THE BASTARD.

Mondays on campus have their usual bustle and hustle as different students in different majors go to and fro their various lecture schedules.

Our morning lecture just ended, and I don’t plan on wasting any time around here. Also, I didn’t spot Travis in class. He should be somewhere around.

I squinted my eyes as I searched around the Business Administration Department building, trying to spot a tall, tanned, and nicely built young man with short curly brown hair, only to see him jogging toward me in his tracksuit.

“You missed the morning class.”

“Our coach told us to do so,” he replied in between catching his breath.

“Hmm? Guess athletes are allowed to… right?”

“We couldn’t train last week Monday due to the weather, so it was postponed to this morning,” he explained.

“Here, read up.” I handed him the notes I had written during the class.

“The professor announced a test would be held next week, so prepare,” I informed him and turned to walk away.

“Gee, thanks man,” he replied with a wide grin and followed me as we walked toward the faculty exit.

“So, where are you off to? I think your next class should be by 1 p.m.”

“Yep. I’m heading to the library,” I lied.

“Okay, see you later.” He patted my head and walked away.

I stood there for a few minutes watching him walk away before boarding a taxi.

“Library, my foot…” I muttered to myself.

I’m headed for Sonya’s department. If there’s anywhere the bastard she’s cheating on me with is, it has to be there.

If I ever get my hands on him, he would regret ever coming close to my woman.

Her faculty is a bit farther into the campus than the other faculties, which made it a little more secluded. Getting there, I observed the faculty seemed awfully quiet compared to usual. The Music Department is one of those that don’t really hold classes on Mondays; their schedule is mostly filled with rehearsals and various performances.

Sonya majors in classical music, so she definitely isn’t here now, she should be in a presentation or something else.

I walked into the building, scanning the lecture rooms and micro rehearsal rooms where a few people were gathered for practice classes, while thinking about how to find the bastard.

After spending a good amount of time loitering around the place, I released a yawn and finally made up my mind to leave the faculty, when I suddenly bumped into a man at the exit.

“So sorry,” I muttered and tried to get through to the other side of the door, but the man didn’t budge.

I then raised my eyes only to meet a pair of ethereal blue eyes staring down at me with curiosity, belonging to a towering man who seemed to be in his mid-20s, dressed in a perfectly tailored grey suit, only missing a necktie.

I stepped back and asked politely, “Excuse me, sir? May I go through first?”

“Sure,” he answered and stepped back. His voice held a baritone that should belong to an ancient general in battle, and it suddenly sent cold shivers down my spine. As I walked past him, I caught a whiff of his scent, and he smelled like baked bread. How could a grown man wear a scent like that? I wondered.

Even as I walked outside the building toward the gate, my mind was still filled with the image of him. His sandy blond hair was neatly trimmed and slicked back like some W*****d CEO. He seemed really tall too—he should be about 6’3”—that’s quite tall, taller than Travis, I would say.

Judging from his outfit, he should be some young professor or an alumnus at most. He must be really rich, wearing such an expensive suit and shoes that seemed customized just for him.

Wait! I know those shoes!

“Shit,” I cursed in shock.

It’s him! That bastard. There’s no way I would mistake those shoes, and they weren’t the kind you would find out there in any shop. I knew it. I knew I would find him here.

Without hesitating, I ran back into the building and searched for him, scanning through halls and rooms, wondering which one he had entered. Then I found him at the end of the hallway—he was talking to another professor with blond hair like him. Immediately, he turned toward where I was standing, as if he had noticed my gaze. Unconsciously, I ran and hid behind the door of an empty class.

How the hell did Sonya end up getting entangled with that kind of man? He looks like a regular businessman or professor until he’s looking at you. There’s this kind of dangerous stare his surreal blue eyes hold that’s hard to describe.

I know I shouldn’t get entangled with him too, but I had no choice. I can’t lose Sonya to him just because his eyes are scary.

So what if they are? Mine are scary too. I’m a man just like him. I can’t chicken out just because he’s in a suit.

I mustered up the courage to approach him. By now, he had left the building and was outside, so I followed him hastily. Before he could get in his car and leave, I grabbed his arm without thinking.

“Excuse me… s… sir,” I stuttered as I raised my eyes to meet his gaze.

I managed to catch a glimpse of a lazy smile on his face before it vanished completely.

“Yes?” he answered as he turned toward me, still staring sharply at me like there was something on my face.

At the sound of his low, grasping voice, all the guts I had gathered suddenly flew out the window as I became speechless.

“Can we have a chat?” I managed to say.

This time I saw him give a half smirk, revealing a perfectly curved dimple on his left cheek.

“Get in the car,” he whispered.

“Huh?”

“You want a chat, right? Get in,” he repeated and walked over to the driver’s seat.

For a few seconds, I stood still, unsure of why this perfectly built stranger offered me into his car.

But somehow, I couldn’t refuse. It’s as if my whole body was compelled to obey him.

Once I had buckled the seatbelt, he drove out toward the gate without saying a single word.

Okay. I think I’m starting to get scared now. My palm suddenly became sweaty as I squeezed my backpack anxiously. He seemed to have noticed my awkward reactions and the beads of sweat that had now formed on my forehead.

“Are you nervous?” he asked, throwing a quick glance my way.

“No, I’m not,” I countered almost immediately.

“Relax.” He chuckled. Does he think this is funny?

After a few minutes of silence, he finally came to a halt at a drive way not too far from the campus vicinity and spoke.

“So, what got a cute little thing like you following me around?”