courtyard when the inevitable came.

A voice—sharp, clean, and without warning—cut across the hallway.

"Arielle Rylance Del Rio."

I froze.

An assistant from the Disciplinary Office stood there, holding that all-too-familiar envelope.

"You're summoned. Effective immediately."

I stopped in my tracks.

Oh great. Just what I needed—an instant public execution.

But before I could even process it, she stopped behind me—at KD.

"Khaizer Dylan Dela Vega. You too."

And just like that, everything went silent. All eyes were on us. And KD? Completely unbothered. He just adjusted his bag—calm, like this was nothing new to him.