Chapter 7 - Raffa | The Heir's Obsession Web Novel By Aimi Hikaru

She'd spent two years avoiding him. She'd spent the first semester learning exactly why.

She knew he was still watching her. His eyes were sharp and fixed on her, without shifting his gaze even slightly.

She could feel it. The way the air changed, and the corridor stayed too quiet for too long. The way no one else around them moved. She knew this was a mistake she should have avoided.

Raffa Fathurrahman hadn't said a word.

He hadn't stepped back.

He hadn't walked away.

He was just standing there, and Qistina could feel his eyes on her like a hand on the back of her neck.

She didn't look up.

She wouldn't.

Because looking up meant looking at him, and looking at him meant remembering.

She kept her head down.

Her heart was pounding. Too loud. Too fast. She could hear it in her own ears, and she was absolutely sure he could hear it too.

He was standing too close.

So close that she could feel the heat of his body. So close that if she tilted her head up just a little, her forehead would touch his chest. Closer than anyone had ever stood beside her, making her heart beat faster. Without being able to control it, her actions, her expression, and... Qistina was worried Raffa would notice she was actually trying to calm her trembling. Her slightly shaking hands. Her stiff body.

She didn't want Raffa to see her like this. Because it was too dangerous.

Her fingers tightened around her notebook and assignment.

What's he gonna do?

Is he gonna yell at me?

Or worse, hit me?

Just because I bumped into him?

Her lips moved soundlessly, forming words that never came out.

She'd spent two years avoiding this exact moment.

And now it was here.

Raffa looked down at her.

Not annoyed or angry, just unimpressed. The way you look at something that has wandered into your path by accident.

"Where were your eyes? In your pocket? You didn't see me walking?"

His face was calm.

His voice was not.

It was the same voice she'd heard a hundred times across a hundred lectures. Low. Controlled. But something sharper and colder lurked beneath it, making the corridor feel ten degrees cooler.

He stepped closer.

Qistina's face drained of color. "I already said sorry. I didn't mean to." She answered him back, trying to be brave.

She tried to hold his stare. She didn't last long. Or maybe she was only pretending to be brave.

She wasn't afraid of Raffa Fathurrahman.

She was afraid of what she might have to do to him. If Raffa knew she was hunting someone... who knows what the man would think. Raffa didn't realize she wasn't like other girls. She could act beyond expectations... at any time.

She's not scared of him. She's scared of being noticed. And dangerous people get in the way of her mission.

"Sorry? Just... sorry. That's it?"

Raffa's lips curved into a crooked smile.

He stepped closer.

The closer he got, the further back she went. Like he was doing it on purpose.

She had to tilt her head up just to look at him.

"What are you doing? Hey, back off!"

"Why? Scared?"

He raised one eyebrow and leaned closer, lowering his voice to whisper in her ear.

A cold laugh.

Thump.

For the first time in two years, they stood this close, their eyes locked.

The scent of his cologne filled her senses. Something dark. Something expensive. Something him.

And for some reason, her heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Qistina studied his smile, unsure what it meant.

What does he actually want? She whispered to herself.

Qistina swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yes," she answered.

Raffa's expression changed slightly. His irises turned darker. As if he hadn't expected those words to come out of the girl's mouth in front of him. It made Qistina's heart beat even faster. She cursed her mouth for speaking so carelessly in front of this man.

The corner of Raffa's lips curved slightly. He kept staring sharply at Qistina's pale face. "Good. You should be."

For some reason, Qistina found that smile quite charming. At the same time... dangerous and increasingly terrifying.

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The Heir's Obsession Web Novel By Aimi Hikaru.