Chapter 299
Chapter 299:
Unease lingered in Zaria’s mind. The more she replayed the scene, the less it sat right with her. As someone who took her role seriously, she decided not to ignore it. Pulling out her phone, she sent Kyson a brief message.
By the time evening rolled in, the office emptied as everyone else clocked out right on schedule.
Once the last footsteps faded, Kailey switched off the overhead lights and remained seated alone at her desk. The only illumination came from the computer screen, casting a cold glow over her features and making her already pale skin appear almost translucent.
Darkness had always felt safer to her. Clean, untainted shadows offered more comfort than bright lights ever could.
Back when Kailey was twelve and already in eighth grade after skipping ahead, she stood out among classmates who were older than she was. Boys in her class couldn’t help noticing her, drawn to both her grades and her appearance. At that age, when feelings first began to form, some of them tried to imitate romance from the books they read. A few even slipped handwritten confessions into her desk.
Kailey usually threw them straight into the trash. Romance didn’t interest her, and she saw no reason to entertain it.
D𝗂ѕ𝘤𝘰𝘃𝘦𝗋 𝗇е𝘸 𝘴𝘁оr𝗂𝗲𝘀 𝗈𝗻
One afternoon, just as the teacher stepped into the classroom, a girl who had never liked Kailey shot her hand into the air and announced, “Kailey is seeing several boys at the same time!” Having a boyfriend might have been dismissed as typical teenage behavior, but being accused of juggling several at once turned it into something far more serious.
The teacher abandoned the lesson plan entirely and demanded an explanation on the spot. The accusing girl presented a stack of love letters and encouraged a few classmates to speak up, listing what they claimed were Kailey’s offenses.
For the first time in her life, Kailey understood what it felt like to stand accused without a single word landing in her defense.
The situation escalated quickly, and soon enough she was summoned to a meeting with her family and teacher. Although the teacher addressed Ryan with courtesy, her tone carried heavy suggestions, painting Kailey as a girl entangled with several boys at once.
The moment they returned home, Ryan smashed his phone in anger.
At only twenty, he already carried himself like her father. Authority came naturally to him, and anger only sharpened it. “Kailey, you’ve really let me down. What’s been going through your head lately? Do you even realize how young you are? And you think it’s acceptable to see guys now p>
Keeping her gaze lowered, Kailey answered softly, “I’m not p>
“Then what do you call this?” He flung a bundle of letters toward her, the hard edges scraping her face. “Are you telling me none of these boys are into you? Is that what you’re saying p>