“He has his reasons,” Lane said calmly. And despite Josh’s words planting the tiniest seed of doubt in her heart, she refused to let it grow.
She would see her fallen angel again, and everything would be okay after that.
But this turned out to be only half true.
Chapter Two
It took an entire week before Lane saw him again.
It was orientation day of the legal management seminar she had signed up for, and Lane had taken one of the seats at the back, not wanting to draw any attention. While therapy had enabled her to lead a somewhat normal life, her therapist had also been honest with her.
Lane would never be the same again.
But how much her fears would affect her was up to Lane.
And so here she was, Lane thought ruefully. Ever the masochist, she had accepted the scholarship offered by Christopoulos University, which wasn’t just thousands of miles away from home. It was also the school for rich kids – no, wait, that wasn’t right. CU was the school for the richest and best-looking kids.
Every day was a silent torture, and lately, it had been made worse by the depression that was stealthily finding its way to her heart.
In front of the class, the dean was telling them about how special they were to have been selected for this extremely special seminar.
“You’ve been accepted based not just on your grades but your potential as well. We believe that you have what it takes to do spectacularly in your chosen fields.” The dean cleared his throat. “And so, without further ado, I would like to introduce two of my former students who have graciously accepted my invitation to be your mentors.”
The dean gestured towards the doors on his right, as if beckoning someone to come in. The doors opened and a tall, dark-haired man in a conservative-looking suit entered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Steel March, CEO of the Beaufort-March Enterprises.”
The guys in the room clapped politely, while almost half of the girls in the room shrieked.
Lane blinked, utterly taken aback by the class’ reception. Was he a celebrity or something?
“He’s mine, darn it,” she heard the girl next to her mumble very distinctly.
Surprised, Lane turned to face her, and the blonde appeared startled then dismayed.
“Oh God, you heard me?” She was tiny and enviably slim, with large blue eyes dominating her classically beautiful face. She was also dressed rather provocatively, with her black dress high-necked in front but dipping up to her waist at the back.
Rich, Lane’s mind warned her, and she was immediately wary. She said cautiously, “Yes.”
The girl slumped in her seat. “Don’t tell him, okay.”
Lane was confused. Tell...whom?
But before she could ask, the dean was introducing the other mentor. “Angelo Valencia III. He was previously a Student Council President of our university,” the dean shared proudly before proceeding with the other accomplishments of his former student.
Angelo, she mused absently. That was a nice name.
“And now, let’s hear from our mentors,” Lane heard the dean say. “We’ll start with the one who gave me more trouble as a student, and that, my dear children, is none other than Angelo.”
The class laughed, and so did...he.
And that was when she knew.
Her head jerked up.
And when she frantically searched for him, she realized she didn’t have to look hard at all.
Because he had already been gazing at her from the start.
Because from the very moment he had walked into the room, he had known she was there, and that upon seeing her, his body had gone still and his blood had turned cold.
The entire time the dean had been talking about him, his attention had been completely focused on her, and he had not been able to understand why she had not looked up when he entered the room or when the dean had mentioned his name.
Instead, he had seen her look up only at the sound of his laughter, magnified by the microphone pinned to the lapel of his suit.
And now, she was staring at him, and for one moment he could not stop himself from gazing back at her. Even as he exchanged banter with the dean, even as he continued with the rest of his speech, he claimed her gaze—-
Until he remembered that she already belonged to someone else.
His jaw clenched, and this time he looked away and never glanced back at her again. Even when it was Steel’s turn to speak, even when he could feel her stunned, wide-eyed gaze on him the entire time, he did not look at her even once.
A sickeningly strong sense of déjà vu struck him then, and his resolve strengthened.
Never again, he thought grimly.
When the orientation was over, he had reinforcements in place, a woman waiting for him right outside the classroom.
Amor was a model and Italian like him. More importantly, she knew how to play the game as well as he did and expected only from Angelo what he was comfortable giving.