Chapter 9

NATALIE’S POV

The message had dropped like a bomb in my lap on our way to Lucas’ grandmother’s birthday party.

A message that prompted the truth about my relationship with Lucas coming to light. A message that called for my immediate attention.

Now I was here, breathless with my heart thundering.

And facing Malcolm.

He looked like a man completely unfazed by chaos. Cool, Composed but his eyes sparkled—like he was enjoying something only he understood.

I controlled my breathing and a frown settled on my face as I folded my arms across my breasts.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, his voice low and unbothered.

A nurse walked over, carrying a folded blanket. “Mr. Onyx? Mrs. Davis’ duvet, as you instructed.”

W–What?

My mouth parted ,confusion thick on my tongue as he took it with a simple nod.

I blinked.

That’s not possible.

No fucking way.

That had to be a coincidence, after all “Mrs. Davis” wasn’t exactly an uncommon name. It wasn’t possible for it to be my Mrs. Davis.

I turned sharply , not allowing another word to leave either of our lips and rushed down the hallway. I needed distance from him—from the implications screaming at me. But when I reached her room and saw the empty bed… my gut twisted.

Her blanket was gone. She was gone!

A pit opened inside my chest as I started to panic. Where was she!?

I collapsed into the one chair in her room, whispering silent prayers that maybe— I wasn’t too late and perhaps it wasn’t her blanket.

But then he walked in and my head snapped towards his direction. His aura, walking steps and the sway irritated me, why did he act like he belonged?

He stared right at me as he walked towards where I sat, I wanted to shift further into the chair as my heart thundered — “ she was moved to the ICU, everything has been taken care of. Don’t worry” his voice was monotone and the blanket he had been previously holding had disappeared. My mouth fell open as he turned to leave but I couldn’t let him go.

“How do you know Mrs. Davis?” The words leapt out before I could control them.

He paused. Looked over his shoulder “She was my mentor,” he said simply. “Been visiting every day.” I explained, hoping that he would have a better explanation on how he knew her condition had worsened and how he knew to be here.

I gawked at him, not knowing what I should expect from him anymore.

“Same. But she was my university teacher.”

I let out a soft gasp, my toes curling from the shock. How had Malcolm and I gone to the same university and I was only just finding out?

I don’t realize he had turned,I shuddered under his studying gaze, head tilted like he was putting together a puzzle—and I realized, for once, someone else was doing the analyzing.

“Take a walk with me,” he said suddenly.

“What?”

But he was already walking away, confident I’d follow. Damn him.

I walked with him, confused at where we were going till we crossed the entrance doors of the ICU, he stood at a door before leaving and when I went to that door, I gasped in horror.

Tubes ran out of Mrs. Davis and my eyes turned glassy. My hands touched the glass but I knew for Malcolm not to enter the room then that meant she wasn’t ready for visitors.

A burning question hung on my lips — what happened?

“Come” his voice echoed and I placed a kiss on the glass door and did as Malcolm asked.

Our steps were quiet in the sterile hallway even my heart grew quiet, a contrast to how today started.

“She was the best teacher I ever had,” Malcolm said, voice low and raw, taking me by surprise. “Knew how to challenge everyone. Brightest mind in the room,No one ever forgot her once she entered a room.”

I bit my lip, forcing my voice to stay steady. “She was the only one who saw me. The only one who cared what I created, not just who I was supposed to be.”

I found myself adding words to Malcolm’s sentence but I was too busy trying to stop my lips from quavering that I didn’t mind.

Malcolm glanced at me with something unreadable. “She must’ve been insufferable during your finals, yeah?”

And that was the moment my heart started hammering again, I stopped walking suddenly realizing that the exit was just ahead, the cold wind from outside seeping in through the automatic doors.

Malcolm turned, surprised. “Or maybe… you didn’t have her?”

“I didn’t finish college,” I said without thinking.

His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

My throat was clogged and something felt heavy, my shoulders drooped and I wanted to kick myself in the head for spilling out something that has plagued my dreams so randomly and to Malcolm of all people.

I glanced at Malcolm, his face held a look that told me he was listening and confused but a part of me felt he should have known about it. After all wasn’t he an onyx? Everybody knew and maybe he was just faking it.

Still, something about the way he shifted his weight from one foot to another nagged at my defenses, so I gave a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes.

“I was kicked out,” I clarified.

A pause.

“What happened?”

No judgment. Just a question. That alone caught me off guard as I whipped my head towards him to see his face calm and something that resembled concern.

That couldn’t be…right? Malcolm wasn’t the concerned type.

“Plagiarism accusations.” I trailed, believing the less information I gave, the more he’d show just how much he actually knew and save me from telling him a story I was sure he already knew about.

But Malcolm didn’t flinch. Infact, his expression was poker-faced and he didn’t frown. Just stared in waiting.

And it wrecked me. All this time, I was made to believe that every living soul in the family knew about it, for years my parents twisted lies and fed me. Deminished my persona with a mistake I had nothing to do with and here Malcolm was…vaguely unaware about it.

It made me wonder what else my parents lied about.

I must have taken too long to speak because he turned and walked out.

I nearly folded in embarrassment.

Why the hell had I told him? Why had I just handed over the darkest part of my story like it was nothing?

I wanted to walk back inside the hospital and stand outside Mrs Davis’s room But then—then I stopped.

This was a chance. For three years, I had buried my truth. Vanessa, my parents, the press—they made sure no one ever heard my side and now to find out that the scandal was never publicized?

So maybe… just maybe… today would be the day I finally let it out.

I burst through the doors and found him waiting at the foot of the stairs.

He’d waited.

“I didn’t do it!” I shouted down to him, voice cracking.

His eyes met mine, unreadable.

“I was top of my class. A valedictorian candidate. Then my parents found Vanessa and brought her into our lives like some twisted salvation,She enrolled in my college… and she wormed her way in. Became my ‘sister,’ my shadow. She played me like a game, pretending to care—until she learned how far ahead I was and decided to destroy the one thing I had going for me.”

I exhaled shakily.

“She framed me and submitted work that wasn’t mine, copied notes I never wrote. Professors turned on me and friends vanished. The girl who took my place? Her friend and suddenly, everything made sense but it was too late.

“I had lost everything and no one gave a damn. Not even my family. They paid the press to shut it down, and left me with the label: plagiarist.”

The words spilled like blood from a wound and when I finally looked at Malcolm, he was shaking his head.

“I’m sorry.”

So soft I nearly missed it.

He looked up at me and for the first time in years… someone believed me.

“You didn’t deserve that.”

I swallowed hard, words trapped in my throat.

“And that’s why,” he continued, walking to his car and opening the passenger door, “Gravestone is the perfect place for you.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“You’ll finally be where you belong. Somewhere that doesn’t care about your past—just your talent.” He smirked. “And personally, Natalie? I can’t wait to have you there. Welcome to the family.”

Then he was gone. Just like that.

His car pulled out of the lot, vanishing into the night.

And I stood there, breath caught in my throat, every nerve buzzing.

What the hell just happened?

What did he mean by welcome to the family?

Why did it feel like I’d just walked into something I couldn’t control?

I didn’t want more drama, I’ve had enough.

And yet… Malcolm felt like the beginning of a storm I couldn’t stop.

I sighed in exhaustion, putting on my moderately dry shoes to walk back inside only to have my phone buzz.

A notification dropped.

I tapped it—

And froze.

Blood drained from my face. My skin turned to ice.

What the fuck?