Agree or refuse-it was her choice to make.
Aveline had no idea what Orion was scheming, but she could tell he was angry.
Never before had he spoken to her in such a tone. His icy demeanor was almost enough to freeze her solid.
Liora, sensing the tension between the two, made a pleading gesture toward Aveline. This was a major moment in her life, and she wasn’t about to let it slip away. Even if Orion was only joking, Liora still wanted to seize the opportunity-what if it turned out to be real?
Deep down, Aveline resisted the entire situation. Why did Orion have to force her to make this decision?
“I…”
Just as Aveline hesitated, unable to answer, an angry voice interrupted them.
“What are you doing?!”
“The dean is here! Run!”
The crowd that had gathered to watch the scene scattered in an instant.
Dating was strictly prohibited at their school, and anyone caught by a teacher would face serious consequences. Aveline had heard the rumors before-getting caught by the dean could lead to punishments and black marks on a student’s record.
She immediately thought of Orion, who had only just transferred schools. This was their final year, and a mark on his record would follow him for life. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand and ran.
The moment Aveline’s soft hand wrapped around his, Orion’s anger melted away into nothingness.
Given their identities, they had no reason to run. Even if they caused an uproar at the school, it wouldn’t matter. Forget his own powerful family-Aveline’s overprotective father could buy the entire school in an instant if he wanted to.
Despite her privileged background, Aveline had always been humble. She had chosen this school on her own and even swapped out her designer clothes for simple outfits that cost only a few hundred dollars apiece. She never revealed her family background and avoided special treatment, so no one suspected anything about her.
Seeing her run, Orion naturally followed, the wind brushing past their faces as they fled together.
The last time they ran like this was a year ago. He had taken her to a concert, but they had hit traffic along the way. To avoid being late, he had grabbed her hand and sprinted with her all the way there. That moment had felt like the happiest time of his life. And now, running to avoid the dean felt just as exhilarating.
They ran until they were completely out of breath, finally stopping when they couldn’t go any farther.
Aveline’s face was flushed, her forehead glistening with sweat as she gasped for air.
“Do you… do you think he saw you?” she asked between breaths.
“No, but your friend might not have been so lucky,” Orion teased.
“I forgot about Liora!” Aveline exclaimed. When she heard the dean’s voice earlier, her only thought had been to run as fast as possible.
“Why did you grab me and run?” Orion asked, suddenly pinning her against a tree.
His stance mimicked the classic “kabedon” pose straight out of a romance manga or drama, with the male lead cornering the female lead.
Aveline had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze, their close proximity making the moment feel even more intimate.
She couldn’t tell if it was their closeness or the adrenaline from running, but her heartbeat felt erratic, as though it might leap out of her chest at any moment.
“I didn’t want you to get punished,” Aveline said, willing herself to calm down.
“If you don’t care about me, why care about something like that?”
“I… I do care…”
“Care about what?”
Orion had known Aveline since she was a baby. He had held her in his arms when she was just a few months old, watching her grow into the young woman she was now.
In the past, he had held back, refraining from putting any pressure on her because of her age. He had been content to wait for her to grow up.
But today, when Aveline handed him a love letter on someone else’s behalf, it had completely shattered his patience. It was clear he couldn’t wait any longer-he needed to take action now.
“I care about you.” Aveline bit her lip as she spoke.
Orion tilted her chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze. He wasn’t about to let her avoid this conversation.
“You know how I feel about you, yet you helped someone else confess to me. What were you thinking?”
Orion had always known that Aveline was reserved-cool and distant, even. But reserved didn’t mean unfeeling. Her parents were deeply emotional people, and there was no way she could be completely indifferent.
Their future was long, and Orion was willing to wait. Even when he transferred schools, he hadn’t told her, not wanting to disrupt her plans. All he wanted was to protect her quietly from the sidelines. If this was how she wanted to live, he wouldn’t interfere.
But her actions today had pushed him to his limit.
“What do you take me for? If you dare call me your brother, I swear I’ll make you mine right here and now!”
Aveline froze, swallowing the words she was about to say. She knew exactly what Orion meant by “make you mine.”
Until now, their relationship had always been that of an older brother and younger sister. He had never overstepped any boundaries.
“I… I don’t know what to say.” For the first time, Aveline felt completely at a loss.
“Do you hate me?” Orion asked. He realized he couldn’t keep treating her like a child.
She had her own thoughts and had even kept her decision to attend Cherrywood a secret from him. It was time for him to respect her choices.
“Of course not. You’ve been so good to me my whole life. I could never hate you,” Aveline replied. She rarely spoke at length, but with Orion, her words always came more easily.
From the time she was little, she had admired the warm, kind “big brother” who had always been there for her. When their family asked where she wanted to study, Joyce had chosen New York without hesitation, but Aveline had chosen Clothville.
She couldn’t say whether it was because of her parents’ work or because Orion was in Clothville, but he had always held a special place in her heart. Aveline didn’t hate him-if anything, she liked him very much.
“If you don’t hate me, then do you like me?”
“I… I think I like you,” Aveline admitted. “But I can’t tell if it’s the kind of like a sister feels for her brother or the kind of love Mom feels for Dad. I’m still young, and it feels too early to think about these things. I want us both to focus on our studies for now.”
Orion looked into her earnest eyes.
“Good. You’re being honest with me. You’re still young, so it’s normal to feel uncertain. I’ve never wanted to pressure you.”
“But even if you’re unsure of your feelings for me, you can’t help others try to match me with them. Little Aveline, you’ve always known that the only person I’ve ever liked is you.
I’ve never thought of you as my little sister. To me, you’ve always been my little wife.
I’ll wait for you, but I won’t let you push me away.”
Hearing him call her “little wife” made Aveline’s cheeks burn. Though he wasn’t wrong, her heart, just beginning to awaken to these feelings, wasn’t ready to process it all.