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Zayn stepped out of the principal's office, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets, his expression as unimpressed as ever.

Outside, Rhys was waiting, pacing lightly.

“Hey… did something happen?” Rhys asked, concerned.

Zayn scoffed. “Nothing. Just that old guy barking again. And I don’t speak with a dog, so I didn’t understand a single shit.”

Rhys sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Zayn, please… drop this attitude someday. It’s going to backfire hard.”

Zayn chuckled, sarcastic and careless. “Do you really think I care, Rhys? About anything?”

They walked across the courtyard in silence until they reached the cafeteria. The doors opened and the buzz of lunch hour filled the air.

Zayn had barely taken three steps inside when a voice called out from the crowd.

“Zayn!”

Zayn paused. The voice was familiar. Annoyingly familiar.

A tall, slightly built guy pushed through the students, desperation written all over his face.

“You blocked me from everywhere!” the guy said, breathless. “Did I do something wrong?”

Zayn groaned and threw his head back dramatically. “Not again.”

“Zayn…” Rhys whispered, warning in his voice.

Zayn turned, completely unfazed, and said coldly,

“Fuck off.”

The guy looked stunned but didn’t move. “Zayn, wait.”

Rhys stepped forward, trying to defuse it. “Please… just go. You’re making it worse.”

But the boy didn’t listen. He stepped right in front of Zayn, blocking his way.

“Zayn, we had something! The nights we spent… it meant something. We laughed, we enjoyed each other! And now you treat me like.like I’m nothing?”

Zayn didn’t even blink. He stepped sideways, brushing past the guy without a glance.

But then ...

The guy grabbed his wrist.

Everything stopped.

BOOM

The slapped voice was loud to hear.

Rhys gasped.

The entire cafeteria turned silent. Heads turned. Phones subtly lifted to record.

The tension crackled.

Zayn slowly turned to face him, his voice low and dangerous.

“Now you got your answer, right?” he hissed.

The guy didn’t move.

“Let. Go. Before I do something you’ll regret.”

His tone was sharp enough to cut glass.

Rhys quickly moved between them, grabbed Zayn’s other hand, and yanked him away. “Enough. Come on.”

Zayn didn’t resist.

The crowd whispered. Some laughed. Some looked shocked. Some looked impressed.

As Rhys dragged him out the cafeteria doors, Zayn tossed one last glare over his shoulder and muttered.

“Fucking Basterd.”

---

“This fucking boy…”

The words echoed through the cafeteria, sharp and full of venom.

Elior stood by the vending machine, just refilling his water bottle, when he overheard a group of guys standing nearby, all murmuring to each other like they were at some gossip club instead of a college.

“Hey, what happened?” Elior asked casually, his brows furrowed.

One of the guys turned toward him and scoffed, “You’re new, right? You don’t know Zayn Alaric, huh?”

Another one added quickly, voice full of disgust.

“That omega’s a walking scandal. Rich, spoiled, heartless. Sleeps with anyone he likes, tosses them like garbage the next day.”

Elior’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yeah, that guy he just humiliated?” another boy chimed in. “that boy Was crying for days. Literally begging Zayn to talk to him. But this heartless bitch doesn’t give a damn. He’s a fucking.Whore.”

“Hey, hey, language,” someone chuckled, “you know he’s rich. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t get away with half of what he does.”

Elior listened silently. His jaw clenched tighter with every word.

He didn’t say anything. Not yet.

He turned and left the cafeteria, stepping into the quiet hallway where no one else could see his face shift expression darkening, eyes now burning with something cold.

Pulling out his phone, he swiped through his gallery… until he stopped at one photo.

Two boys, standing together, arms wrapped around each other. Smiling. Happy.

Aseal.

His lips parted in a whisper, voice barely audible.

“I promise… I'll take your revenge for what he did to you.”

He stared at the photo like it was the only thing holding him together.

“He begged me to protect him… and I failed.”

His grip on the phone tightened.

“But not now I can’t let him destroy someone else.....I’ll destroy him first.”

He slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked up, a calm fury rising in his chest.

“I’ll show you your place, Zayn Alaric.”

He walked away, footsteps slow and steady.

“You think you own the world just because you're pretty and rich?” he muttered under his breath.

“Just wait. I’ll teach you what it means to feel powerless.”

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