by Bella King
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Stay Up to Date
Also Read
Tempting Hatred
A Dark Bully Romance
Bella King
Copyright © 2019 by Bella King
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Introduction
Destined to love.
Sworn to hate.
Oliver
I had watched her for a long time.
I knew everything about her, but she knew nothing about me.
That would change soon.
Lydia
Leaving my abusive ex was one of the hardest things I had done.
Now, someone new lurked around the corner.
He was tall, handsome… and dangerous.
This book is a college/ new adult romance and is intended for adult readers. It contains violence, strong language, and mature themes.
Chapter 1
I jumped down from the shaky fence onto the fresh wet grass of the soccer field. It was three in the morning, and I was running for my life through my college campus, trying to get away from the police. You would think that a girl like me couldn’t possibly get herself into trouble with the police, but I continued to defy expectations. It was a special talent, I guess.
My first step slid through the grass, almost causing me to fall, but I steadied myself and bolted down the field away from the science building. I had tried to sneak in, but that obviously hadn’t worked out well for me.
I gulped in the heavy night air as I sprinted across the field toward the parking lot. Even though it was cooler outside at night, the summer humidity still clung to my body, causing sweat to form on my skin with little effort.
I looked back, seeing flashing blue lights that couldn’t follow me across the field. I was safe for the moment, but the police would probably be doing their rounds in search of me. I figured they were too lazy to follow m on foot. It wasn’t like I had killed someone.
I sighed in relief, pushing away moist strands of glossy auburn hair from my face. My heart rate was through the roof, but it slowed as I traded my desperate sprint for a quick walk through the parking lot.
I only had to make it to the woods. Then I could slow down and relax. I hadn’t completed my mission, but I could still retrieve my books in the morning.
I was a good student, although if you looked at me now, you wouldn’t expect it. What would a good student be doing trying to break into the science building at three in the morning?
Well, surprisingly enough, I was trying to break in because I was a good student. So good, in fact, that I would do anything to make sure I had what I needed to prepare for my first exam of the year. My notes for the exam were locked away in that building, courtesy of Mr. Asshole.
I laughed to myself as I pushed a branch aside to enter the tight cluster of trees that would eventually lead me back to my apartment. It was safer to take this way, even though I was at risk of tics and night animals eating me alive. The police wouldn’t be patrolling the woods. They would stick to the roads.
I was laughing because I thought it funny that some dickhead named Oliver would have the guts to steal my notes for the exam and lock them in the science building. When he had done that, I was too much of a wimp to attempt to break the cabinet’s fragile lock open. It would mean getting through him first, but going in at night would be much easier, or so I thought.
I hadn’t expected a silent alarm. I was almost to the cabinet when I saw the flashing police lights. Thankfully, there was a window on the first floor that I could jump out of. After that, it was only a matter of outrunning the police. I had little issue with that.
I had the sense to wear a hoodie pulled tight over my head to hide my face from security cameras. I’d probably have to ditch it now, but that was no issue. It was a cheap black one that I had picked up from the store before I started this semester. It had no real value to me.
None of this would have happened if it weren’t for that bastard Oliver. Handsome as he was, with his messy brown hair and powerful features, he was more trouble than he was worth. I had a sweet spot for men like him. Tall, muscular, with more than a hint of rebellion fizzling inside of them. Yeah, that was Oliver, but he was worse than any other man I had encountered in the 20 years I’d been on this godforsaken hellscape of a planet.
Me? Bitter? No way. I considered myself a realist, and if people translated that to mean a pessimist, then that was their problem. The only things I worried about was my health, my grades, and now, Oliver.
I trudged through the soggy leaves and moss-covered logs that littered the forest floor. I suppose I should have been upset by all this, but I felt alive in this instance. I’m sure when I had to wake up in five hours, I wouldn’t feel so great, but for now, I was cheerful.
I would need to go to the science building early tomorrow to smash the lock on the cabinet there and retrieve my notes. I knew that Oliver wasn’t going to give me the key, and none of the professors who worked in the building had a spare. The only reason Oliver had access to it was that he was a part-time teacher’s assistant.
I’m sure he got paid for that role, but the main benefit was higher grades in your classes because the teachers would favor you. I knew that Oliver sucked up to them heavily, and that was the only reason he got A’s instead of flunking out. I often wondered how he managed to land a position like that.
Being rich probably helped. Oliver’s family was from a wealthy background, unlike my own. I actually had to work to pay for school, but most of that work came in the form of grants. What Oliver didn’t realize when he stole my notes that he was threatening my ability to even attend college in the first place. I wouldn’t get far with the various grants I got for outstanding academic work.
