Mafia Heir, You Have 60 Seconds to Text Me Back Chapter 02

Mafia Heir, You Have 60 Seconds to Text Me Back Chapter 02

After my rejection, Alec Rossi started “coincidentally” showing up wherever I went.

Upon discovering that I was at the library’s quiet reading room by six every morning, Alec made a point of claiming the seat right next to mine. If someone was already sitting nearby, he deployed his favorite weapon—cold, hard cash—paying everyone at the surrounding tables to move.

Before long, a rumor swept through campus: If you snag a seat next to Clara Crowe, the Rossi heir will pay you four figures to pack up your bags.

Naturally, the library study hall was packed to the brim the very next morning.

I couldn’t even find a place to sit.

Holding my textbooks, I stood in the doorway, locking eyes with Alec, whose sharp, almost villainous good looks made him impossible to miss. Before he could utter a word, I turned on my heel and walked away.

Alec clearly hadn’t anticipated I’d be this hard to catch. With his long stride, he caught up to me in seconds.

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed my wrist.

Floating comments flared up immediately:

[Oh look, he sees Sienna coming, so he deliberately grabs Clara’s hand!]

[Emotionally constipated idiot—just SAY what you mean!]

I froze in my tracks.

Alec raised his voice, making sure it carried across the hallway. “I don’t care about Sienna Vance anymore! I only like you, you… C… Cla…”

He was visibly trying to recall my name.

Sienna scoffed as she watched him, her eyes filled with amused contempt. “Childish.”

She linked arms with her new boyfriend, strutting gracefully past us.

Alec watched their retreating figures, his face darkening as his grip on my wrist tightened to a vice-like squeeze.

I leaned in close and whispered calmly into his ear, “My name is Clara.”

Alec snapped out of his daze, looking at me with a rare flash of embarrassment. “Sorry, I…”

I yanked my hand back, adjusting my glasses as I interrupted him with an even tone. “Repeat my name.”

His brain hadn’t quite caught up, but he followed my instruction anyway.

“Clara.”

His voice was deep, smooth, and infuriatingly attractive.

Having him chase me wasn’t a bad deal at all. As for whether he actually liked me or not? I couldn’t care less.

I gave a curt nod. “Good.”

After two full weeks of his relentless “accidental encounters,” I finally accepted Alec Rossi’s friend request.

According to the floating comments, I was supposed to be easily won over within the first month. Shortly after, Alec would get bored of my stiff, nerdy demeanor and toss me aside.

Except nobody knew the truth.

Underneath my quiet exterior, I was demanding, petty, and immensely high-maintenance. I just hid it well.

Since he wanted to chase me on a bet, there was no reason for me to play the part of a sweet, docile girlfriend.

Later, Alec sat in a private room at an upscale karaoke lounge just off campus, glowering at his phone.

When he was chasing Sienna, at least she had the decency to reply. Clara, on the other hand, would reply instantly one second, and completely go off the grid for hours the next.

He had no idea how he’d managed to piss her off this time.

Three days. She hadn’t replied in three whole days!

And that was after accepting a gift from him!

His fraternity brother chuckled beside him, swirling a glass of whiskey. “Still haven’t won over the bookworm, Alec?”

Across the booth, Sienna was singing a duet with her new boyfriend, casting a provocative glance in Alec’s direction.

Alec fired back instantly, “As if. She’s modest and respectable—unlike some people who swap partners every other week.”

Sienna didn’t take the bait. Instead, a sweet, elegant smile curled on her lips as she leaned in and kissed her boyfriend right on the mouth.

Alec stormed out of the private room in a rage.

The moment the door slammed shut, everyone inside exchanged knowing glances, turning their attention back to Sienna.

The floating text delivered every detail straight to me.

The very next day, a delicate designer necklace arrived at my dorm.

A text from Alec followed:

[Alec]: Saw something like it on your private Instagram. Like it? It’s yours.

I noticed a rather amusing pattern.

Every single time Sienna pissed him off, Alec treated me like his personal revenge fund, bleeding high-end luxury gifts just to drown out his own frustration.

His intentions were painfully obvious, which was why Sienna wasn’t even bothered by his overtures toward me.

But it annoyed me.

Because Sienna was strutting around looking like she had the upper hand, and Alec thought he was being clever.

They really thought I was just a pawn in their twisted high-society game?

I sent back one letter: [K.]

I had zero obligation to stroke a man’s ego.

If he couldn’t win me over within three months, he was the one who’d end up panicking—not me.