You Threw Away a Diamond Chapter 04

You Threw Away a Diamond Chapter 04

“Back the fuck up.” 1

I looked up to see Caleb shouldering his way through the crowd. The menacing, thunderous expression on his face made the frat boys instantly step aside.

I had never seen him so openly furious.

The Caleb I knew was always gentle and composed, never this—a lethal predator whose territory had just been invaded.

“Are you okay?”

He dropped to one knee beside me, his voice dangerously soft as his eyes zeroed in on the scrape on my arm. His jaw ticked, a muscle jumping in his

cheek.

I shook my head.

It was nothing, just a scraped elbow and a bruised ego.

He took a deep, steadying breath and rose, his imposing frame turning to face the gawking crowd. The sheer dominance rolling off him was suffocating.

“The car is mine,” he stated, his voice ringing with absolute, chilling authority. “And I am the one begging for Scarlett’s attention.”

“If I see one more slanderous post about her on that app, my family’s legal team will be pulling the IP addresses and dragging every single one of you through defamation suits.”

I was floored. Had he always been this intense?

Before I could process it, he leaned down and scooped me effortlessly

into his arms, my chest pressed against the hard, muscular plane of his chest, carrying me through the silent, parting crowd.

As we passed, he paused, his icy gaze landing on Julian. “Don’t ever look at her again.”

I saw the look in Cassidy’s eyes as she stared at Caleb. It was pure, unabashed awe and jealousy.

I knew that look. It was the way girls looked at the untouchable elite.

My lips curved into a smirk. This was getting interesting.

Caleb gently placed me in the passenger seat of his car. I could see the vein pulsing in his neck; he was still seething.

He glanced at me, and his dark anger seemed to instantly dissolve into a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry.”

His thick eyelashes trembled as he lowered his head, suddenly looking like a guilty, overgrown puppy.

I shook my head to tell him it was okay. He offered a small smile and started the engine.

This man was the same soul I knew, but somewhere along the way, he had quietly sharpened his claws, growing into someone deeply powerful.

I suddenly remembered my high school graduation. He had run down the long corridor, breathless in a clean white T–shirt, just to find me.

I thought it was an emergency, but he had only asked which city I was planning to go to for college.

In my memory, he was always trailing behind me. A year younger, and when I saw him again at university, he seemed to have shot up in height,

his shoulders broadening into those of a man.

It hit me then that he was only a year younger than me.

It was just that he had always been so polite, so respectful.

And just now… For some reason, the memory of his voice in the quad—so resolute, so furious, so commanding–made a sudden, hot flush spread across my chest, my heartbeat thudding heavily against my ribs.

“Just now… thank you,” I said, my voice a little unsteady.

He parked the car near the campus health center, his gaze settling heavily on my lips before moving up to my eyes. His expression was a complicated mix of raw hunger and restraint. In the end, it all melted into a soft, weary

smile.

“It’s nothing. I’d burn this place down before I let them touch you.”

He quickly got out, opened my door, and then, without hesitation, scooped me into his arms again. I was about to protest when his deep voice rumbled against my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

“You’re hurt. Let me take care of you.”

So I let him. Breathing in his intoxicating scent, my body instinctively relaxed against him.

He wasn’t overthinking it, so why was I? I chided myself.

The campus doctor seemed to know Caleb. When he saw him carry me in, his face broke into an amused, knowing look.

Caleb stood tensely, his eyes tracking every movement, as the doctor cleaned and bandaged my cut.

As we were leaving, the doctor clapped Caleb on the shoulder with a knowing grin.

Caleb, seeing my curious glance, immediately clarified to the doctor, “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not what you think.”

Then, turning to me, his gaze turned scorching hot. “I’m pursuing her. She just hasn’t put me out of my misery and said yes yet.”

Pursuing me? I thought that was just an act to save my pride back there.

My eyes widened, my breath catching in my throat.

But before the shock could settle, the infirmary door was shoved open.

“Scarlett! Who the fuck is he?”

“I knew it! I knew you were sleeping around behind my back!”

Julian burst into the hallway with Cassidy trailing behind, his face a mask of drunk, righteous fury.

I was about to fire back a savage retort, but Caleb moved instantly. His hand gripped my waist, pulling me firmly behind his broad back, completely shielding me from Julian’s view.