Free Web NovelChapter 14: Behind the Mask
"I like you—"
*Knock!* *Knock!*
The sudden sound of knocking echoed through the room. Alicia stopped mid-sentence and glanced back toward the door. Her expression turned cold and expressionless at the sudden interruption to their conversation.
She stood up from her seat and moved toward the entrance to see who had come.
Behind her, Alden’s face was completely dazed. He sat there speechless at her sudden confession, though he wasn’t even sure if it was actually a confession or something else entirely. The words ’I like you’ still rang loudly in his mind, even though she hadn’t finished her sentence.
He looked at her back, wanting to stop her and ask if what she had just said meant what he thought it meant. But he couldn’t open his mouth. He needed a few more seconds to compose himself.
’Yes, it could be a misunderstanding like last time... I shouldn’t misinterpret her words. It is not like she would really fall for me when we barely just met each other. And even then, there has barely been any real conversation between us...’
Alicia walked over to the door and pulled it open. She stopped and stared at the person standing out in the hall.
A girl with bright golden hair and golden eyes stood outside the door. Her expression was bright and excited. She suddenly bounced forward, hugging Alicia immediately, and started talking in a cheerful voice.
"Alicia, I missed you! It has been a while since we hung out together. I was going to meet you yesterday to go shopping, but Edwin offered me to join him since he was also heading there..."
"Oh, I can’t even remember the last time we actually met. It was months ago... But I still remember that cold face of yours. You haven’t changed a bit since then..."
Alicia just stared blankly at Sarah’s constant chattering.
Seeing Alicia’s icy look, Sarah pulled back, but she didn’t seem disappointed or awkward at all by the silence.
"Sorry... Why am I just talking to myself? Okay, I actually have a request. My dorm room’s AC doesn’t seem to be working properly. It feels so hot in my room. Then I remembered that you were staying just down the hall, so I thought I could join you for tonight. With you around, there would be no need for an AC, hehe... You are still famous for the title ’Ice Princess’, aren’t you?"
Alicia looked at her and said flatly, "Nope. You can leave. I am busy."
Sarah’s expression suddenly turned desperate at the quick dismissal.
"Hey, no, no! Please, Aly, it is so hot in that room. Even the front desk clerk said it was not possible to repair it tonight. I don’t know or trust anyone else here... Please, can I stay here? Just for one night, please..."
Alicia stared at her blankly with absolute no hint of approval.
"No. You should leave and find some other place. I am busy tonight..."
Sarah seemed disappointed at her answer. She was about to say more to convince her, but suddenly her gaze fell on a boy with pitch-black hair sitting on the couch inside the room. He had a handsome face with glowing crimson eyes. His body was lean, and his features were striking.
Sarah immediately recognized who he was. Not because she was fond of staring at random men, but because he was already quite famous all around the academic circle. He was the exact same person who had boldly confronted their magic professor in the first class today.
"Oh... Is that guy... What was his name again... Something like... Mhmm, yes, I remember! Is he Alden?..."
Alicia glanced back at Alden, who was sitting quietly while drinking tea, and nodded.
"Yes. Now, if you are done, you should leave..."
"Hehehe... Okay, okay. It seems I am just going to be a third wheel between the two of you..." Sarah teased.
"Okay, I will leave you alone..."
She quickly turned around to leave, but then she paused. She leaned forward and whispered, her expression filled with mischief.
"Alicia, he seems to be quite a cold and aggressive type. You should be careful not to let him bite you too hard, or it might leave a mark..." She giggled, stepped back, and quickly ran away down the corridor.
Alicia just stared at the empty hallway where Sarah had gone. Her expression was still blank, but the tips of her ears turned noticeably red. She turned around, closed the door, locked it, and stepped back inside.
As she walked deeper into the room toward the couch, her eyes fell directly on Alden’s figure. He was sleeping softly on the cushions.
She looked at his peaceful face, walked over to the couch, and leaned forward to pick up the fallen teacup from the floor.
"Hehe... It seems the potion finally took effect after he drank that tea..."
She sat down on one side of the couch. Gently, she pulled Alden’s body closer and rested his head comfortably on her lap. She slowly began to stroke his dark hair.
Her expression completely changed. She smiled for the first time—not a fake smile, nor the small, suppressed one from earlier. This was a real smile that she hadn’t shown to anyone but herself.
As she looked down at his sleeping face, her eyes turned intense. She began to caress his baby-like soft skin with her fingertips.
"You know what? You look so cute when you lay on my lap, looking this vulnerable and comfortable..."
She leaned forward and pressed a long, soft kiss against his forehead.
"Hehe... Sarah was saying that you are the aggressive type. She said you might bite me..." She giggled quietly.
"But she doesn’t know that you are just a cute and kind-hearted guy... No one knows. And no one will ever know... I won’t let anyone else know about you... Not now. Not forever..."
She looked at him, her eyes burning with intense obsession as she continued to stroke his hair, careful not to wake him up from his deep slumber.
Her dark smile never wavered as she continued to talk to his sleeping form in a playful voice filled with strange mischief.
"You know what, Alden... I will definitely turn you into a glutton. At least in this life... I will feed you so much that no other girl will ever want to approach you."
She looked at him, and her expression slowly composed itself again as she wore her usual icy mask. But her eyes still remained intense. A brief hint of vulnerability appeared in her gaze, slipping away just as fast as it came, before she spoke with absolute conviction.
"Never leave me again... Never, ever leave me like you did before... You are mine... Only mine..."
Her eyes darkened heavily as she stopped her hand movements for a split second.
"If you try to walk that exact same path as before, then I will either force you to stay with me... or I will just kill you and myself, exactly like last time."
