After I Dressed as a Man, He Mistook Me for His Rival Chapter 02

After I Dressed as a Man, He Mistook Me for His Rival Chapter 02

After that day, I logged out of the private account and never opened it again.

At breakfast, Mom gave me the same reminder she always did.

“Maribel’s stomach is bothering her today,” she said. “You’re her little brother. Take care of your sister.”

I chewed my toast slowly. “Okay.”

Maribel was two years older than me and already a senior. Our buildings sat on opposite sides of campus.

As soon as the bell rang, I filled a paper cup with water and stirred in honey, then hurried across the grounds.

By the time I got there, sweating and out of breath, Maribel had just gone to the restroom.

I set the cup on her desk.

After a moment, I added a few chocolate squares beside it.

That was when a boy nearby raised an eyebrow and stepped into my path.

His hair was dyed red, and everything about him looked loose and careless, from his slouched posture to the lazy way he dragged his eyes over me.

“What class are you in?” he scoffed. “You don’t know Maribel has a boyfriend?”

I didn’t know him.

I didn’t want trouble either.

But he never gave me a chance to explain. He grabbed the cup from Maribel’s desk and threw it onto the floor.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” he said.

“You carry Maribel’s backpack every day. You walk her to and from school. You run around buying her drinks.”

He clicked his tongue. “Trying that hard? Have you looked in a mirror?”

He shoved me back into the corner, his tone still casual, like this was all a joke to him.

He was too close.

For one terrifying second, I thought he was about to hit me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Enough.”

“Tavish, don’t go too far.”

A cool voice came from the side.

Lachlan took off one earbud.

He glanced at me, then said calmly, “Take your chocolates back. She doesn’t need them.”

“And from now on, stay away from Maribel.”

His voice was beautiful.

So was his manners. Polite. Distant. Clean enough to cut.

The floating comments flashed again.

[Oh my God, Sutton is embarrassing himself so hard.]

[Lachlan didn’t recognize him at all. He thinks Sutton is just another guy circling Maribel.]

[Sutton needs to back off before he humiliates himself. Even if Lachlan learns the truth, he’ll be grossed out. He’s never going to want him.]

Just then, Maribel rushed back.

She took one look at the tense scene and burst into a soft laugh.

“Oh my God, why are you guys acting like you were about to fight?”

She slipped her arm through Lachlan’s so naturally, then pointed at me.

“This is my little brother. My real one.”

Lachlan froze slightly. “Your brother brings you chocolates and walks you to school?”

Maribel blinked. “Yeah. He’s basically my built-in servant.”

Then she smiled. “Isn’t that what little brothers are for? Protecting their big sisters forever?”

Silence fell for a moment.

Lachlan realized he had misunderstood.

He reached out a hand to me and said, sincere and quiet, “Sorry.”

I forced the corner of my mouth up, but I couldn’t smile.

Back when we were talking in DMs, he had always teased me until my face went hot.

“What are you so scared of?” he used to say with a laugh.

“If we ever meet, what do you think I’m going to do to you?”

I just never thought we really would meet.

And when we did, the only thing he had time to say was, “Sorry.”