Chapter 9
I couldn't believe I was doing this. Four years of my life were going to be subjected to this awful proposition.
It wasn't just the thought of going to college that made me feel uneasy, it was the place I was going to. Arcadia wasn't just any university, it was a university specially designed for the heirs and heiresses of the top one percent of the world. And, putting up with pretentious bitches and snobby rich assholes wasn't exactly my scene.
It had been founded and funded by the richest families of the world to train their children to handle their family businesses in the most proficient way. Life at Arcadia was quite different from other universities, we had to concentrate more on active simulation activities than assignments and research. Despite being the perfect place for dirty scandals, no news of what happened in Arcadia reached the public. It was inaccessible and heavily secured the exclusive secrets that could taint the reputation of the elite, future generation.
While we were in Arcadia, the world outside ceased to exist for us and vice versa. Obviously, we could go home during breaks and excuse ourselves from this place if needed. But matters such as undertaking new business ventures, attending charity galas and enjoying activities outside this place were prohibited, while we were here.
Half of the town of Woodbury was occupied by the freshman campus, and it had everything you'd need, enclosed within its walls: libraries, sports complexes, malls, restaurants, spa, bars, and clubs. Arcadia had one campus for each undergraduate year in adjacent towns, with an equally competitive lifestyle.
Well, one couldn't really complain, considering it provided us with everything we would probably desire for. From sailing on our private yachts and making excursions to the Arcadia's Ski Lodge to attending auctions or art exhibits, from enjoying wine collections to throwing wild parties in our apartments, from traveling around the world to hosting horrid luncheons and ballroom dances. An everyday scenario of our vain entitled life.
I'd rather spend my free time painting and reading books in my room or lounging in my beach-house in Malibu. Shocker, I know.
The good part about being here was that fewer people cared about who you were, or so I thought. Plus, I had Alexis with me, and as long as I had her, I could survive. I was glad that she had taken a gap year, because it gave me the chance to be by her side right now. We were both majoring in Business while I would minor in Hotel Management and Architecture, Alexis would minor in Politics and Real Estate.
The apartment complex was huge, and its architecture was oddly fascinating. It was extremely modernized from within, yet the outside structure was a romantic interpretation of Gothic ideals, with terra-cotta gargoyles and flying buttresses. It resembled a Victorian-era palace.
"I'm so happy right now, nothing can ruin it," Alexis said with a bright dimpled smile and sprawled on the couch in our living room. We had just finished settling our apartment, and Alexis was exhilarated at the idea of being away from home. It had been a while since her house could be considered as a happy place for her.
While her mother had suffered from cancer, her father indulged in an affair with her now stepmother. Not long after her mother's death, her father had married Nicole, who had used evil tactics to create a wedge between them, so that she could take away Alexis' inheritance. That was the reason she was never home, she was tired of mending a relationship with a man who couldn't believe in her and accept her love.
That was the moment Jace chose to enter the room with a box in his hands. His eyes moved towards Alexis, and a small smile took over his face.
"Guess, I spoke too soon," Alexis muttered under her breath. Jace rolled his eyes and placed the box on the table before us. In the past month, Jace and Alexis had hardly made any progress. He had tried appeasing her with grand gestures at which she had always scoffed and walked away. He wasn't willing to share the real reasons behind his departure, and she wasn't willing to let her anger go. Rightfully so.
"I guess you couldn't read the poster outside that said, "Assholes can kindly fuck off". Tell me, is being dumb an additional liability to your horrid personality?" Alexis drawled out, and he smiled lightly.
Alexis was an angel to everyone, only Jace could unleash this side of her. He had grown immune to Alexis' taunts and retorts, but he sought out ways to provoke her at every turn. It was the sole way they could communicate without making their confrontations serious and dreary.
"You can pretend you don't like me, Lex," he said with a cocky smirk on his face, and she gave a wry laugh. "Because I know otherwise, I'll allow you to keep your pretense for a while."
"Thank you for granting me permission, Your Highness." She bit out sarcastically and got up from the couch.
