Maria POV

“Okay, check your emails later tonight for your assignment scores. Thank you, class.” The professor says ending the class

“Finally! I thought that would never end,” Katie whispers beside me, grabbing her laptop and pulling it into her bag.

“I think the class was very informative; you know we came here to learn.” I raise a brow at her, following her movement and fixing everything into my bag, my eyes grazing the hundreds of people trying to sign the attendance and leave the class at once.

“You’re such a good girl,” she rolls her eyes, her nose twitching in annoyance. “Will you be sleeping in the dorm room tonight, or will you disappear as usual?” She turns to me as we join the line to sign attendance out of the class.

“I told you I work night shifts—”

“To pay for school, I know,” she completes the sentence. Reaching the front of the line, she signs, moving over for me to sign, and together we leave the class into the packed hallway.

“Well, there's an elite party happening tonight, and I want you to come with me. Now tell me you are at least free tonight,” she says in one breath, pushing us through the crowd and into the hot afternoon sun as it lands on my exposed arms.

“Katie, you know I don’t like parties.” I shake my head as we cross the campus heading to our dorm rooms.

“You are definitely coming with me.” She grabs my hand, halting in her steps in front of a large signboard.

“Hey, what is it?” I frown, turning to her, then the signboard, “Really drooling over a picture, Katie, I thought you were better than this?”

“I mean, look at him: handsome, rich, and enticing enough to eat.” She licks her bottom lip, grinning at the picture. “I would bend over anywhere for him to take me anytime, any day.” She yawns, her eyes searching my face.

“You do know he is happily married, right?” I raise a brow at her, pulling my face away from the man who just fucked me to orgasm throughout the night and this morning, leaving with a present and a stack of cash.

“I mean, he is the richest man in the entire city, billions of dollars, Aria. Imagine that; there’s no way he's banging just his wife,” she giggles, pulling me away from the man I am a mistress to, his kept woman.

We move further when our view is covered by a group of people; we struggle through the crowd to see a girl with the largest smile on her face seated on top of a stone bench; below her, a guy is lying on the floor, and another man punching the hell out of him.

His dark hair bobs back and forth, his knuckles coming in contact with his face multiple times, blood starts to ooze from his face, and I can barely recognize the guy anymore, but I catch some words of the guy doing the beating.

“Next time stay away when a girl tells you to stay away!!” he exclaims, my guess saving the pretty girl on the bench

My eyes moved to her again, one of the rich and popular; her daddy owned numerous, wealthy businesses, and she was one of the big three.

“What is happening?” Katie turns to a guy beside me, watching with wide eyes.

“Why is no one trying to help him!!” I turn to the guy next to me, brows raised in surprise.

“It’s Axel Black; nobody says anything to him; nobody crosses him.” He shakes his head at the scene.

“That's the first time I've heard that name on this campus.” I must tear to myself

“That’s because you disappear every day. Let's go before it gets nasty.” Katie grabs my fingers in hers, pulling me away.

Our dorm rooms come into view, and on my bed is a red box, very hard to miss.

”Oooh, what's that?” Katie smirks, spinning into the room and heading towards the box.

I frown. Vincenzo will never send me presents here; he knows not to. “Are you sure that is for me?” I look around the room apprehensively. How did it even get inside here without any of our keys?

“It is on your bed,” she leans on my bed, raising a brow at me. “Open it, I dare you,” she smirks.

“Aren't you worried someone might have gotten into our room? Stolen something? Or you know, just the immense fear we might be asleep one day and some crazy serial killer comes in here and kills us in our sleep?” I say in a rush, my eyes wide in her direction.

“It's a gift; it's not a bomb, and the dorm staff all have a copy of our keys. Maybe someone bribed them to open the door to specifically get a gift to you,” she smirks. “Your admirer goes the extra mile; it's commendable.”

“You are seriously crazy, Katie.” I shake my head at her, my eyes moving to the box; if it is from Vuncemzo, it could be something racy, something Katie can't see.

“Why don’t we go and get dinner, and then we open the box?” I shake my head, fear pouring through me as I remember Vincenzo could possibly not be the only person to send me a gift or a threat.

“You are just prolonging this; it is your gift, so I will give you privacy if you want, but I think you should open it.” She shakes her head, dropping her bag and grabbing her purse only, “It could be anything, cash, a vibrator? A dildo? You know the exciting stuff, she giggles.

“Let me grab us dinner, and you should have opened this by the time I am back,” she points at me, walking through the doors and closing them behind me.

I gulp, sweat dripping from my forehead, if this is from who I think it's from. Is my past coming back to haunt me?

I pull the box open, and our eyes meet with a shocking gift.