“So, Thalia, how does it feel to be married while still a student?”
I paused in the midst of taking a bite of pasta as Albert’s question caught me off guard. Their curious eyes were all on me.
I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s okay. My status is the only thing that changed. He can be a bit overprotective at times, though. But I understand.”
“That’s normal. Many envy Stephen, especially in business matters. So, he just wants to make sure you’re safe from those people,” Harold chimed in.
I raised an eyebrow. They’re enemies of his mafia, after all.
I bit my lower lip, lost in thought. Do they really have no idea about Stephen’s illegal activities?
“I have a question.” I put down my fork and looked at them one by one.
“Shoot,” Albert said while munching on his food. Wait, how many servings of rice did this guy order?
I sighed before adjusting my seat. “How well do you know Stephen? Do you know all the businesses he’s running?”
I looked at Albert, who suddenly coughed. He quickly grabbed his water glass and took a big gulp.
“What do you mean? Stephen owns a chain of hotels. Besides that, they also have resorts and malls. That’s all we know,” Mads answered.
“Why? Does Stephen have other businesses now? Since we left the mansion, we haven’t had much news about him, and when we meet up with his friends, we never really discuss that topic,” Damon replied.
I stared at them for a few moments before nodding.
“Okay. Just wondering. Since we got married, he’s been coming home really late. Sometimes even in the early hours of the morning. So, I thought he might be handling other things that I’m not aware of.” I lied to them.
Harold tapped my hand that was resting on the table. “Thalia, if there’s something he’s dealing with that you don’t know about, I’m sure he’ll be the one to tell you about it someday. Stephen loves you very much.”
I raised an eyebrow at Harold. I noticed the subtle nudge from Albert out of the corner of my eye. “You think so?”
He nodded quickly. “Hell, yeah! Don’t you see the way he looks at you? It’s like you’re the most precious thing in the world. The way he touches you? Like you’re something incredibly delicate that he needs to take care of. The way he protects you? As if—” He was cut off mid-sentence when Damon suddenly interrupted.
“Why? Don’t you feel the same way about him?” Damon interjected.
His question caught me off guard.
I’ve lost count of how many times Stephen has told me he loves me. But most of the time, I respond with a simple smile.
He doesn’t talk much to me about his feelings. But I know he still harbors doubts about my feelings and loyalty to him.
I glanced at my watch. I felt relieved to see that our next class was about to start soon.
We all chose the business management course. This year, we even picked the same major, marketing management. Fortunately, we’re still together in the same section.
I stood up and slung my shoulder bag over my shoulder. “Let’s go. It’s time.”
I didn’t wait for them to respond and walked out ahead.
Once outside, I leaned against the wall. My heart was racing with nervousness. I’m pretty sure about my feelings for Stephen. The only problem is that I haven’t been able to tell him that directly.
Several more subjects passed by, and I found myself barely comprehending anything. Well, as Mads said, it’s just the first day, so maybe that’s okay.
Besides that Tep-Tep matter, I couldn’t shake off my thoughts about expressing my feelings to Stephen.
I let out a yawn as our last class for the day finally ended. I began packing my things into my bag when I suddenly noticed something and remembered.
I slapped my forehead. “Shit!”
Harold gave me a puzzled look. “What is it?”
“I forgot my handouts from our previous class. I left them under the desk in the classroom we were in before the break.”
Why do I have to be so absent-minded now?
“Oh, it’s okay. I’ll lend you mine,” Harold offered.
I stood up and shook my head at him. “No need. I’ll just go back. It’s in the building next door.”
“But—”
I didn’t bother to listen to Harold anymore and swiftly left.
“Thalia, where are you going?” Mads asked as I caught up with her outside.
“I forgot something. I’ll just go back quickly. Wait for me in the lobby!”
I dashed away before they could say anything.
Thankfully, the classroom was still open, and the class had ended, so I hurriedly entered. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw my handouts still under the desk. I quickly gathered them and put them in my bag before leaving.
As I ran, I rearranged the contents of my bag. Since I was looking down, I didn’t notice that someone was approaching. I was taken aback when handouts suddenly fell to the ground.
“Sorry!” I quickly bent down and helped him gather the scattered handouts.
Once everything was sorted, I looked up and handed the papers to him. “Sorry again.” I smiled at him.
But my eyebrows furrowed when I noticed he was just staring at me.
“Nathalia?” he said, surprised.
My frown deepened. “How did you know my name?”
He cleared his throat and took the papers from my hand. We both stood up simultaneously.
“Who wouldn’t recognize you? You’re one of the campus crushes here at the university.” He chuckled.
I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t aware of that. “Really?”
He smirked and adjusted his stance. “Yeah. Actually, I was about to court you last year.”
“Was? Why didn’t you push through?”
Not that I regretted it or anything. I was just curious about his reasons.
He raised an eyebrow in return. “Don’t you know?”
Now I’m lost. “Know what?”
“A guy actually approached me and told me to stay away from you and not pursue whatever plans I had because you were supposedly going to marry him. At first, I thought he was just joking because we never heard any news about you being in a relationship,” he said, shaking his head.
I suddenly felt a surge of nervousness. What if...
“Because of that thought, I just ignored his threat. But on the day I was supposed to introduce myself to you, I experienced a severe beating. I found out that everyone who attempted to court or approach you back then had also been warned by him. So, since then, we’ve been afraid to come near you.”
He lowered his gaze to my ring finger. “And I guess he’s right. You look like you got married during the break. Anyway, congratulations.”
He was about to walk past me when I quickly reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. Shaking, I took out my phone from my pocket and hurriedly went to the gallery section.
As soon as I found the picture I was looking for, I showed it to him. “Is this the guy you talked to?”
His eyes squinted as he slowly nodded. “Yes! That’s him. He looks a bit more mature in that picture, but it’s him.” He looked at me again and smiled.
“All right. I’m leaving.”
He had actually left already, but I remained standing there, staring into space. My senses were throbbing with discomfort as I processed the newfound information.
How could Stephen have spoken to them last year and warned them that he would marry me? How did that happen? We had only known each other for a few months!
My thoughts raced, and then a thought struck me. I covered my mouth, my eyes narrowing as I closed them tightly.
Could it be that he had known me for a long time and had been keeping tabs on me? Could he be connected to Aries in some way?
It felt like my heart was shattered because I was thinking about that and because of a question in my mind.
Does he really love me?