Page 47 of Soulless Rivalry

“Like something I can’t have but so desperately crave.”

ELYSSA

The sound of the ticking clock was driving me mad. For some reason, it was the only thing I was capable of focusing on. Not the words streaming out of Professor McKinley’s mouth, or the incessant chatter of the girls in front of me, but that damn, loud clock.

This was my last class of the day and I hadn’t been able to focus on anything since I woke up this morning. The only thing on my mind was what happened between Konstantin and me last night. After he’d said what he said, I was left voiceless. I couldn’t speak, could barely breathe properly. I hated that his words resonated with me the way they did. Hated how true they were for me too.

But above all else, I hated how much I wanted to kiss him again.

And I was going to do it, too. Last night, I was about to get on the tip of my toes and join our lips again.

Thankfully, right before I could bury myself deeper into that mess, footsteps echoed from further inside the Church and his friend Rhodes came down from the loft, looking confused when he took in the state we were in.

I left before he could ask any questions, all but running to my room before night could settle.

My phone was blowing up with texts from my friends asking what the deal was with Konstantin and how I was feeling after everything that happened, but I only answered those second questions, promptly ignoring the ones about the Russians. Mia had gotten so curious that I’d had to turn my cell off to stop the incessant vibrations from her texts.

Today I’d been running from them, too. I spent all day trying to evade their questioning, so much so that I hadn't eaten more than a granola bar for breakfast and spent lunch hiding in the library.

But it wasn’t just my friends I was running from, Konstantin too. I couldn’t stand the thought of running into him and seeing his usual condescending, cold gaze settle upon me. Not after knowing what it felt like to have it burning into my soul.

As soon as the teacher dismissed us, I hightailed it out of the class. It was unusual for me, I was used to being the last one out, always lingering near the professor’s desk to ask questions, but not today.

My stomach was rumbling and I resigned myself to the truth, which was that I would not be able to get out of dinner tonight. I quite literally needed to eat because one granola bar in twenty-four hours would not cut it.

But I could hide in my room until dinner.

Entering the staircase leading up to my dorm, I heard the double doors fall shut behind me. I was lost in thought, thinking of last night at the Church when something hard bumped into me, causing me to fall on the hardwood ground and most likely bruise my knees in the process. My things got scattered all over the floor and of course, the person I had bumped into didn’t bother to stop and help me. When I looked up, I immediately understood why.

Luca Benetti stood there, looking down at me like my mere presence was intolerable to him.

“Watch where you’re going, scum.”

I gritted my teeth and reached for the papers I had dropped but that son of a bitch stepped on the one I went for, effectively pinning it to the ground.

I was fuming inside, and the fact that I couldn’t do or say shit to him without enduring consequences from my family was making my blood simmer.

The Benettis were royalty in our circle; Luca’s father was capo di tutti i capi, the boss of all bosses. He made my grandfather look like a shoe shiner. My family did everything to stay in the Benettis’ good graces and, last summer, they finally succeeded. There had been talk of not one, but two of my cousins marrying into their family.

Viola to Atticus, Luca’s older brother and future capo, and Mia… to Luca.

She hated bringing that up, especially since nothing was set in stone yet, they were only speculations. She still had that idea in mind that Dominik would eventually get his head out of his ass and realize he wanted her.

But Luca wasn’t aware of her silly daydreams, and he liked to act like she was already his.

A feminine voice ringing through the staircase brought me back to reality.

“Didn’t your mother teach you basic manners, bitch?” The words were said with so much venom I thought they came from me at first. After all, Ilovedcalling grown men bitches.

But no, when Luca turned around, I saw who they belonged to.

Long brown hair fell around her shoulders, luscious and soft-looking. She didn’t bother with the tie of her uniform and herdress shirt wasn’t tucked in, mostly because she, just like the rest of her siblings, couldn’t care less about protocol or rules.

She was, after all, a Korolov.

Dinara stood there, glaring daggers at Luca, and I swear to God that I saw him gulp.

She might have been pint-sized and cute as a button, but Dinara Korolova was not someone you wanted to fuck with. Part of it was because she had scary older brothers, but most of it was because she was fucking crazy herself. Freshman year, she fought with a girl and bit off her nose before spitting it out on that girl’s friend.

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