"But, let's try and not make this visit about you, okay?" He asked rhetorically and turned towards me with a smile. "You forgot this carton back home, I thought you might need it." I gave him a thankful nod while Alexis rolled her eyes.
"I'd love to insult you further, but you probably wouldn't understand," Alexis said and moved towards the door.
"Is my presence that unnerving that you have to leave?" Jace questioned mockingly, and I really wanted to knock some sense into him. She looked over her shoulder at him with blazing eyes.
I could see beyond the arrogant pretense he was keeping up to provoke her. He was tired of this futile battle of wits when all he really wanted was to have nice meaningful conversations with her. But he didn't have the guts to chase after what he really wanted.
"Nah, I am just tired of putting up with your obnoxiousness," she said with a shrug and turned to me. "I'm sorry, Liv, but you'll have to entertain his selfish ass somewhere else next time." She gave a tight-lipped smile and walked out.
He sighed at her departure, and the frustrated look he had been trying to hide briefly crossed his features before he masked his expressions.
"You know none of this is going to work on her, then why bother?" I asked him earnestly. He understood what I meant. I had been urging him to come clean to her before he lost her for good.
"I can't give up on her, Liv, but at the same time, I can't tell her the truth. Not yet," he sighed. What was worth losing her for? Why did he keep protecting others by hurting himself?
"Don't confuse her with a girl who will wait forever for you to choose," I reminded him. I didn't want him to regret his decisions and lose out on the one girl who loved him unconditionally for who he was. He nodded absentmindedly.
We never truly realized people's value until they were gone.
"Why can't you just let us in? You know you might believe you're protecting us, but we are strong enough to handle the truth, whatever it might be. You don't need to carry the burden on your shoulders." I said in a calm tone, but I was on the verge of expressing my frustrations.
"You make it sound like I am being selfless," he said with feigned indifference, but I wasn't fazed by his behaviour. We were cut from the same cloth.
"Actually, it's quite the opposite, you are extremely selfish. You expect to be a part of Alexis' life without letting her in yours. You want to protect me and fight my battles without giving me the chance to protect you. You choose to be alone on this journey and not accept our extended hands. Jace, not only do you have to share the good things, but the bad ones too." I said with conviction, and he seemed deep in thought.
Does this not apply to you too? When will you let people in?
I may be a hypocrite, but I would do everything in my capacity to urge him to live a better life than mine.
"You don't have to worry about me, Liv," he said with a small smile on his face and ruffled my hair in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"You're my brother, Jace. I'm always going to worry about you," I said sincerely, and prayed that he'd fight his demons soon.
I was late for my first lecture, and a big deal could be made of it here. I couldn't walk around like I owned the place, with my haughty air, and get away with things because of who I was. We had every privilege we wanted, but none when it came to attending the lectures and doing the tasks in regards to our courses. If anyone tried to mess with the policy, the repercussions were quite simple.
We had three warnings per semester, and if we blew them, then we'd lose some of our shares to the University donors, or we could withdraw our admission.
What better way to keep heirs in check than having the power to disinherit them.
Life had always been a game to me, I was emotionally disconnected to most things that happened to me. But I never backed down from a good challenge, and calling Arcadia challenging would be an understatement.
I had no intention of losing this game.
I finally reached the desired building and rushed to the lift. Thankfully, I found it to be available and empty, I quickly got in and pressed the button for the 8th floor.
I thought I heard someone say from the other end, "Wait, hold the door."
Sorry, I don't have time to wait. I shook my head, and unapologetically pressed the button to close the doors instead.
The doors were just about to close when I heard a loud pair of footsteps. Suddenly, a hand reached in between the closing doors.
"Are you absolutely crazy?" I questioned in outrage and quickly pressed on the button to open the doors. A guy slid in the space, and the doors closed. I looked up to stare at the imbecile, and to my surprise, I found myself staring back into a set of familiar sea-green eyes. My eyes had widened while his eyes were narrowed at me. His scowl transformed into a heartwarming grin on noticing me.
