Destroy Me Gently:Ex-Enemy Becomes My Lover!
Chapter 41: I don’t hate you

Chapter 41: I don’t hate you

Chapter FORTY ONE

**Oliver West**

A ticking second went past.

Then another.

It couldn’t be happening.

Kieran wasn’t kissing me in front of the whole school!

Well, not exactly on my lips, his mouth was close to mine, pressed near the corner of my mouth, but it felt the same, the same electricity shooting through my body like lightning.

I felt like the world was ending and my entire body was a thundering mess because I couldn’t breathe, I also couldn’t move to push him away either.

Slowly, he pulled away and my gaze locked with those stainless steel eyes.

I took a staggering step backward, inhaling raggedly for much needed air while my lips tingled where his had almost touched them.

I expected to see the mockery and sneer in his gaze because after all, his reason for kissing me could not be anything other than to disgrace me publicly.

A heavy pang slashed through my heart because somehow I wanted the kiss to be real.

No hate.

No fights, just him.

What was wrong with me?!!!

Was this Stockholm syndrome? I’m not going to be one of those, a near kiss could not make me forget who Kieran was.

The mockery and the taunts I expected from him didn’t happen and all I managed to read in his eyes was plain confusion which mirrored mine. Like he also couldn’t understand why he did that.

Then the audible whispers from around resumed, or maybe they had been talking all along, and I had been too immersed in my state of confusion to realize it.

I took a quick glance at the students gathered around because their discussions were loud enough for me to hear.

Some of their gazes held curiosity.

Some held plain hate and jealousy.

Amanda.

Her eyes shot arrows at us, I averted my gaze back to Kieran.

What was he going to do now?

I should probably run away now while I still had the opportunity to escape his taunts.

So I did exactly that.

I ran.

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"What the heck was that about!" My best friend screamed in my ears the moment he found me hiding away from the rest of the other humans.

I averted my gaze from his sharp glare because after I escaped from Kieran about ten minutes ago, I just couldn’t stop thinking.

Why would he kiss me in front of even his own girlfriend?

There was no doubt I was going to be the hot topic and in everyone’s spotlight for the next few weeks.

"I’m asking you something! What were you both doing, I thought you frigging can’t stand each other," William said, his voice filled with disbelief.

A bright flush stained my cheeks at his words and not only that, his gaze was accusing me as though I had been keeping secrets from him because he couldn’t know that I was as confused as he was, maybe even more.

"He just kissed my cheek, it wasn’t what it looked like, and I didn’t kiss him back!" I shot out defensively, as though it would somehow exclude me from the accusation.

’But you would have, if he hadn’t let go of you then,’ a sneaky part of my mind whispered.

"But you were in his car! When you stepped down, his arms were wrapped around you, did you even notice the way he was looking at you? Like he wanted to devour you up!"

A loud groan escaped my mouth because now I wouldn’t even get a bit of peace from my own best friend.

"What are you saying, William? You know very well the relationship between Kieran and me, I don’t like him, and as for me coming to school in his car and the kiss, it was really out of my control, but I can say for certain that it meant nothing, he was only toying with me and..."

"I still don’t believe you ..." His words trailed off abruptly and I gave him a puzzled look as he appeared to be staring unwaveringly at something behind me.

Curiously, I turned around.

My heart skipped a double beat and my gaze clashed with a familiar pair.

The devil who had been the sole reason for me hiding in this isolated spot was standing there in the doorway, his heated gaze burning through me.

How much of our conversation had he overheard while I had been totally unaware of his presence?

Why should it matter?

His gaze left mine and directed toward William.

"Leave, I want to speak to him."

His words made my insides quiver because what could he possibly have to say to me?

Maybe to punish me for running away before he could torture me?

Instinctively, I scooted toward William, and William crossed his arms, glowering hard at him.

"I think you are the one not wanted here, why don’t you do us both a favor and leave?" he replied.

"Ollie." The sound of my name from his lips made me jump slightly.

"Come over here!" His words were nothing short of a command.

I shifted my gaze from him to William because Kieran could have easily dragged me away as usual, why was he putting me in this spot once again?

Knowing Kieran, there was no doubt he was showing William how much influence he really had over my life.

"Oliver, don’t you dare go with this jerk!" Then, turning to Kieran, William spat, "I won’t leave him alone, not after all you did to him, didn’t your parents ever teach you not to touch people without their permission?"

His words cracked through the air like a powerful whip.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Oh god!

Why did he have to say that?

Kieran’s gaze narrowed into hardened slits.

The hardness of his jaw ticked once.

Twice.

He took an intimidating step forward and even William visibly shivered from that shuddering gaze.

Any moment from now, I thought he was going to strike him.

"K-Kieran..." My voice came out in a squeak as I tried to distract his attention away and in that moment his gaze snapped toward me, a sudden mask of indifference was placed over his once forbidding look.

"What I do with my boyfriend is no concern of yours, I certainly don’t need your permission before I touch him," he spoke to William with a seemingly casual expression, but one wouldn’t miss his emphasis on the word "boyfriend."

A yelp escaped my mouth when he suddenly pulled my arm, yanking me toward him to drape his arm around my shoulders, surrounding me with his musky cologne and body heat.

I tried not to quiver under William’s questioning stare and Kieran’s metallic orbs that dared me to defy his statement.

What was wrong with him?

Why was he spreading the lie that I was his boyfriend all around?

Associating with a loser and nobody like me would do more harm to his reputation than mine.

Without another word, he stormed straight off, his grip still enclosed around my arm and having no other choice, I allowed him to tow me away.

"Kieran, stop!"

He stopped and turned around so abruptly that I ended up crashing straight into his chest.

I saw the corners of his lips quirk upward and wondered if he had done it on purpose.

"This has to stop! Anything but this!" I cried out, wrenching my arm away from his forcefully.

"What?" he asked, giving me a dumb look as though he had no clue what I was talking about.

His sharp words, his blatant hate, all those were very familiar to me, but I had no idea what to do about this.

It almost seemed as if he was searching for an opportunity to touch me, and even to the point of openly admitting I was his boyfriend?

What was I supposed to do about this?

I had never been caught in this situation before.

"You know very well what I’m talking about, you are not my boyfriend, you hate me, remember? So why are you behaving like this!" I hissed, all the pent-up confusion and frustration pouring out freely.

Those stainless pools locked with mine and a look I recognized as confusion was vividly spread across his features.

What was he confused about?

"You said not to hate you," he spoke aloud, inching his way toward me.

It was my turn to be confused.

"Maybe I decided not to hate you anymore, Ollie."

His words were like a nail hammered into my heart, stealing the life out of me.

Did I hear correctly? Or perhaps this was one of my numerous daydreams.

"You don’t hate me?" I choked out, my voice tearing out in disbelief.

"What suddenly made you change your mind? Did you hit your head and forget how you loathe me? Well, I still remember!" I bit out, my emotions a rumbling mess inside.

"I don’t want to lose two people, the way you did."

A sharp breath caught in my throat because I couldn’t breathe, those silvery eyes coupled with his words were choking and ripping up my insides.

"But you already lost me, Kieran, the same way I lost you, that little Oliver who was your friend is already long dead, he died a long time ago..."

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