Esther stumbled upon a scene she wished she had never witnessed. Two figures were tangled together on the narrow bed, locked in a fervent embrace. To her horror, one of them was Vinson, the last man on earth she ever wanted to see in such a compromising moment. His mouth was fiercely devouring the lips of a female student. One who had only just walked into class earlier that morning alongside Nara.

One of Vinson’s hands was gripping the girl’s head possessively, holding her in place, while the other had already slipped beneath her skirt. Their kiss was reckless, steeped in hunger and heat, so consuming that they hardly noticed Esther standing there, frozen in shock like a fool.

Realizing that they were too lost in their frenzy to sense her presence, Esther spun on her heel, desperate to escape unnoticed. But before she could flee, Vinson’s mocking voice rang out from behind her.

“Well, look who’s been watching us. Tell me, Esther… do you want some too?”

Her stomach twisted. Knowing the man would never simply let her go, she forced herself though still flushed with shock and humiliation to turn back and face him. Her gaze was sharp, piercing.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dating Nelsy?” she shot back.

It wasn’t truly any of her business, yet Esther couldn’t help the surge of irritation rising in her chest. How could a girl as beautiful, kind, and adored on campus as Nelsy choose to date a vile creature like Vinson? Esther barely even knew Nelsy personally, but a sharp pang of empathy for her welled up all the same.

At the mention of another woman’s name, the girl entangled with Vinson stiffened. Annoyance flickered across her face, though she hardly seemed to care about her disheveled state after being pawed at only moments ago.

“Who do you think you are?!” the girl spat at Esther.

Vinson, with that insufferable smirk of his, cut in before Esther could answer.

“Gaara’s new toy.”

“No!” Esther snapped instantly, her voice firm and defiant. She would not accept being labeled with such degrading words.

The girl scoffed, her lips curling into a mocking smile. “You don’t look like Gaara’s type at all. In fact, you seem more like some pathetic little nerd, completely lacking any charm.” She let out a cruel giggle, reveling in the insult.

“Yeah, she’s a loser, Elise.”

“At least I’m not some cheap whore desperate enough to be used as Vinson’s outlet. Honestly, how pathetic must you be to make out with someone else’s boyfriend, you filthy tramp!” Esther shot back, her voice shaking with fury. She didn’t stop there and lifting her middle finger at both of them before storming out of the clinic as fast as her legs would carry her.

Once again, Vinson’s love life was none of her business. And yet, her skin crawled with loathing. She despised men who cheated, but even more, she loathed the women foolish enough to let themselves be used as a man’s plaything when he already belonged to someone else.

“Damn it, this shouldn’t even be my problem, but it’s driving me insane,” she muttered under her breath, each step echoing her frustration. “I can barely keep my own mess together. So why the hell am I even wasting my time worrying about theirs?”

But fate, it seemed, wasn’t finished tormenting her. When she finally reached her locker, another shock awaited. Her breath caught in her throat. Inside, scattered carelessly, were printed photographs of her and Gaara captured in compromising frames and plastered in a way meant to humiliate her.

Esther’s blood boiled. She didn’t need to guess who was behind it. The culprit was painfully obvious. Vinson. Always Vinson.

Her hands trembled as she gathered the vile photographs and stuffed them deep into her bag, her jaw tightening. Since high school, he had been a constant shadow, tormenting her, trailing her every step, as though it was his life’s mission to disrupt hers. And now, even in college, she wasn’t granted a single moment of peace.

A violent surge of anger rose in her chest. With a sharp motion, she slammed her locker door so hard it rattled, drawing startled glances from nearby students. She didn’t care. Fury was clawing its way out of her, and Vinson had once again managed to ignite it.

On her way home, she resolved one thing: those cursed photographs would burn. She would reduce them to ash, erase every trace before they could breathe further life into the scandal Vinson so desperately longed to stir.

And yet… something gnawed at her. A strange, unsettling question that refused to leave her mind. By now, Vinson should have exposed everything, parading her shame for the whole campus to see. That was his style, so why hadn’t he?

Why was he holding back?

***

She still had an hour left to kill, and her stomach was growling relentlessly, demanding to be filled. Normally, Esther avoided the campus cafeteria at all costs. Because stepping inside meant almost certainly running into him, the insufferable bastard Vinson. But hunger was merciless, and this time it was an urgency she couldn’t bargain with.

Reluctantly, she made her way toward the cafeteria. As expected, the place was bustling with life, brimming with students in search of cheap meals to stretch their thin budgets. The clatter of trays, the hum of conversation, and the occasional burst of laughter filled the air.

“Hey, Esther!”