Page 95 of Until We Meet Again

"You don't have to want to marry me to find out how I fuck, Blondie."

This is what I wanted when I found Zane—something meaningless, something that could satisfy my curiosity. I should've said yes to Tobias, and maybe my heart wouldn't be broken now.

"Wow." I burst out laughing and shake my head at him. Any annoyance I had with him has vanished instantly. Tobias is simply Tobias, no matter what, and I can't help but enjoy him and his company. "You never fail to amaze me."

Tobias suddenly straightens up, looking past me, and I already know what he's seen, or more specifically, whom. I can feel Zane's presence even before I turn my face to look at him.

I quickly suppress all my emotions to play the part of someone who doesn't care about the guy standing before me, when in reality, I’m crumbling as my heart shatters into a million pieces all over again.

"Miss Walsh." He says my name as if he owns it—as if it belongs to him.

As if I belong to him.

"Can I help you, Professor?"

"A word, now."

"I'm trying to read. Can it wait?" His eyes pierce through me. His once golden eyes are now the darkest I've ever seen them.

I know that look all too well—a mix of rage and jealousy that he can't disguise. But he lost his right to me the day he let me go, so what I do and whom I spend time with have nothing to do with him.

"You've skipped class all week, and unless you want to have this conversation in front of other students, I suggest we speak privately."

I quickly glance at Tobias, whose eyes are fixed on Zane. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Take your time, beautiful."Asshole. I hate him sometimes.

I grudgingly rise from my seat in the library and trail behind Zane, trying to keep my distance. Still, his scent hits me without warning—a fleeting moment when the smell of a wood fire, gardens, and earth brings back an influx of memories, reminding me of everything I feel for him.

Finally, he arrives at a classroom door, holding it open for me as I step inside. The door clicks shut behind us, enclosing us in this little world of our own.

"Where the hell have you been?" His eyes burn with anger, and I can feel the heat of it all over my skin.

"I switched classes. I'll be with Professor Greenwood for the next couple of weeks."

"You switched classes?"

I shift my gaze away from him, trying my damn hardest to avoid eye contact. "I mean, I just assumed someone would have told you," I mutter. "I guess the communication here really is bad."

"So that's how it is."

"It has to be."

"What about him?"

"Who? Tobias?"

"Is he giving you what you no longer get from me?"

My heart races with anger as I clench my teeth tightly, struggling to keep myself composed. "Seriously?" I say, my voice dripping with rage. "You're asking me if I'm fucking him a week after I told you I was in love with you?"

"Tessa…"

"No, fuck you, Zane. Fuck you for even thinking for a second that that's who I am." It's as if a switch has been flipped inside me. The pain that I've been feeling is now replaced with an anger that's consuming me entirely. "But you know what?" I bite out, "I can be with whomever the hell I want, and you have no right to say otherwise. You rejected my heart and gave up on me, and now you think you get a say? Sorry, but it doesn't work like that."

"I have every right to a say."

I laugh out loud in shock. "Are you delusional? You have nothing. You and I are nothing."

---