New Year's passed in the blink of an eye, and the new semester also kicked off as we entered the second half of our first year.
Everything was well, peaceful, even. The kind of quiet you don't question until it's gone.
Then that letter arrived.
I completely forgot about her. That girl who swore everything she did was for my sake.
For my sake?!
She dragged my name through the mud - ruined my image among my classmates and the whole school. She befriended everyone I was close with, earning their trust without effort, making them believe she was all I needed.
And I couldn't even fight it. She had everyone dancing in her palm, even me.
She isolated me from everyone. Everyone except a few.
That girl, she was willing to go through anything to try and keep me dependent on her.
After spreading rumors about me that had absolutely no evidence, she swooped in like some white knight who was out to rescue a damsel in distress.
But I knew better than that. It was all a part of her plan, and so I didn't fall for it that easily.
In the first place, I can't even recall how it started, or when. All I know is that I got between her and her parents, explained why they shouldn't treat her roughly unless they wanted her to rebel even more, and somehow managed to reach out to their conscience.
Then, for some reason, she started forcing her way into my life. I don't even remember a day during my time in senior high where she wasn't there.
She was well-liked, had excellent grades, was a representative for our year. Teachers and students alike, no one was safe from her charm. No matter how I gently tried to push her away, I was always painted as the bastard who didn't deserve her, lucky that she even looked my way.
What made things worse is the fact that she would go out of her way to "defend" me, to clean my name of those baseless rumors that had started to circulate around school.
But that was all part of her plan, to turn everyone to her side. The innocent, beautiful, and model student who could never do anything wrong. She even went as far as confessing to me in front of a crowd of students, pressuring me into accepting her.
Of course I declined. I didn't see why I should date someone I didn't even like.
Was what I thought. But that was a big mistake.
It was all just her ploy, to make everyone ostracize me more than I already was.
My reputation as "The bastard who didn't deserve her" twisted into something worse. Suddenly, I was an arrogant prick just because I had good grades and a pretty face. People said that grades were all I had, that I was rotten inside and didn't deserve anyone.
Rumors stacked on top of each other, and what started as hate for rejecting her so-called affection turned into a full-blown hate train, one everyone in school seemed eager to jump on.
Just to have someone to point their resentment at.
My two years in senior high were like that, simply put.
I thought I'd move on if I went to a university far away, but that was just me being optimistic. No matter how much people try to run away from their past, it always catches up to them.
In my case, it was her. Marianne Auclait.
The only daughter of the House of Auclait - an influential family in France whose history dated back centuries, though I never really knew how or why. She'd originally lived there, but according to Marianne, she'd had a falling out with her family. Something about an internal feud that made her want to live apart from her parents.
I didn't push further, I figured she wouldn't feel comfortable talking about it, so I let it go.
Being the only heiress, she had no competition for succession. But with her absence, those who held close ties to their house began questioning her parent's authority.
That was why they tried to force her to return, even going as far as to drag her back, screaming and kicking until I interfered.
They brushed me off at first, but stopped the moment I struck a nerve. Luckily it was enough to make them reconsider how they treated Marianne, to actually start caring for her as their only daughter.
Or at least, that's what she told me a few days after my confrontation with her parents.
Did she turn her parents into her pawns as well?
Looking back, Noah's warning, my interference, and her habit of using people for her own goals. It wasn't hard to see how the dots connected.
Which meant one thing: she didn't just have influence anymore. She had power. Real power, the kind that could corner me if she wanted to.
And if I was right about that... this might not end with just me. Knowing her, she'd go through anyone to get what she wanted. Even my family.
Just as the full weight of my thoughts began to sink in, Anathasia's voice cut through—
"Hey! Snap out of it, the professor's pissed y'know?!"
I caught myself too late. The professor didn't even bother with words. Just one sharp comment:
"OUT."
And so I stepped out of the hall, aimlessly walking around the campus while wondering about what Marianne's plans were if my guess was right.
She had a knack for spectacle, but she worked just as well behind curtains.
In fact, she might've already planted students here to track and keep an eye on me, knowing her nature and how she worked.
I eventually came across that same bench where Anathasia and I once came to terms with our differences. Her existence, my longing for peace. It was the place I first started to see her as more than what she claimed to be.
Burdened by the thought of my past finally catching up to me, I sat down and watched the clouds drift lazily overhead. They looked free, but all I felt was Marianne's grip tightening around my neck, just like before.
