Page 56 of Oblivion

“No, I need to go and speak to the finance office and pay my tuition.”

“You don’t need to do that. It’s all sorted. Your tuition has been paid,” he says airily.

“How? I haven’t even spoken to my dad yet.”

“I spoke to your dad about it yesterday.”

“And he was just okay with me coming back to Kingsacre? Because I can’t imagine a world where my mama would be okay with me being here. What exactly did you say to them?”

“I told them that your engagement was off. That Drew, his father, and their PR team had decided that it wasn’t a good fit anymore. Then I told them you were coming home.”

“That’s it? Then how can my dad have paid my tuition already?”

“He didn’t. I did,” he says simply, tugging me out of the building and into the bright daylight again.

“You did what?” I question.

“I paid your tuition.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.” He shrugs.

“My dad will pay you back.”

“No, he won’t.”

“I’ll have the school refund you and get my dad to send a check.”

“I paid your tuition in full for the rest of your degree,” he says, his lips pressing into a firm line of annoyance.

My feet stop moving.

The moment Evan feels the resistance in my body, he spins to face me, smirking when he sees me unmoving and frozen to the spot.

“What do you mean you paid my tuition for the rest of my degree?” I ask slowly.

He shrugs again. “I think that’s pretty self-explanatory. I paid your tuition for the next two and a half years.”

“That’s…What…Why would you do that?” I stutter.

“Because you’re mine.”

“And being yours means you’ll pay nearly four hundred thousand dollars for my education?” I hiss.

He shrugs a third time. “Of course.”

“That’s…” I trail off, struggling to find any word to describe how…“Insane. That’s what that is. It’s insane. When did you pay it?”

“Last week,” he says nonchalantly.

“I was engaged to another man last week. I was engaged to another man yesterday.”

“You might have worn that pathetic excuse for a ring for a few days, but you were never his.”

“I was his. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” As my voice gets louder and louder with each word, Evan’s eyes getdarker, and I don’t realize we’re moving until he opens a door and drags me into a building, towing me along behind him until he opens a second door, yanks me into a room, and slams the door closed behind us.

Opening my mouth, I start to protest, but he spins me around and pushes me down until my hands hit a wooden desk. Holding me in place with a firm grip on my neck, he drags my leggings and panties down.

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