Chapter 77
Ellie POV
I was on my way to class, clutching my notes to my chest. Gods, Dominic was such a pain. I just-
I paused. My bag.
I whipped around, fumbling.
Crap. Left it back in the room. I stun around with a sigh, with any luck this would be quick.
My hand was slugging my bag over my shoulder when I paused, seeing them. Quickly, I flattened against the wall.
Dominic.
And Karina.
The weirdest, growing pair I was getting sick of seeing.
Karina-of all people. The girl who’d slammed that conduct warning on my desk like a gift, promising my expulsion. The girl who openly hated me.
The both of them, absolute pains in my ass
I should’ve kept walking. Should’ve focused on the midterm. Should’ve minded my own business.
But curiosity slid into my ribs like a thin blade. Why were they together so much recently?
My feet inched close until I was just around the corner, hidden behind the archway. Their voices were low, but the hallway wasn’t loud. If I leaned just a bit-
Karina’s voice cut through clear as glass, bright and proud and unbearably smug:
“I made it so she’ll get expelled, just like you wanted.”
The world stopped.
I didn’t hear what Dominic said before.
I didn’t hear what he said after.
I heard that.
My breath stuttered in my throat.
Expelled. Just like you wanted.
My mind didn’t just race. Connections I’d been too tired or too trusting to make suddenly slammed together like a collapsing building.
The warning on my desk.
The impossible exam.
Them suddenly hanging out together.
His constant push for me to leave the Healer Academy.
His growing frustration every time I refused to quit.
1/2
25 Bonus
And now-this.
My stomach dropped so hard it made me dizzy.
Dominic wasn’t concerned…he was in on it. It wasn’t Vivian.
It was him…the whole time.
All that concern, all those warnings, all that hovering-it wasn’t protection. It was pressure. It was him nudging me toward failure. Toward quitting.
My fingers tightened on my notes until the pages bent.
He was working with her.
Or maybe… maybe she was just doing his dirty work. And he was letting her, because it only benefited him for me to fail.
That…jerk.
I don’t know why it hurt. Why I was surprised. Like he hadn’t betrayed me to my death in the past. But maybe… maybe I was started to see my husband Dom and this Dom as separate.
They weren’t. Never would be.
I stepped back from the wall, pulse racing, heat crawling up my throat. I felt stupid. Betrayed. Humiliated. And so,
so angry.
Dominic was sabotaging me. Behind my back. While pretending he wanted to help.
I should’ve known better.
I swallowed hard, forcing down the burn behind my eyes.
“Fine,” I whispered to myself. My voice shook with fury.
If he wanted me gone?
He was about to be very disappointed.
I spun on my heel and walked away before my knees could give out, the echo of Karina’s voice following me down the hall like a curse, letting my rage fuel my steps.
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