Of course, Adrian Carter was here. Why hadn't I foreseen his infuriating presence?
He hadn't bothered me much after our last call, sometimes he texted me to annoy me or sent me random pictures and memes. But we never really discussed anything of importance, only bickered with each other. I discreetly checked him out, and with freshly tousled hair and bright smile, he was a sight for sore eyes.
"You definitely have a strange way of showing that you missed me. But don't you think handicapping me is a little too much, even for you?" He said in a thoroughly amused tone, and I scoffed.
"If I had known it was you, I would have gladly allowed the doors to close," I said in a snarky tone, and he laughed wholeheartedly. His deep throaty laugh was contagious, I lightly bit on my lip to suppress my smile.
"I bring out the worst in you, don't I?" He asked rhetorically, in a teasing tone, and I rolled my eyes.
"You're highly delusional. I just don't bother enduring the torture of being nice to you," I replied with a shrug and a small sarcastic smile graced my face. Adrian remained unbothered by my attitude.
"Looks like you'll have to endure my presence for a long time, princess." He quipped, and it dawned on me that I couldn't run away anymore. I couldn't hold onto the excuse of never seeing him again to control my unwarranted emotions.
"You know, I do have a name," I drawled out while crossing my arms. I realized he had grown accustomed to that annoying endearment.
"Really?" He retorted sarcastically. "Obviously, I know you do. It starts with P and ends with S, princess." He added with an infuriating grin. I chuckled at his childish antics.
He knew how much I disliked being called 'princess', and that was exactly why he teased me with it.
"Sometimes, I forget that I am dealing with a child," I stated and looked above him to notice that we had crossed the fourth floor. I leaned against the elevator wall while staring at Adrian wryly.
"A lot of girls can attest that I'm a man in every sense, Olivia," Adrian said with a smug grin, and I chuckled at his cockiness.
"Exactly something a child would say," I retorted flatly to mock him. The amusement in his eyes faded and was replaced by a look of determination.
He smirked at me and leisurely leaned over me. He placed his arms on either side of my head, enclosing me in his hold. I didn't dare to move. His musky, masculine scent hit my senses, and I held my breath.
"Do you still think I'm not a man?" He murmured in a deep smooth voice, his mouth placed right next to my ear. I felt goosebumps erupt on my skin as his lips lightly grazed my cheek when he moved back and angled his face right above mine.
It wasn't the first time that I was being touched by someone, I had even lost my virginity for Christ's sake. But, neither had I felt these fireworks in the pit of my stomach nor had I experienced the feeling of the air leaving my lungs, in my previous encounters.
I had simply felt detached and indifferent, which had me wonder whether a part of me was broken.
"Don't delude yourself to think that your presence affects me," I said with feigned indifference and stared directly into his eyes.
Who was I kidding? Our proximity unnerved me in every way, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he affected me.
His look of determination morphed into a dangerous one that I couldn't decipher.
He slowly inched his head closer, and his lips hovered right above mine. His face was close, too close, and I forgot how to breathe. My eyes trailed over his alluring scar, warm sea-green eyes, and then settled on his enticing lips. His heated gaze followed mine closely as his head loomed over mine.
"What do you think you're doing?" I deadpanned, but every bone in my body was betraying me. I didn't pull away because I couldn't let him win. I tipped my chin to face him.
"Proving you wrong," he whispered while his hand gently tucked in a stray red curl behind my ear, and I controlled my urge to shiver. His thumb caressed my jaw, and tingling sensations took over my body.
I looked at him under my lashes with a mild coldness that was unable to hide the untamed desire I felt at his touch. His hooded eyes were trained on mine and then trailed over my lips.
One move and our lips would meet. But did we have it in us to cross the line?
We didn't get the time to find out, as the doors opened and we broke apart.
Adrian recovered faster than me. He gave me a bright smile, without any trace of his previous desire. "You know, If I was still a child, I would've loved to have you as my babysitter, princess." He winked at me, and I regained my composure.
Obviously, it had been about proving a point. It didn't mean anything to either of us, I reminded myself.
