CHAPTER 7

Ava's POV. 

Were the triplets just pretending to be nice so they could crush me right after? Were they just deceiving me? 

I glanced at Iris again and wondered if I had misinterpreted the smirk I caught on his lips or if I was overthinking things. 

“Iris! I’m talking to you!” Vanessa yelled again and snapped me out of my thoughts. 

“Just shut up and get off my phone!” He retorted coldly. 

“Iris, I know you aren't stupid enough to be with a common stripper—”

“I don't see anything wrong with being a stripper. It's a job and doesn't make someone less of a person. Stop your backward thinking!” He defended me. 

“You don't know what you are talking about!” She snapped. 

“Disconnect call,” Iris said, ending the call. 

I suddenly became confused. He smirked at her words but still defended me. 

“Don't take what she said to heart,” He whispered, facing me. 

“I'm used to it already,” I stuttered, looking away from him. 

“Don't worry, she won't bother you at all,” He muttered, his voice confident. But what was the assurance that Vanessa wouldn't make my life worse? 

Her brothers defended me in front of almost everyone yesterday, and now one of them is still strongly defending me. 

Instinctively, I took my thumb to my lips, biting it. I wondered what Vanessa was going to do to me. Would I be able to endure another humiliation or experience something even worse? 

“Ava…”Iris called, placing his hand on my thigh. 

I froze as his hand gently patted me. 

“I'll protect you, don't worry… “He reassured, his ocean-blue eyes glinting at me. They made me feel a bit calm, but then I remembered how dangerous the ocean was as well. 

What if I was being tricked? 

As he returned his hand to the steering wheel and continued driving, my nervousness returned. When the car got closer to the school, my heart pounded faster. 

“Iris,” I called quietly. 

“Yes, love.” He shifted his gaze to me. 

“Can you please drop me off here? “I requested, unwilling to face the peering eyes of students or fuel more rumors. 

“Why? We're almost at the school," He quizzed, confusion clear on his face. 

“I don't want…”I began but paused. I didn't want to give him more reason to think that he should care for me. 

“I feel tired of sitting here, I just want to take a walk and…and exercise my legs,” I lied. 

He suddenly burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sound. How perfect! 

“I doubt that's the reason, but if you want to walk, then I'll just leave the car here and walk with you,” He offered, bringing the car to a slow halt. 

“No!” I exclaimed, my voice sharper than intended. “I just want to walk on my own! I need some space!”

He didn't look convinced by my words, but then he nodded. 

“Okay, you can go.”

With that, I unbuckled my seat belt and tried to push the door open, but it didn't budge. 

“Wait,” He muttered before commanding, “Open.”

The car door instantly unlocked, and I gasped. I was amazed but refused to get distracted. 

I quickly jumped out of the car and muttered, “Thanks for the ride.” 

I ran from there before he could say anything in response.

I ran all the way to my class, ignoring the whispers that commenced as soon as I entered. I was late, and that was the only thing I had to pay attention to. 

As I reached the classroom, the teacher was already there. 

“Good morning, sir,” I greeted and bowed my head slightly. 

“You're late, I should kick you out of this class!” The teacher spat with strange contempt in his voice. 

“I'm sorry, it won't happen again,” I apologized and bowed my head. 

“Get out of my sight!”

“Thank you, sir,” I stammered and rushed over to my seat. 

The very moment I sat down, Vanessa walked into the classroom. The teacher greeted her first and allowed her in without a single complaint. 

I quickly lowered my gaze to avoid her murderous glare, but to my greatest shock, she walked over to the person beside me. 

“I want to sit here. Move!” She ordered, her voice dripping with malice. 

The student quickly gathered their things and left while Vanessa sat beside me. 

Sweat formed on my skin, and I began shaking involuntarily. Why had she chosen to sit beside me? What did she want?

I tried looking at her, but she was already staring straight at me. I began breathing unevenly and had the urge to run. 

The air around me was suffocating, and it felt like my lungs would shut down. I prayed for the teacher to finish the lecture because I couldn't bear sitting next to her any longer. 

The moment the teacher exited the classroom, I sprang to my feet and grabbed my bag. 

“Ava!” She sneered as I was about to leave. 

“I am going to kill you,” She spat. 

Without looking at her, I dashed out of the classroom. I lurked around for a while, and when it was lunch time, I didn't bother heading to the cafeteria, besides I didn't have lunch to eat, and what if she poisoned the food? 

Although poisoning was extreme, she had done so much to make me think otherwise. I was terrified of what she could do to me. 

“I should go to the library,” I muttered, knowing that it was one place Vanessa hardly went. 

However, as I headed towards the library and reached the hallway, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. 

“Where is everyone?”I whispered and looked around. 

When I walked further down the hallway, I heard footsteps behind me. But when I turned around, I didn't see anyone. 

“Odd,” I pouted, looking forward. 

As I started walking again, the footsteps resumed. I was about to turn again when the lights suddenly went off. 

My eyes widened as I saw a strange person standing at a distance. 

“Who are you?” I shuddered, but there was no reply; the person just kept walking towards me. 

Fear gripped my heart, and I began running. Their footsteps quickened as well and got closer to me. 

I suddenly recalled Vanessa's words, and panic rose within me. 

“I don't want to die! Someone help me!” I cried out. 

I tried to run faster, but my foot suddenly hit on something, and I tripped. 

“Ahh!” I whimpered as I fell to the floor. 

“No!”