REINA

I turned. He was walking toward me with that same easy smile, bag slung over one shoulder.

"Hey," he said. "You free for lunch? There’s a decent place across campus. My treat. Just as friends. We could use the opportunity to get to know each other better."

I blinked. The invitation felt too sudden. Too normal. After everything that had happened last night, after the fear and the guilt and the raw sex and the stranger at my door, the idea of sitting across from Philip and eating lunch like normal college students felt completely wrong.

"I... I can’t," I said, trying to keep my voice polite. "We’ve only bumped into each other a couple of times. On unfortunate occasions, actually. We’re not really friends. I need to catch up with some people."

He laughed softly, not offended at all. "Come on. It’s just lunch. You look like you could use a break. I promise I don’t bite."

I felt my cheeks heat. The watch on my wrist suddenly felt like it was burning a hole through my skin. I pressed the button on the side without thinking. Hard.

Philip kept talking, still smiling, still trying to convince me. "Seriously, it’s nothing weird. I’m new here. I don’t know anyone. Just thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to who isn’t a student complaining about grades."

I took a step back. "I really can’t. Sorry."

The door behind me opened. Heavy footsteps. Calestino appeared in the doorway like he had materialized from thin air. His face was hard, jaw tight, eyes locked on Philip with pure murder.

Philip turned, still smiling.

Calestino stepped between us, shoulder checking Philip just enough to make him stumble back a step.

"Back the fuck off," Calestino growled.

Philip recovered instantly. He straightened his shirt, that same sweet, almost affectionate smile on his face. He didn’t look scared. He looked... pleased.

Why did he look so pleased to see Calestino?

"Grumpy daddy, huh?" He said lightly. "Relax. I was only trying to make friends. I just moved to the city. Don’t have any yet. She seemed nice... So?"

Calestino’s hand shot out and grabbed the front of Philip’s shirt. "I said back the fuck off. She’s not interested in being your friend."

Philip didn’t fight it. He just kept smiling that soft, sweet smile, like he was enjoying the grip on his collar. He didn’t try to pull away. He didn’t look scared. He looked happy to be touched by him.... by Calestino?

Normally, people usually feel scared and intimidated by Calestino. So why was professor Philip acting differently and weirdly familiar?

I stood there frozen, bag clutched to my chest, watching the two of them. Calestino’s knuckles were white. Philip’s eyes were locked on Calestino’s face, that sweet smile never fading.

What the hell was going on?

Philip finally raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to get territorial. I’ll see you around, Reina."

He walked away without another word, still smiling.

Calestino watched him go until he disappeared down the hall. Then he turned to me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded, but my mind was spinning.

Why had Philip smiled at Calestino like that? Why hadn’t he looked scared when Calestino grabbed him? Why did he call him "grumpy daddy" like it was some inside joke? And why did he seem so happy to be touched by him?

I pressed my lips together and wondered, not for the first time today, if Philip was even right in the head at all.

The walk back to the car felt like it stretched on forever, each step heavier than the last. Calestino stayed glued right beside me, his big frame solid and silent like a bodyguard who did not trust the world one bit. Every couple of seconds I glanced down at the watch on my wrist, my thumb twitching near the button, ready to press it if anything felt off.

My head was still spinning hard from everything that had happened in class. Philip’s creepy sweet smile kept flashing in my mind, the way he had looked almost thrilled when Calestino grabbed him by the collar like he wanted to tear his throat out. And the way Philip had called him grumpy daddy, like it was some twisted inside joke between them.

Something was seriously wrong with that guy. Deeply, dangerously wrong.

I was so deep in my racing thoughts that I did not even notice Andrew until he was right there, stepping out suddenly from between two parked cars and blocking our path completely. He looked tall and familiar in that painful way, the same face I had once loved with all my heart and then hated with every single fiber of my being. His eyes locked straight onto mine, wide and desperate. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Reina," he said, his voice coming out soft and almost begging, cracking a little like he was barely holding it together. "Please. Just hear me out. I swear I am not here to start any trouble."

Calestino reacted in a flash, moving like lightning to step right in front of me, turning himself into a massive wall of muscle and warning. "Back off right now," he growled low, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Andrew quickly raised both hands in the air, showing he was harmless, but his eyes never left my face for even a second. "I am serious, Reina. Five minutes. That is all I am asking. Just five minutes of your time and then I will vanish if you want me to. I know I do not deserve it, but please."

I wanted to scream at Calestino to drag this bastard away by his neck and throw him across the parking lot for all I care. I wanted to spin around and run as fast as my legs could carry me without looking back. But my feet stayed planted there on the ground like they had grown roots. All the boiling anger from last night mixed with the fresh confusion from this morning came rushing up at once, making my chest tight and my blood feel like fire.

"Five minutes," I said, my voice coming out ice cold and sharp enough to cut glass. "Not a second more. Say what you have to say and then get out of my sight forever."