I Dreamed He’d BEG for My Love in 2 Years—So I Kept My Distance While He Scorned Me Chapter 06

I Dreamed He’d BEG for My Love in 2 Years—So I Kept My Distance While He Scorned Me Chapter 06

The wind grew colder in Northwood.

Snow was coming.

Kael didn’t come home that winter.

I politely turned down Mrs. Thorne’s offer to move back into my old room.

I stayed in the attic.

Mrs. Thorne sighed when she saw how firm I was.

She didn’t push me again.

The final exam scores came out three days into winter break.

I’d jumped fifty ranks. First in my Regular Class.

But I was still far from the top 100.

A wave of hopelessness washed over me.

Back home, I’d been second in the county.

Now I might not even be top two hundred in the whole city.

I tried so hard.

But it still wasn’t enough.

I felt defeated.

When Silas heard, he offered to tutor me.

I blinked in surprise.

He blinked back.

I quit my part-time job for winter break.

I studied with Silas in his room or buried myself in textbooks at the library.

Silas was an amazing teacher.

He was gentle but firm.

When I broke down crying over math functions or messed up English grammar,

he sat quietly with me until I finished my work.

He always spotted my weaknesses right away and explained them clearly.

When I felt discouraged, he softened his voice and told me he used to make the same mistakes.

After a while, I knew he was just being nice.

Genes like his didn’t make those kinds of mistakes.

We studied nonstop until Christmas Eve.

I finally got to breathe.

I left Silas’s room in a daze.

Math formulas and verb tenses buzzed in my head.

Then I saw the dark-haired boy sitting on the couch.

I blinked. Stared three times.

It was Kael.

I hadn’t seen him in months.

I hesitated, wondering if I should greet him.

He looked up from his phone when he heard me.

He said it simply, lazy and casual.

“Morning.”

I forced a smile, mumbled hello, and hurried to my room.

I didn’t want to annoy him any longer than I had to.

Thankfully, he didn’t say anything cruel the whole time.

After Christmas, Silas flew back to the US.

I told him to stay healthy and safe.

He wished me good luck on my exams.

Thanks to him, I placed in the top ten of my grade on the first practice test when school started again.

Not top one hundred. Top ten.

I rubbed my eyes over and over when I saw the score.

I couldn’t believe it was real,

Silas texted me, “You earned it.”

Joy crashed over me like a wave.

I made the honor roll for the first time.

I spoke at the school assembly as the most improved student.

The principal asked me several times if I wanted to transfer to Honors Class.

I said no.

Honors Class had better teachers and a stricter environment.

But it meant new pressure and new competition.

More importantly, Kael was there.

Avoiding Kael had become my survival instinct.

I stayed in Regular Class and kept studying hard.

Getting better didn’t make me lazy.

It showed me how much more I could do.

I stared at the number-one rank.

But I wanted more than that.

Fifteen-year-old Elara never settled for just first place at her small school.

Eighteen-year-old Elara wouldn’t either.

I climbed from ninth in the grade, to fifth in the city, to third in the region.

Shortly after that, Kael moved back home.

I didn’t hesitate. I applied to live in the school dorms.

I left the principal’s office and Kael cornered me in the hallway.

He said it like he already knew everything.

“You’re avoiding me.”