“To be filled with confusion and terror is like being completely engulfed in darkness. I would force myself to sleep, thinking that once I woke up, we would’ve returned to the past before anything had ever happened—to the time your brother was still your brother, or maybe to when I still hadn’t met him. Do you know what we call that?”
Ian suddenly stopped talking and stared straight at the woman standing before him.
Standing in place, Yasmin now felt as though she had been stripped bare, and all her deepest thoughts had come to light.
It was as if the young man had completely seen through her with just his gaze.
What do we call that?
It’s called running away. It’s called numbing oneself out.
As a psychology major, Yasmin understood this concept more than anyone else did. Why is he suddenly telling me all this? Could he have found out about something?
The woman was so fearful that she tremored from head to toe.
But to her surprise, Ian then packed his books and got up to leave without another word.
Yasmin quietly watched him exit the hall.
The moment he disappeared, she felt as though she had lost every ounce of her strength.
Thud!
The young woman slumped to the floor, leaning against the door behind her after suddenly recalling how Ian and Susan had handed things over to the police right after discovering a lead.
That meant Ian was still giving her a chance.
Yasmin couldn’t move at the thought.
Night fell.
Expectedly, Zaylynn had magnanimously invited every student from the Faculty of Finance to her place for a feast.
Susan stayed close to Ian all the while, worried he would feel uncomfortable.
Yet, he ended up doing better than she had expected. While he did furrow his brows upon arriving at the Neal residence, many of his classmates took the initiative to greet him, enabling him to blend in with them.
Seeing that, Susan eventually left him and headed over to the girls.
“Why didn’t Yasmin come tonight?”
“You’re right. I haven’t seen her.”
After a series of chattering, one of the girls couldn’t help but ask about Yasmin.
Susan had arrived just in time to hear that, and she stilled briefly.
“Is she not here?”
“She’s not, Susan. Did Zaylynn not invite her?” someone mused.
But no matter how spoiled and willful Zaylynn was, she still had her manners and would surely not leave anyone out after inviting the entire faculty over.
Susan walked over to her.
“I did invite her. I even sent her a personal text, but she’s not here. That’s not my problem.” Zaylynn pouted.
“It’s okay,” Susan assured with a smile. “It’s her loss for not coming. Look at all the good food she’s missing out on!”
“Right? It’s better if she doesn’t come,” the other girls quipped.
Everyone consoled the young host.
But to their surprise, Yasmin did show up eventually.
With a long, khaki bodycon dress, her silky black hair cascading down her shoulders, and a flawless face, she captured everyone’s attention as soon as she appeared.
She was absolutely gorgeous.
Even Susan couldn’t help but compare her to a famous actress upon seeing her.
“Y-Yasmin is here. Quick! Keep all this stuff!”
“Clean up the floors too! How did you guys make such a mess? What will she think of us?”
Chaos erupted among the boys in a matter of minutes.
They frantically cleaned up the mess they had made. Some even moved all the stools and other obstacles aside just to make way for the ice queen.
The girls flew into a rage upon seeing that.
Yasmin is such a jinx!
They all turned and left, not wanting to have anything to do with her. In the end, it was Susan who brought Zaylynn over, asking her to attend to Yasmin.
“You’re here. Well, help yourself to whatever you want. It’s all here,” said Zaylynn, pointing at all the food being served.
In response, the discomfort Yasmin felt only grew more intense.
I plucked up the courage just to be here, okay?
I’d only look more suspicious if I didn’t come.
And yet, the girls’ lounge area became empty the moment she showed up, and that humiliated her greatly.
Not only that but seeing how all the girls fawn over Susan made her feel worse. How she wanted to leave this place right away.
“Hey, Yasmin. Do you want something to eat? We just grilled some chicken wings.”
Suddenly, a boy approached her with a plate of food.
