Page 3 of The Bittersweet Bond

"My problem?" he echoed, lowering his voice into something dangerous. "My problem is you walking around like you belong here. Like you’resomebody."

The guy’s confused gaze flickered through the crowd, searching for support, but the tense stares of the onlookers left no doubt about who was in charge here.

Poor bastard.

"What, you hit on every girl who’s alone for three minutes?" Bas let the words slip out casually, but his tone was laced with sarcasm and something darker. Something he wouldn’t even admit to himself.

"Chill, man. I didn’t even do anything," the guy protested, raising his hands in mock surrender.

But Bas had already passed the point where reason could reach him.

That damn need to protect Evin from anyone who might hurt her. That’s what he told himself. That’s the excuse he clung to. But the truth? This was never about her. It was about him. About the anger coiling inside him, about the fucking loss of control every time she smiled at someone else. About the fact that nothing—no fight, no girl, no distraction—had ever been enough to make him stop wanting her.

In that moment, the lines blurred, and before he could stop himself, he shoved him hard.

“Oh yeah? Wasthatnothing?” His words dripped with aggression, and the guy stumbled but quickly caught himself.

A few people nearby had stopped, throwing glances at them, and someone let out a loud “Ooooh!”—the kind that only fueled the tension in the air, the kind that signaled that the situation was about to escalate even further, because once a fight started, there was no stopping it.

“What the fuck is your problem, man? You looking for trouble?” The guy moved in like he couldn’t decide if this was worth a fight.

“If that’s what it takes,” Bas murmured, preparing for what was about to happen next.

Before the guy could respond, Bas grabbed his shirt, pushing him roughly backward. He landed one solid punch, then another, each impact sending a jolt through his knuckles, but before he could swing again, hands were already pulling him away. Voices shouted around them, friends and classmates quickly stepping in, separating them before things could spiral further out of control.

Bas stumbled back, heart racing, chest heaving, adrenaline still pulsing through him as he realized just how quickly he'd lost his grip.

He felt the blood pumping through his body.

“You want more?” His voice was rough, somehow hoarse from the impact. A smirk crept onto his lips, uncontainable, the high of the fight still buzzing in his system, the satisfaction settling in his bones like a high, like something he didn’t want to let go of just yet.

He had won. That much was obvious.

But before he could even enjoy the moment—

“Bas!”

Evin’s voice rang out across the beach, cutting through the tension.

His smirk only grew as he turned, noticing Evin heading straight toward him. Her expression was furious and disappointed even, but right now he didn’t care.

The second she reached them, she barely even looked at him. Her attention went straight to the other guy instead, concern briefly flickering across her face as she quickly checked if he was okay.

“Ben, are you okay?” she asked quickly, her voice clipped, urgent, filled with something Bas didn’t want to name, something that made his stomach twist in a way he didn’t like.

Ben.

Bas barely registered the name. His focus was locked onher.

The way she looked at him. The way her whole body bristled with barely contained anger, her shoulders tight, her fingers curled into fists, her breath coming fast and shallow, like she was holding herself back from saying exactly what she wanted to say.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Her voice slammed into him, louder than the ocean in the background.

He forced a tired look. A part of him twisted, knowing he had gone too far. Knowing this had never been about her. Not about protecting her. Not about anything other than his own fucking frustration.

She should begrateful…He had just saved her from a bad decision.

---