“Why do I feel like you deliberately stomped your foot on mine?” Volkov asked, his expression hard to decipher because of his mask.
Seeing that Aaliyah didn’t say anything even after a few seconds, Volkov took a step closer to her.
“Are you by any chance avoiding me, Miss Gold?” Volkov whispered in her ears softly, and she gulped, trying her best to calm her fast-beating heart.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mr. Volkov. I am sure you are mistaken. There is no reason for me to avoid you,” Aaliyah said in the most respectful and professional tone, and Volkov’s suspicion about something being wrong proved right.
Mr. Volkov. She always calls him that. But something about the way she addressed him today felt like she drew a line between them, and he didn’t like a single moment of it.
“Is it because I didn’t contact you these two days? Did you miss me?” Volkov pulled her even closer, almost hugging her from behind, and Aaliyah’s heartbeat that was drumming inside her ear quickened its pace. Remembering why she was mad at him in the first place to keep herself from his distracting intoxicating scent, Aaliyah gritted her teeth.
“If you won’t talk to me, I will assume you have fallen in love with me and are too ashamed to look at me. Is it because of what I said?” Volkov pressured her more, and this time she turned to look into his eyes, the fire burning in her gaze, making him smile.
Has she fallen in love with him? She doesn’t know anything about it, but he is making her mad for sure. Feeling annoyance taking over her, Aaliyah lashed her anger at him.
“Don’t you dare go there! You are nothing but a leech-like other man who says one thing the first moment and next the other moment. The unfaithful bas*ard whose words don’t match their actions,” Aaliyah seethed without a filter on her mouth, and rather than getting angry, he bit his lower lip before bending towards her.
“And what did I do to upset you like this?” He raised his brows, and she glared at him.
“Nothing. Just leave me alone. Don’t try to act like there is some emotion between us. You are my teacher, and I am your student. We have nine months to share before this school ends, and I hope you can respect my boundaries,” Aaliyah looked at him with blazing eyes before she stepped back, leaving Volkov’s hand hanging in the air as she rushed towards the food aisle.
He felt the emptiness not only by his side but in his heart too, when she left.
‘He can’t two time with another woman and treat you like a second woman or have an extramarital affair just to play some high school fantasies with his student. You can’t let anyone treat you so low,’ Aaliyah told herself, knowing all too well how irrational she sounded at the moment.
Stuffing her mouth with a muffin, she huffed before looking away from the dance floor, and Volkov, still in shock, looked at her, his anger rising at what she said.
There is nothing more than a student-teacher relationship between them? He kept looking at his hand, which was holding hers a few moments ago.
Dialing Samantha’s number, he growled into the phone before telling her what was going on, and Samantha, who was busy streaming her favorite show, ate a mouthful of popcorn before sighing.
“Who told you to bring Zeke as your partner? You tell Aaliyah you are attracted to her, and the next moment you go in front of her with another woman. What is wrong with you? No matter how tough and intelligent, she is still a girl with emotions, Dominic. Any girl in her place would react like that. Who even gave you this shitty idea?” Samantha asked, and Dimitri sitting beside her, felt cold sweat forming on his forehead.
“Now go and apologize to her before explaining everything. Make sure she calms down before you do that,” Samantha sighed, massaging her head and ending the call.
She thought this jealousy would bring them closer. She hadn’t expected that it would backlash on them like this. The words Dominic said Aaliyah spoke to him, she can only pray that he doesn’t take them to heart, or things will go ugly for the whole gang.
Turning to her right, Samantha looked at Dimitri, who was sitting there like he saw some kind of ghost and couldn’t help but guess the worst.
“Please tell me this wasn’t your idea. Because if yes, you are done for. Aaliyah rejected Volkov in anger and called him a leech and unfaithful ba*tard,” Samantha spoke, and Dimitri gulped.
This was worse than he had thought. It looks like it’s time to shift back to their Canada branch. Dimitri sighed dejectedly.
“I just didn’t want him to go alone and look like a loner,” Dimitri pouted, realizing what he had done, and Samantha scoffed.
“Well, now start praying that he doesn’t turn you into a loner after today,”
Meanwhile, Volkov, who understood the meaning behind Samantha’s words, looked at the phone in his hand, smiling briefly.
Aaliyah is jealous of Zeke.
If what Samantha said is true since he can’t find any other reason, Aaliyah is jealous of any woman around him. Isn’t this a sign of the progress he is making?
Shifting his gaze to Aaliyah, who was stuffing her mouth angrily like an angry kitten, Volkov’s smile stretched even more as his heart skipped a beat.
He walked to the side of the floor and leaned his back on the wall, observing her.
The way she was eating those muffins, talking in between with her hand movements exaggerating everything, and flicking the loose strand of hair on her shoulders from time to time was making him smile and feel content.
Samantha said to explain and apologize. Maybe giving her what he thinks will help?
If a girl like this is in his life, there won’t be a boring day ever, no? The thought ran through his head, and when he saw she was alone now, he walked towards her.
As Volkov was walking, he noticed Ashton stopping beside her before he placed his head on her shoulder, and Volkov’s hands clenched, remembering what Katherine had asked Aaliyah in the restaurant.
Even Volkov has felt that Ashton has taken a liking to Aaliyah, and though he doesn’t have the guts to confess, it doesn’t mean he won’t become a hindrance in Volkov’s life if he doesn’t take action soon.
“What’s wrong?” Aaliyah patted Ashton’s head on her shoulder.
“Aaliyah, I need to talk to you about something,” Ashton gathered the courage to confess his feelings after getting motivation from David and Henry.