It was always possible that he did realize the gravity of his actions and wanted me kicked from the school. That would make him more of an asshole than I had first assumed, but anything was possible, as I would soon discover.
After a good half-hour of walking through the old forest trees, I arrived at a clearing not far from my apartment. My shoes slapped against worn pavement, hard and solid as I walked confidently to my unit. I was safe now.
Chapter 2
Metal clanged loudly down the hall with the first swing. A dent. The second swing was brought down with more fury. I was sure someone heard me.
The filing cabinet that my notes had been locked away in was little more than a twisted heap of metal when I was done bashing the lock to bits with a large hammer. It didn’t take mu
ch, but I took more frustration out than was necessary to get it open.
I dropped the hammer back into my black and gray book bag and zipped it shut. Nobody needed to know what I had just done to retrieve my notes.
I opened the thin, battered metal door to the cabinet and found my notes on top of a stack of other papers. I swung the door closed, and it slapped against the frame, only to fall open again without a lock. Whatever.
“Lydia, what are you doing?” A female voice called down the hall to me.
I stood up straight, my face contorted in a blatant admission of guilt. I darted in front of the cabinet to hide the damage I had inflicted on it.
It was Professor Lyche, the bitch, as I liked to call her. I swear that no matter how well I did in her class, she refused to give me an A. I always got B’s. She was the only thing standing in the way of me making Dean's list every year. No lie.
What did she want now?
“What was that noise?” Professor Lyche asked, tilting her head to the side as she walked toward her office past me down the hall.
“Just, uh, ran into something,” I muttered, attempting to cover up the damage to the cabinet by shifting my bag on the floor to cover the busted lock.
She scowled but kept walking. “Don’t break anything,” she said as she passed me.
“Of course not,” I assured her.
Her heels clicked against the tiled floor almost as loud as my hammer against the filing cabinet. I let out a sigh as she disappeared into her office.
I picked up my heavy book bag from the floor, unzipping it and stuffing my notes between two textbooks to keep them from getting crumpled. I turned to leave for my first class of the day when Oliver appeared around the corner.
He walked with a swagger that screamed dominance. I would have dropped to my knees for him in an instant if he wasn’t just a prick. Honestly, why can’t the handsome men be nicer?
Oliver brushed his sloppy bangs from his face, raising an eyebrow when he spotted me. “Trying to get your notes back?” He inquired as he approached me.
I shifted my weight to my back foot nervously, clasping my hands together in front of me. “I already did,” I replied with a nervous grin.
He frowned when he saw the state that I had left the filing cabinet in. “Jesus Lydia. You could have asked me for the key,” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “Wow, you really fucked that thing up.”
I wasn’t sure how he would react to me bludgeoning the cabinet to death, but he didn’t seem terribly happy about it. His forehead was creased as he leaned down the study my hammer work.
“Goddamn, you destroyed it. You know I need that to store other people’s papers and stuff, right? You can’t go around breaking shit that isn’t yours,” he scolded.
I attempted to fight back against him. “If you hadn’t hidden my notes, I wouldn’t have had to break it,” I countered weakly.
Oliver rolled his eyes. “You really think that what you did was okay? This is coming out of my paycheck, you know. The school will have to buy another one.”
He was making a big deal about it on purpose to try to humiliate me and make me feel guilty about it. I wasn’t going to let him. It was his fault.
I crossed my arms and shrugged. “I guess you shouldn’t steal my stuff next time.”
Oliver straightened up, and I immediately regretted my words. He was over six feet tall and well built, towering over my small frame like a tank rolling toward a bicycle. His eyes were small slits as he sized me up.
I shrunk down, trying to seem small and innocent. He had too many connections with the professors to piss him off. I should have thought about that before I got him angry.
“Here’s the deal, Lydia,” he said, putting a strong emphasis on my name. “You’re buying a new cabinet, or I’m reporting you to the administration.”
I nodded. “That’s not fair,” I argued, trying to save face. “You’re the one that locked my notes in there.”
“It costs about $200. Your call,” he replied, refusing to acknowledge my argument.
I groaned. “That’s too much,” I pleaded.
The smug look on Oliver’s face told me all I needed to know. There would be no negotiating with him on this. Either I paid for it out of pocket, or he would report me. I glared at him for a moment before speaking.
“Alright, but you need to give me a couple of days to get the money. I don’t get paid until Friday.”
“Friday, no later,” Oliver said sharply. He walked past me toward our classroom.
