You Threw Away a Diamond Chapter 07

You Threw Away a Diamond Chapter 07

“Caleb!”

“What are you doing here?”

I felt like a drowning person finally grabbing onto a life raft.

He gently steadied me by the shoulders, his thumbs soothingly tracing my collarbone. His dark gaze flicked to the chaotic scene in the classroom behind us. His lips thinned into a dangerous line.

“Do you need me to handle him?” The implicit threat in his voice sent a thrill straight to my core.

I laughed, my heart settling. “No need. The audience he’s gathered is doing more damage to his reputation than we ever could.”

I kept one thought to myself: *Just being wrapped in your arms after that train wreck is everything I need.*

He nodded, his eyes softening as he looked down at me. “Okay,” he murmured, his hand sliding down to rest possessively on the small of my back. He told me he wanted to take me to see the raw studio space in the

city.

As for Julian, why would I need to get my own hands dirty?

A fool like that digs his own grave.

The videos of his pathetic breakdown went viral across the university’s Greek life forums.

Online opinions were ruthless. They called him toxic, a two–timer, a complete joke.

I didn’t see him for a long time after that. I heard he dropped his classes,

took a leave of absence, and crawled back to our hometown. He and

Cassidy imploded spectacularly.

When my roommate told me the news, I just smiled, sipping my coffee. My heart was completely unaffected.

Later, I heard Cassidy was expelled after the administration mysteriously received undeniable proof that she’d forged her application essays and transcripts. Rumor was, Caleb’s family lawyers had something to do with unearthing it.

When I asked Caleb about it, he just smirked, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb. “I protect what’s mine. She tried to ruin you. I just returned the

favor.”

The renovation of my SoHo studio was finally coming along.

When I didn’t have class, I’d spend my time there in the city, sketching and cutting fabric. Caleb would often join me, sitting on the velvet sofa, watching me with a gaze so intense it made my skin heat up.

He said to give him a chance, so I am. He gets to pursue me.

I’m a proud woman, after all!

When I told him that, he was ecstatic.

He pulled me into a crushing hug, lifting my feet off the floor, his deep laughter vibrating against my chest.

He said my past taste in men was garbage, that he’d been right there all along and I’d settled for a clown like Julian.

He said that just having the right to hold me was the greatest victory of his life.

“Scarlett, your willingness to let me in… it means you still believe in love.”

“And as long as you believe, I will spend my life proving it to you.”

I looked at his devastatingly handsome, fiercely devoted face, and the icy wall around my heart entirely melted.

He really understood me. He saw past the untouchable ice queen exterior to the passionate girl inside, claiming her without a second of hesitation.

When Julian finally returned to campus months later to pack up his frat room, he cornered me near the library.

He had lost a lot of weight and looked haggard. His eyes were red–rimmed, but he offered a broken, pathetic smile.

“Scarlett.”

His voice was hoarse, his eyes glistening.

It was winter by then, snow falling heavily. I pulled the collar of my designer coat tight and kept a strict distance.

“I thought we had absolutely nothing left to discuss,” I said coldly, completely immune to his manipulative sentimentality.

He swallowed hard. “I went back to our hometown. I drove past your old house. I only realize now how completely I fucked up. As for Cassidy… it was an ego trip. I just wanted what I couldn’t have. But… whatever. It doesn’t matter now.”

“Scarlett, you won’t see me again. I’m transferring to a state school back home.”

I nodded, the indifferent words slipping out effortlessly. “Good luck.”

He looked like I’d physically gutted him, his face a mask of profound

sorrow.

“Scarlett, is there really no piece of your heart left for me?”

I raised an eyebrow. Was he actually this delusional?

“Today’s Christmas Eve. Can we just get a coffee…”

“She’s busy.”

Caleb’s deep, authoritative voice cut through the freezing air. His sleek black G–Wagon had pulled up silently beside us. He stepped out, towering over Julian, and immediately pulled me flush against his side, his arm a heavy, undeniable claim around my waist.

Childish.

I complained silently, but a genuine, radiant smile spread across my face as I leaned into his warmth.

“Get some kind of sick thrill out of harassing my girlfriend?” Caleb’s voice was laced with pure, lethal ice.

Julian lowered his head, utterly defeated by the sheer difference in their presence. I heard a soft, broken sigh.

“Goodbye, Scarlett.”

“Let’s make it a permanent one,” I chirped, giving him my brightest, most

dismissive smile.

In our world, pretending we’d ‘see each other around‘ was just a waste of breath.

Caleb took my hand, his fingers intertwining with mine, and strode past him without a second glance.

As we walked away, I saw Julian flinch, a pathetic, lone figure left to freeze in the wind and snow of his own making.

So be it.