“What is it?” Aaliyah looked at him with her mouth stuffed and wide eyes, and seeing the unadulterated look in the eyes of the girl in front of him, he observed her for a few seconds before smiling and wiping her lips with his thumb to remove the muffin crumbs.
“Silly girl. Eat properly. What kind of princess are you mimicking? With your mouth like this, are you sure you don’t want to turn into a Pikachu?” Ashton leaned on the table beside her, smiling in his heart.
He could say it now. He had the intentions and courage, but for some reason, he didn’t.
The thought of losing their friendship over this feeling was too unbearable for him.
He wanted to take a risk like David and Momo, but in David’s case, he had already felt that Momo had some positive feelings for him, but Ashton doesn’t have an inkling of what Aaliyah thinks about him. Even after knowing for this long, she was as mysterious as ever.
He would be damned if he confessed and Aaliyah said she thinks of him as a brother because that’s how she acts all the time.
“Do you have plans after the exams? Would you like to come with me to Bali?” Ashton asked, and Aaliyah looked at him, remembering how Mr. Volkov asked her to go on a cruise.
Cruise trip, my ass. If he wants a partner to go there, he can take that blonde with him. Aaliyah scoffed in her head, and Ashton just looked at her amused. It was obvious some porridge was cooking in her head, and seeing the expression changing on her face, Ashton couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I will think about it, Ashton. I can’t make promises. You know what’s going on in my life with that stalking and everything. It’s hard that my mom would allow anything like that,” Aaliyah said, the word stalker reminding her of Mr. Volkov again.
Seriously. She needs to stop linking everything with Mr. Volkov, or she’ll go mad at this pace.
Walking to the dance floor when Ashton was called over by his basketball player friends, Aaliyah was about to walk over to Henry when someone grabbed her hand, pulling her to the corner of the dance floor.
“What the -”
“Let me recreate the moment with you when I fell for you, Aaliyah. I am sorry for creating such misunderstandings. Zeke is not my lover. She is a childhood friend I treat like my sister. No girl should be allowed to touch or hug me when I have you. Forgive me,” Volkov hugged her from behind, his intoxication disturbing her senses once again.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Aaliyah tried to break free from his hold, but Volkov only tightened his hands around her, her heart starting its usual fast drumming.
Can people get a heart attack from being hugged? A random thought popped into her head when her heart started to ache at the overwhelming emotions.
How dare he make her angry and then act like she is the only girl for him the other moment? And why the hell is her heart reacting so positively to it?
Damn it! Aaliyah cursed before widening her eyes when Volkov turned her head, pushed her away, and brought her closer. Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her with a jerk, making her hit his chest, and a blush crept her neck when her br*asts squeezed a bit.
“You have no idea how cute you look when you are angry, my dumpling. I have started to imagine my life with you. How can I dare to even think of other women, let alone let her touch me? I belonged to you the moment I realized my feelings for you,” Volkov said, Aaliyah’s heart starting to sweat the meaning behind his words.
He had asked Zeke to dim the lights a bit more, making it hard for everyone to see what was going on and when it happened, Volkov pulled her out of the dancing area.
“Mr. Volkov, where are you -”
“I would’ve let you become the Prom Queen, but I want you to be my queen only, sweetheart,” Volkov pulled her, running in the corridors of the school, and Aaliyah couldn’t help the big smile that formed on her face because of the adrenaline rush.
“Hey! Who’s there?” The security guard checking the corridors to ensure no students were making out in the halls, shouted, making them run even faster.
“What the hell, Mr. Volkov? Damn, that felt good,” Aaliyah took deep breaths as they stepped inside a classroom before leaning on the wall, and Volkov, who stood in front of her, leaned on her, his hands on the wall on either side of her.
Looking up at Volkov with her chest rising up and down and a smile on her face, Aaliyah gulped when she noticed how close his face was to hers.
“So the adrenaline rush makes you feel good? Maybe I can add a little lush to it?” Volkov smiled, taking Aaliyah’s breath away, and she felt like she was a part of some book where the roles were reversed.
Aren’t boys usually supposed to use comments like she took my breath away? Do I have a complex? Aaliyah thought before shaking her head to stop herself from getting distracted.
“I still don’t understand why we needed to run in the first place,” Aaliyah counter-questioned.
“We needed to run because I couldn’t do what I am about to do in front of everyone without them suspecting me,” Volkov cupped her cheeks, making her widen her eyes as he leaned toward her.
Was he really going to kiss her? On the lips? For real? This would be their first kiss like this, no? Aaliyah’s heart pounded in her ears, and her face was getting hot.
However, contrary to what she was desiring, Volkov bent and placed a pendant on her neck, hooking it behind her neck before smiling.
Touching the crystal A, which looked like an inverted V, Aaliyah widened her eyes before looking at Mr. Volkov, who brought out the same thing just, it had an inverted A.
“This is beautiful,” Aaliyah said, not commenting on how they looked like couple pendants and sort of a claim on each other.
“Just like you, my dumpling,” he flicked her nose, making her smile.
“Thank you,” Aaliyah stood on her tiptoes before hugging him, and Volkov, who didn’t expect her to act like this, widened his eyes with his body stiffening as this was the first time she was hugging him so intimately, and Volkov brought her even closer, almost crushing her into his chest before inhaling her intoxicating scent.
‘You are mine, Aaliyah. Every day I get even more sure that I won’t be able to give you up. I can’t,’ Volkov took a whiff of her smell, feeling content and happy, a promise of winning her making to himself.