Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 53: Filter

Chapter 53: Filter

Meanwhile, in a classroom at Summit University, the alleged bitch was scribbling her answers for her last final exam.

Achoo!

I suddenly sneezed, which I found odd because there were no signs of an incoming cold. Thankfully, this was the last thing I had to deal with after surviving the thesis defense.

When the bell rang, students started darting out, probably worried about their next exam. Finals week always looked like this. It’s a good thing this was the last one.

It was obvious which among us still had more trials to face because those finally free looked at least ten years younger.

I would’ve had the same look if not for the upcoming Unveiling. The Sinclairs, bless their hearts, haven’t really asked much of me. In fact, I haven’t had to do anything that wasn’t voluntary.

Let’s just not count Lucian in that.

So, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’m willing to do ten more final defenses rather than socialize with the predators.

It looks and sounds like a harmless party, but it’s a battleground. Getting all the bidders to attend before the project awarding? Really? What peace?

Even now, peace remains a foreign construct. The students were still focused and anxious about the exams, but as more people finished for the week, there was also more open gossiping.

Who could blame them, though? Jasper’s scandal finally reached their ears. I was hoping for it to happen once I was done with my schedule at Summit, but the Lord wanted to go a different route.

Fine, then.

Jasper expedited the news by attempting to assault the pro bono lawyer assigned to him.

Now, good luck trying to get new lawyers to work for him when his accounts were frozen.

He probably has a slush fund somewhere, but his funds won’t crawl toward his cell without somebody doing the leg work.

But I’ve got more things to do now than think about Jasper’s welfare.

I had actually been so busy avoiding the stares of people and their placating words that I hadn’t noticed a strange phenomenon that had been brewing around me.

__

LARA

Wearing inconspicuous clothes and a wig, Lara sat by the hallway vending machine, drinking a soda that she’d never usually have.

She still hasn’t figured out exactly what she was doing here and why. However, when she reviewed her information about Eliana, she learned about her classes at Summit. And then felt desperate to go. She even considered enrolling until she learned from the forums that the illustrious Golden Girl was set to graduate upon finishing her finals.

So Lara rushed like her ass was on fire. And now here she was, drinking something unthinkable after waiting for so long, only to see her for less than a minute.

She could’ve watched as she took her exams, but she already knew Eliana had a team of people watching over her. And Lara wasn’t exactly classified as "safe" if Lucian had anything to do with her security.

Speaking of Lucian, Lara was pleasantly surprised to learn that she hadn’t remembered him since she got mugged.

Before this, she was so sure of her obsession that she worried her parents constantly.

I did get a restraining order, so...fair point, I guess?

Then she got enlightened and now even cringes at how she went after Lucian.

What’s so good about that guy?

Looks, wealth, status? Aren’t those just bare minimums for a partner? She thought to herself, effectively erasing more than half of the population with her new qualifications.

Maybe it was Lucian’s intelligence or craftiness? But that’s also a common requirement. After all, who would want a bumbling idiot?

Before she even went as far as to commit petty crimes for a chance at being noticed. Lara had the biggest rose-colored glasses, and it was only now that she started asking what was it that made Lucian unique?

She really felt odd and embarrassed about the things she did in the name of "love."

She thought the world of him and was completely elated whenever she saw a glimpse of his shadow. Not that she didn’t like seeing his face, but because his face looked the same everytime. Expressionless, cold and when he sees her, there’s that distaste.

And she liked that before; she thought it made him feel even more aloof and unreachable.

A perfect male god.

Now, the things she liked about Lucian didn’t seem enough. What male god? They’re not good enough for her.

Not good enough for Eliana.

She, too, was unsure of who or what was good enough for Eliana, but it was definitely not Lucian.

How could he be good enough when Eliana shimmers just by walking through a hallway?

Meanwhile, Lucian was bland and dark, as dark as his black heart. His dark aura would just contaminate Eliana’s purity.

Lara’s eyes sneered as she imagined Eliana being corrupted by Lucian. Then she remembered that Eliana wouldn’t stay for long today because she had to attend that unveiling event.

Lara would’ve found that depressing as she wanted photos of Eliana’s last day in school, but she found solace in getting invited to the party.

She smiled as she left her post, imagining what Eliana would look like today.

__

And she did not disappoint.

Clad in a black strapless corset gown, Eliana looked sensual yet elusive, a challenging balance to achieve. Her neck was free of jewelry, highlighting her neckline. Her bobbed hair showed off her toned shoulders, and yet she didn’t look under-accessorized. That single ear cuff that shined on her right ear made her look like a fairy.

Lara felt her heart race as she looked at her from afar. She was so happy to see her tonight, but her happiness was dampened when the photographer moved to the side, revealing Lucian, her escort.

Tsk.

Lara gritted her teeth as she clenched her glass. She wanted to tear them apart. But not today.

Today was just an ocular because she was here for someone else.

Let me see that bastard Nicholas Bernard.

Lara wanted to scout the competition. As his ex-number one stalker, she already knew everything she wanted to know about Lucian. And she found out that his existence served as good deterrence to even worse flies, so she’s being tolerant for the time being.

Now, she wanted to know the identity of this Nicholas Bernard, who dared to get engaged to someone who was already in another relationship.

She did a preliminary search but found nothing, so she decided to see him with her own eyes.

According to Lara’s renewed glasses, if Lucian was at least average in looks and presence, this guy would probably be classified as barely passing.

Another bland one.

This guy was some poster boy, a stalker with a clean record. He could easily deny that attempt he tried staging as something he did not know of, but Lara was not your average fan.

A certified stalker.And I know those eyes.

He stood there socializing with other guests as if busy to notice Eliana’s entrance. But as he talked, his eyes glinted while veering away from the people he was socializing with.

Lara could already tell that he was waiting for Eliana to fully enter, subtly eyeing her from his well-picked corner.

Another fly.

Tsk.

I hate him already.