Chapter 4 004

SOFIA’S Pov

“That wasn’t so bad,” I muttered, turning toward Nora as the initial wave of anxiety from our first lecture finally began to recede.

Nora offered a soft smile. “See? I told you so. It’s mostly just intimidating from the outside.”

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud group of girls stepped into our path. They immediately swarmed Nora, wrapping their arms around her shoulders and practically whisking her away down the corridor. Nora threw me an apologetic look over her shoulder, waving her hand. “I’ll be seeing you later, Sofia!”

I nodded, offering a weak wave back as the crowd swallowed her up, leaving me to walk on alone. I pulled out my ringing phone to see the screen flashing.

It was Ava.

“Hey,” I breathed.

“Hey yourself! How are you catching on over there?”

I leaned closer to the wall, letting a stream of students pass me by. “Ava, you have no idea. Everyone here is just... so rich. It’s honestly ridiculous.”

I could practically hear the wicked grin spreading across her face. “Well, look at the bright side. Perhaps you can manage to catch yourself a rich boyfriend and lose your virginity for good.”

My cheeks instantly flamed. “Shut up,” I cursed her out, keeping my voice low so no one around me could hear. “I’m here for academic purposes, Ava, period. Romance is the last thing on my agenda.”

“Sofia, you’re twenty-two on your way to twenty three,” she countered, her tone shifting into that relentless matchmaking mode she loved so much. “You’ll be a graduate in a few years, and you still haven't had a single boyfriend? Come on.”

I rolled my eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips despite myself. “You know my taste. My type is an older man. If I’m going to find anyone interesting here, perhaps I can get myself a nice, handsome lecturer.”

Ava and I burst out laughing, But my laughter died instantly when my gaze drifted across the courtyard.

Through the massive glass windows, I spotted someone walking toward the athletic hallway. The posture and the shape of the jaw line—it was entirely too familiar. My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

“Oh my god,” I exclaimed, my grip tightening on the phone. “Ava, hold on. It seems I just saw Ace. Ace from our old school... he’s here. He’s in this school.”

Ava let out a loud gasp on the other end, the playful mood instantly vanishing. “How is that even possible? I mean, he was absent for so long at the end of the year, but maybe all this while he just transferred to another school.”

“How is that possible?” I repeated, panic clawing at my throat as the dark memories of his relentless pursuit from our past began to resurface.

“I don’t know,” Ava said, her voice turning dead serious.

“But all I know is you’re completely screwed, Sofia. If he catches sight of you, he’ll just continue to pursue you all over again.”

Just then, as if sensing my gaze, Ace began to turn his head toward the window.

Panic took over my brain completely. Without thinking, I dove for the nearest door in the hallway, stepping inside, and shutting it quickly behind me.

When I finally lifted my head and turned to see where I had hidden, I froze completely.

In front of me stood a giant of a guy, built like a Greek god, but the breathtaking symmetry of his features wasn't what was alarming. What was alarming was the fact that he was completely, utterly naked. He was standing there with a towel in his hands, his face locked in the exact same expression of shock that I knew was plastered on mine.

For a fraction of a second, my brain short circuited.

Before my eyes could roam down to the forbidden areas, the humiliation of the situation broke through my paralysis.

“S-sorry!” I stammered, the word rushing out in a choked gasp.

I didn't wait for a response. I spun around, yanked the door open, and dashed out into the corridor. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, completely forgetting that Ava was still on the line.

“Sofia? Sofia, talk to me! Are you okay?” Ava’s voice was tiny, shouting from the speaker of the phone still clutched in my trembling hand.

I burst outside through the back door of the building as I managed to finally catch my breath.

“I’m not okay,” I breathed into the phone, my voice shaking so hard I could barely speak. “Ava, I am infact not okay. Not after what I just saw right now.”

“Sofia, calm down,” Ava urged, misunderstanding my panic. “Ace is just a normal human. You shouldn’t be running like a maniac just because of him. You can handle him.”

“That isn’t the problem right now,” I choked out, covering my face with my free hand as the image of the stranger burned itself into my eyelids. “Because the problem has shifted entirely.”

Ava paused, her tone turning cautious. “What do you mean by that?”

“I just burst into the locker room,” I whispered, my cheeks burning so hot I thought they might catch fire. “I barged in on a naked guy, Ava. Good lord.”

Ava literally screamed at the other end of the line, the sound piercing my ear. “Are you serious?”

“I am screwed for real,” I groaned, leaning my head back against the cold brick wall. “Because now I have to spend my semester avoiding two people instead of one.”

“Everything was supposed to be going smoothly,” Ava lamented, her tone shifting to disbelief. “You were supposed to be keeping your head down and not getting into trouble.”

“I know,” I concluded, a miserable sigh escaping my lips. “And yet, trouble always finds me. But good lord, Ava... the guy was insanely handsome.”

A sudden shift went through Ava’s tone, that familiar tease returning. “Well, that’s it then. Perhaps you just bagged yourself a future husband.”

“Shut up,” I snapped.

“Sofia?”

A deep, scratchy voice announced itself at my back.

My entire body stiffened into stone. Slowly I turned around to face the intruder.

Ace was standing a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest, a slow, a smirk spreading across his face.

“A-ace?” I returned, my voice sounding incredibly small.

He took a step closer, his eyes raking over my new appearance. “Wow. Who would have thought?”

The phone was still held tightly against my ear.

“Sofia, what’s going on?” Ava’s voice cut through the speaker, her voice desperate for answers as the silence between Ace and me stretched thin. “Sofia?”