I shot him a cold condescending look. "Of course, you would. Are there any other fantasies you'd like to get off your chest?" I asked rhetorically and moved out of the lift with him trailing behind me. I wasn't feeling awkward about the encounter, but I was too confused by the emotions brewing within me.
I hurriedly walked along the corridor and noticed some people staring at us as we passed by them. I raised my palm when I saw him open his mouth.
"I don't have time to waste right now," I replied icily, the anger in my tone wasn't directed at him. I was just frustrated with my indecipherable emotions. I tried walking ahead, but he grabbed my hand and whirled me back. My skin felt as if it was on fire.
"What now?" I asked rudely, and he rolled his eyes before pointing towards the door. My eyes widened in realization, I had been so distracted by Adrian's presence that I had not even noticed where I had been going.
"You're welcome," he smirked and sauntered inside while I followed behind.
"How's Jace doing?" Adrian asked as we took a seat in the ice cream parlour because of our first assignment. The assignment was quite unusual, instead of a proper orientation where we would have to introduce ourselves and meet people. We had been tasked to conduct an analysis of our business rivals and their company positions while visiting different parts of the campus.
Considering Adrian and I had been the last people to enter class, we had been paired for this assignment, much to my annoyance and his amusement. We had to spend an entire week of class hours observing and learning more about each other. At the end of the week, we had to present it before the class and introduce the other person.
Though there wasn't much we had to learn to introduce each other, I could simply tell everyone how he was an exasperating devious jerk. But we had to tour around the campus together during class hours, and it had become harder to run away from Adrian.
Cause you enjoy spending time with him, my subconscious reminded me.
"Well, he's busy being Jace," I shrugged, and Adrian chuckled. My brother and Adrian had surprisingly grown close after Adrian's meddling in the voting process.
"How did you convince your father to be onboard with the decision of supporting Jace?" I asked, and Adrian briefly grimaced before covering it up with a smirk. There was no way in hell James Carter would have made it an easy negotiation, he thoroughly enjoyed playing dirty.
"I'm good at making offers people can't refuse," he said cheekily, and I shot him a look.
"You always evade my questions," I said matter-of-factly. Adrian gave a smile before taking a bite of his ice cream. On one hand, he was a nice charming friend who was sincere in his actions, but on the other hand, he was a mysterious guy who hid behind his words and cockiness.
"You are one to talk," he pointed out, clearly uncomfortable with the ongoing discussion.
"That's where you're wrong. You might not be satisfied by my responses, but I say what I mean in most situations," I said truthfully. The replies I gave to him had a semblance of truth in them, even the silent ones, I just chose not to disclose additional details, while he always chose to jest when he couldn't talk or felt uncomfortable.
"I find that really hard to believe," he uttered, and I shrugged. "I'm sure you'll find out the answer soon enough," he added, and I didn't prod him further. Not everything that begins has to progress. I realized matters regarding his father were better left untouched.
"Fine, I'll let it go as long as you pay for the ice-cream." I proposed, in an attempt to change the topic and his face automatically brightened up.
"You definitely know how to make my pockets hurt," he said with his charismatic smile, and I smiled back.
"Which floor are you occupying?" He asked casually. I took a bite of my chocolate ice cream before answering him.
"Uh-huh, I can't give you free intel to stalk me," I said with sarcasm, and he scoffed playfully. "So, are you continuing football here?" I added.
"Obviously, how else will I fulfill every girl's jersey fantasy?" He retorted, and I rolled my eyes at his narcissism.
"You can't ever give me a straight answer, can you?" I asked, and he acted like he was deep in thought. Then he grinned at me in amusement.
"And miss out on the opportunity to rile you up? Never," he said with a teasing grin.
"Your obsession with me is getting rather unhealthy," I rebuked sarcastically, and he maintained his easygoing smile that showcased his dimples.
"But, I'm just getting started," he said with an intense and sincere look in his eyes, and I didn't seem to mind it.
Maybe being friends with Adrian wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.
I should have known better.