Chapter 145: I Don’t Want To
It’s been so long since I last heard Night’s cold and unfriendly tone that it made me freeze still. "I-It was..." I looked at Kaoru who was standing behind Night for help, but he appeared to be more afraid of Night than I am right now. Kaoru was looking down while holding both of his hands in front of him.
"I just bumped into something. It’s no big deal. You already know how clumsy I am." I let out a nervous laugh.
"Stop lying."
It didn’t fool Night’s sharp observation. ’When can I fool this guy?’ I don’t know what will happen if I tell him the truth. He wouldn’t do something dangerous, wouldn’t he?
I sighed. "Don’t you have class—" I tried to change the topic, but I remembered that Bethany and Night are from the same class. ’If Bethany sees me with Night right now, she’ll surely make a fuss.’ I thought as I immediately took the ice pack from the table.
"Kaoru, we need to go," I said, ignoring Night’s question.
When I was about to pass by him, Night grabbed my arm. "You can’t leave until you tell me who did that." His voice was stern, and I am aware that he was not joking.
"Night, where did you go?"
’Oh no.’
Bethany arrived right on time and her expression really turned bad. "You! Night’s stalker!" I heard Bethany saying and she slapped my hand away from Night which really hurts! "Why do you keep bothering Night? Stop it already. Do you want another bruise on your face, huh?" She said while I massaged my temples because her shrill voice makes my head hurt.
"Was it you?"
Uh-oh... Bethany dug her own grave.
"Night?" Bethany’s voice turned soft as she looked at Night with confused eyes.
"Did you slap her?"
Bethany smiled and nodded lots of times. She looked proud of what she did.
"Why?"
Bethany clung to Night’s arm. "It’s because she was the one who spread the rumors about being engaged to Night."
"Stop touching me."
Bethany looked baffled after hearing Night say that with his cold gaze on her. "B-But Night, you hate this stalker, didn’t you?"
I grabbed Night’s arm to stop him from doing whatever he was trying to do. "Hey, calm down," I whispered to him.
"You don’t have the right to hurt Noelle." My eyes widened and so did Bethany’s after Night grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.
’What in the world is he doing right now!?’
"N-Night?" Bethany called for his name, but this idiot wouldn’t listen.
I slapped Night’s hand causing him to look at me. "What do you think you’re doing?" It looks like he came back to reality after I asked him that. Night let Bethany go, and due to fear, Bethany ran away. "You’re an idiot." I also ran away after saying that.
How could he lose his temper like that? What will people say about him if they learned that he grabbed a female student’s collar and looked at them with a threatening gaze? This will make his reputation go downhill!
"Noelle!"
I stopped running after hearing Kaoru call for me. "U-Uhm, do you feel alright?"
He shouldn’t be asking me that. It was Bethany who got terrified. "I’m fine." I clicked my tongue as I sat on the floor due to exhaustion. I know that Night will soon blame himself for reacting like that again. I’m aware of that, and he’ll surely hate himself again because of what he showed me. ’I don’t want him to feel like that anymore.’ That’s why I tried to stop him.
After Miss Valencia saw the bruise on my face, she asked me about what happened and I answered her honestly. It surprised her, to hear that I was being bullied. She then started asking me if I was always being bullied like that by the students in the advanced class, so I explained to her that it was not always like this.
They wouldn’t always resort to violence like this. But because Miss Valencia was worried, she let me take a half day and she wanted to talk to Bethany too. I told her that I’ll go, but she just told me to rest.
"Is the lady mad at the young master?" I heard Kaoru ask as I was about to open the door to my room.
"I’m not." I turned to him and smiled. "I guess we need to talk later after he goes home."
"Was it my fault?" Kaoru looked like a sad puppy. He’s lovable.
I chuckled and tapped his arm. "You did nothing wrong. And I’m really not mad at Night, so don’t worry. Just go and rest."
I am more worried about how Night will feel about his actions. Despite looking all strong and brave, Night has a soft heart. I’ve learned that after spending more time with him. That’s why I don’t want him to get hurt whenever he does something for me.
I lay on the bed after changing clothes. Rika’s not been around since she went grocery shopping with Himari and Shiho. They’re all getting along well. Makoto’s not around either, and I don’t even want to know where he went. I’m glad there’s no one teasing me about this bruise right now.
Actually, Tomoe’s the only one in the house but I can’t talk to her. She probably still hates me, she doesn’t even try to hide it from me, but the other people around us aren’t aware of it. For example, Night.
When I heard a knock on the door, I immediately got up from the bed and opened it. Night might have skipped class after learning that I took a half day today.
"I know you want to apologize but—"
I immediately stopped as I pursed my lips after seeing Tomoe outside my door instead of Night. ’I thought it was Night. This is awkward!’
"Tomoe?" I called for her name after she just stared at me. "Uhm, do you need something from me?"
Her eyes were staring at me blankly, and I don’t know how to react as she didn’t answer my question.
"Do you really like Yoru?"
My forehead creased. ’Where did that come from?’ I thought that she was just trying to annoy me, but she seemed serious. "Yes, I do like him." More than she could ever think of.
"What if Yoru dies because you chose to be with him? Are you still going to choose to be by his side? You’re in danger, aren’t you? What if those people after you hurt Night because you wouldn’t leave him alone?"
I blinked lots of times after being asked such a question. Does Tomoe...
"Yes. I am aware of the truth since the beginning." She sighed. "You were only using Yoru to be safe from those people after you, and now, everything’s over. That Italian mafia group stopped chasing you, so you don’t have any reasons to stay with Yoru."
I balled my fists as I looked down. Even Tomoe’s feet look beautiful while she’s wearing white socks. She’ll surely become a better wife for Night than me. But...
"I love him, and he loves me back."
Tomoe’s expression turned grim. Did she hate hearing that from me?
"Are you willing to die for him? Are you ready to see him get hurt because of you?"
"W-What are you saying?"
Tomoe scoffed. "If someone’s after you, why must you involve Yoru? What if he chooses to die for you?" I can feel her hatred with every word she says. "I don’t want him to die for someone like you."
Someone like me? What am I for Tomoe?
I felt like someone was piercing my heart with something small and sharp. "That’s up to him." I didn’t want to hear these things from Tomoe. "If you want to stop him, then why don’t you tell him that?" My tone was cold and I looked at her with no emotions. There’s no way I would let Night die because of me.
I heard her scoff again making me ball my fists. If I end up getting punched by her because of what I said, I’ll accept it with no complaints.
"You’re becoming a lot more like Yoru now."
Tomoe left after saying that. She didn’t punch or did something bad to me. ’What was that about?’ Am I in danger again? Is Night going to be in danger because of me? Her words lingered in my head and made me think of what could her reason be for saying all of that to me.
’There’s no point thinking about something too grim.’ I thought as I let out a deep sigh. ’It felt like I was being too stiff in front of Tomoe.’ It was easier facing Bethany and those other girls than talking to Tomoe. She has this aura that intimidates me even without doing anything bad to me.
But I don’t want to lose Night to her. ’I don’t want to lose him to anyone.’
As I was about to enter back to my room, I felt someone’s hand on my arm causing me to look back. And this time, it made me smile.