I had the same class at him ,but I waited until he was already in the classroom to follow suit.
What a fucking jerk. This was a result of his actions, not mine, and yet I was the one paying for it. Maybe it had been a bit of an overreaction to destroy the filing cabinet, but I wouldn’t have been pushed to do it if Oliver hadn’t come between me and my grades.
I hadn’t thought to explain my reaction to him, but now that I thought about it, maybe it would get me off the hook. I rushed into the classroom and sat at the desk beside him. The professor teaching this class wasn’t there yet, so I leaned over to Oliver.
“Hey, you know when you hid my notes, I kind of freaked out,” I said quietly.
Oliver nodded, tapping his pencil against the desk while staring straight ahead.
“Well, it was only because if I do badly in a class, I might not be able to attend college. I’m only here because of my grants, and I can only get those because of my grades.”
A smirk graced Oliver’s face for a moment. “That’s your problem.”
Had he no empathy? I was giving a compelling reason behind my actions while he had none for his. I leaned back into my seat and huffed, waiting for the teacher to enter the room and start class. I shook my head slowly in disapproval, looking over to Oliver to see if he saw me. He didn’t look.
I sighed and pulled out my books, pulling out the hammer as well and placing it on my desk with a thick clunk.
That got his attention. Oliver glanced over at it, his smirk transforming into a scowl. “What’s that?”
“It’s for your skull,” I replied as the professor walked in.
Oliver reached out to grab it, but I was anticipating that. I whipped it off my desk and flung it back into my bookbag. He never could keep his hands to himself. I had learned that when he snatched my notes yesterday.
“You can’t threaten me over something you did wrong,” Oliver warned.
“That wasn’t a threat,” I replied, knowing damn well that it had been. I didn’t want to give him the idea that I was some helpless nerd that he could bully into submission. My momma had taught me better than that.
Oliver turned back to the front of the class when the professor began his lecture on material science. Dull subject, but necessary for graduating with a degree in Engineering.
Chapter 3
I took a bite of my dry bread and made a face. “It never gets easier to eat this stuff,” I said, tossing the hard roll back onto my plate.
My friend, Mia, was sitting across from me in the dining hall, munching happily on her roll like it was the best thing ever. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re just picky,” she said, snatching my roll from my plate and putting it on hers.
“Maybe you’re addicted to carbs,” I replied with a laugh.
Mia chuckled. “Yeah, and they’re not treating me well. It’s an abusive relationship for sure. I keep crawling back, and the carbs keep punishing me for it.”
Mia had never been very politically correct. That was one of the reasons why she was such a good friend. She loosened me up more than she probably realized. If it wasn’t for her, I probably would never leave the library after school.
“Ah shit, there he is,” I said, spotting Oliver walking into the dining hall with his friends like they owned the place.
He was the leader of his pack. The alpha frontman that called all the shots. Nobody like him should have so much power, but I suspected he was addicted to it the same
way Mia was addicted to carbohydrates. He couldn’t get enough.
“Who?” Mia asked, whipping her tight black curls around as she followed my stare.
“Oliver,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You like him or something?” Mia asked. “He is pretty cute.”
“No, Mia, I don’t. He’s an ass,” I replied, grabbing my roll back from her plate and tearing into it with my teeth.
“How so?” Mia asked, following him with her eyes as he sat down with his posse.
“He stole my class notes, so I fucked up his stupid teacher’s assistant cabinet. Now I owe him like 200 bucks,” I replied as though this were a perfectly normal run of events.
Mia laughed. “Jesus Lydia. That sounds kind of like it was your fault.”
I groaned. “No, it definitely wasn’t my fault.” I took another chunk out of my roll as I watched Oliver laugh with his friends. How come he got to enjoy himself, and I was the one that had to pay for his foolishness?
Mia looked at me. “Why are you so angry? He probably likes you. Maybe try being nicer to him next time.”
“What? No,” I said. “He doesn’t.”
Mia gave me a look. “You have some pretty whack social skills, girl. I know you well enough by now. You’re like a social retard.”
“Okay, maybe so, but I know he doesn’t like me. He didn’t even care when I told him that grants were the only thing keeping me in school.”
Mia flashed a sympathetic look as she lifted a fork full of noodles to her lips. “Everyone here has their struggles.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m not special. I’ve heard that before,” I said with a sigh. I took a hasty bite of my food and ripped my eyes away from Oliver.
“It’s not other people’s job to pity you, Lydia. I’m the only one that does that for you, and I shouldn’t either.”
“He could have been nicer about it. That’s all,” I said. It was totally possible that I had overreacted.