Her words still echoed inside my head - fragments of her voice that refused to fade:
"I will always be there for you."
"You don't need anyone else, I'm here."
"Only I can save you, so why struggle?"
"Everything I'm doing is for your own good, so why?"
"Why do you hate me so much? Can't you see that only I can give you the love that you deserve?"
"No one understands you better than I do."
"Everyone has already rejected you, I'm your only ally now."
"I will never leave you, even if you push me away-"
"-Because that's what love means."
It wasn't just the words, it was how she said them. Soft. Certain. Like every lie she spoke was gospel.
Her words remained freshly embedded in my mind. Just thinking about them made me feel like I was going insane.
I felt my heart starting to pound harder and faster inside my chest, like I was about to get devoured if I didn't do something, anything.
Memories of everything that she did to me resurfaced. Not just her words, but those moments I once mistook her for solace, back when I didn't understand the intentions behind her actions.
Just remembering them made my stomach churn; bile rose to my throat as my vision began to swirl. I tried to hold myself together, forcing my mind to reject those memories, to push them away, but it was no use.
She'd always had me in her palm. Even now, when she's nowhere near, she still does.
And that's when I realized, I never left her behind. I never escaped her grasp. She only made me think I did, giving me enough space to believe I was free.
Then, I was brought back abruptly by the cold touch of something pressing against my cheek, like a bucket of cold water poured over me.
A familiar soft, warm voice followed. One I knew all too well.
That one person I once tried to push away, yet somehow let in anyway.
Her.
"Hey, you look pale. Is something wrong?" Anathasia's voice was gentle as she stood behind me.
Her voice cut through my thoughts. She handed me the bottle of water, condensation dripping down my fingers, before circling the bench and sitting beside me. That same worried look on her face, as a bead of sweat rolled down my cheek.
"I'm..." I hesitated, biting my lower lip as I tried to say that I wasn't fine, that I needed help, that I didn't know what to do. But then -
"Is it about that girl?" I fell silent, my eyes narrowing as my grip tightened around the water bottle.
I guess it wasn't hard for her to figure that out. I hadn't talked much since the letter came, while she just kept being herself - maybe trying to cheer me up, or something along those lines.
I only managed a small nod. I'd promised her I wouldn't keep secrets again - yet here I was, breaking that promise all over.
But instead of pushing further, she only pulled me close.
"I don't know what that girl's deal is," she murmured softly, the feeling of someone's arm circling around my body followed, letting my face press gently against her chest. "But if you ever need someone you can rely on, I'm always here."
A small soft hum escaped my lips in response, and she seemed satisfied enough to hear it.
The distance between us was non-existent, our bodies pressed against each other while I let myself melt into her embrace. Her presence wasn't suffocating, it was warm, comfortable, and nothing like what Marianne had put me through.
I was completely aware that I was growing overly reliant with her, almost dependent to an extent, something I avoided doing with Marianne solely because of how suffocating hers was compared to Anathasia's.
Anathasia was honest, overly honest at times even. Earnest while still grounded, she let her actions speak, not her words. She never asked anything, not once even tried to coerce me into something.
She had her stubborn moments too, but we always worked through them - by actually talking.
She wasn't impatient; she let things develop over time. Even if we only lived together for over four months, it felt like she understood me even before I could speak my thoughts as if she'd known me for years. She was observant and actually cared not only for herself, but others around her.
While Marianne always decided things on her own accord, then claiming it was all for my sake. Even as I tried explaining, she'd brush me off saying I only needed to listen to her and follow her lead.
I never once believed in unconditional favors, which made me start doubting Anathasia's true intentions with what she was doing.
But before the thought actually started to plant itself in my mind, she suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, how about we eat out for today instead?"
I slowly lifted my head, meeting her gaze as she smiled at me.
"And maybe take a walk after. Your treat though, I didn't bring my wallet." she added, shamelessly admitting she only wanted to get a free meal.
At that moment, it felt like everything earlier was being washed away. Though not completely.
I shook my head in exasperation, typical Anathasia; always knowing how to deal with things in her own, silly and endearing way.
"You're impossible." I mumbled, then buried my face against her chest again while she tried to argue with me about her leaving her wallet behind.
But her words faded as I relished the warmth she gave me without asking for anything, or maybe not anything since she does make unreasonable requests at times...
Still, I felt relieved knowing she was by my side.
For once, I actually felt safe. Secured. Knowing that I had someone who actually cared about me even if she sometimes had trouble showing it.