Her eyes widened as soon as she saw me. And the crestfallen face disappeared, replaced by a smug smile as she wiped the slight red smudge from the corner of her lips.

I frowned.

Flashing me a smirk, she glanced over her shoulder and then walked away.

My eyes fell on the person standing far at the end of the corridor. His gaze was fixed on me, expression unreadable. With my heart palpitating in my chest, I walked to him. My legs hesitated. An ill feeling rose in the pit of my stomach.

As I neared him, my gaze fell onto his ruffled dark locks, and then… the red marks on his neck.

My heart stopped.

I didn’t even flinch when my nails pierced into my palms, as my eyes didn’t move from the marks of lipstick. Lipstick of that bitch!

“Wherever the gears of your brain are turning to, stop right there. It’s not what you’re thinking it is,” he said, not even an emotion flashing over his stoic face.

The clench of my heart made my eyes burn. My blood boiled in my veins.

“These marks of her lipstick prove that I’m thinking just fine! You don’t need to hide anything, Mr. Valencian. After all, you’re a single man free to do anything with anyone!” I spat out the words.

A muscle of his jaw ticked. “I said it’s not what you’re thinking it is. Nothing happened between us. She threw herself at me and I pushed her away. That’s it.”

“Oh, really?” I snapped, stepping closer. My voice rose. The raging fire inside me didn’t let me process his statement. I was too mad for any kind of understanding. “She threw herself at you and you pushed her away? Your disheveled hair and these marks came just like that? Do you think I believe that?”

“Rosebud,” he warned, expression hardening. “I’m telling you for the last time. Nothing happened between us. She tried to kiss me, but I pushed her away. Nothing more.”

The word ‘kiss’ had me see red.

“S-she tried to kiss you?”

A whole different emotion ran through me. Insecurity. Though whatever I called her, she was a stunning woman. More beautiful than me, more poised than me. She was everything a man would ever want in a woman.

He must’ve felt something.

My heart squeezed at the thought.

I gulped the thickness of my throat as I pushed down my anger. I had no right to feel that way.

“W-whatever. I don’t care what you do or not.” I averted my eyes. “It’s your personal life. I don’t have any say in this. Forget I reacted this way. Let’s go inside. Everyone is waiting for us.”

His eyes flashed as I turned around and began to stride away.