Chapter 9 - Him | The Heir's Obsession Web Novel By Aimi Hikaru

She saved his life that night. But in doing so, she put her own mission in jeopardy.

First semester.

The incident.

It wasn't supposed to happen.

It wasn't any of her business.

She'd been walking home from the library, late, too late, past midnight, cutting through the side street behind the arts building because it was faster.

And that was when she saw him. It was the first time she saw him like that. The most terrifying, dangerous Raffa in her eyes.

Raffa.

On his knees. In the alley. Blood on his face. Blood on his hands. Blood on the ground under him. But it didn't seem like he hated it. He was actually... enjoying it.

She could see the smile on his face. A shiver ran down her spine. Her body immediately went stiff. Her gaze was fixed.

She knew who the other guys were. They were familiar. Those faces were like some of the familiar faces on campus. Students, just like both of them. She used to see those guys around the cafeteria, around the lecture halls. Three of them, maybe four, standing over him with the kind of posture that meant they weren't done. Qistina looked at them in horror. What made them want to fight each other?

Raffa was still. Too still.

And then, he moved.

He got up.

Qistina saw him get up. She saw his fist connect with a jaw. She saw a knee drive into a stomach. She saw a man go down and stay down. Their numbers were greater compared to Raffa. What if Raffa got hurt? What if Raffa fell at their hands? What was she supposed to do now? Qistina wasn't sure. She was just a witness to the fight.

She saw him fight.

And she saw, for the first time, that the rich, arrogant, untouchable boy from her class wasn't the boy she'd thought he was.

He wasn't a spoiled brat.

He was something else.

He was someone who knew how to survive. He was brutal. Fast. Precise.

And then, she heard him say:

"Don't touch her. Ever again."

The men ran.

Raffa stood alone in the alley. Blood on his face. Blood on his hands. Breathing hard. Swaying.

Qistina should have walked away.

She should have. It was none of her business. He was none of her business. She didn't know him. She didn't want to know him.

But she took a step forward anyway.

And then another.

And then another.

"You need a hospital."

He looked up. Slowly. Like the words had to travel a long way to reach him.

"No."

"You're bleeding."

"I know."

"You need a-"

"No hospital."

His voice was flat. Final. The same voice he used in lectures when someone disagreed with him. The same voice that made people walk away.

But Qistina didn't walk away.

She looked at him for a long moment.

And then, she did the stupidest thing she'd ever done.

"There's an infirmary on campus. It's closed, but the side door's never locked. I know the code."

Silence.

Raffa looked at her. Really looked. Like he was seeing her for the first time. Like he'd been seeing her for a long time and had never said a word.

"...Why?"

"Because if you pass out here, someone's going to find you. And someone's going to ask questions. And I don't want to be the one who found you."

It was a lie.

She did want to be the one who found him.

She didn't know why.

She just did.

***

She took him to the infirmary.

She cleaned the cuts and bandaged his hands. She didn't ask who the students were or why he was bleeding. She didn't ask anything. This was enough, just this once, being close to this man. After this, she would act like nothing had happened between them. Like nothing happened.

She just worked.

And Raffa watched her the whole time. Silent. Still. His eyes never leaving her face.

When she was done, she stood up.

"Don't come back to campus like this again."

"...Yeah."

She turned and walked out.

She didn't look back.

She couldn't.

Because she'd just touched him and just helped him. She'd just done everything she'd promised herself she would never do.

And when she got home that night, she sat on the floor of her apartment and stared through the window. Through the city views. Speechless. She looked at her hands. What has she done? But then, whenever she thought about it again, she actually didn't regret it. For what she had done. Because she gained something from what she saw that night. She got new information.

Not because of him.

Because of herself.

That night when she saw him fight, she couldn't move. Yes, she had been attracted to him. It was terrifying. She doesn't stay because she likes him. She stays because running would mean abandoning her hunt.

Because she'd known, even then, even in that alley, that Raffa Fathurrahman was not a normal person. That the world he belonged to was not a normal world.

That he carried something in him. Some weight, some violence, some darkness, that she could never touch without getting pulled in.

This isn't normal, she'd told herself.

He's not a normal guy.

I shouldn't involve myself with this.

I must avoid him.

This is wrong.

And yet.

And yet.

She'd helped him.

She'd walked him to the infirmary.

She'd cleaned his blood off her hands.

She'd done everything she promised herself she would never do.

And from that night on, for two years, she'd made a rule.

Never again.

Never get close to him.

Never get noticed by him.

Never touch him.

Never speak to him.

Never ever let him know who she was.

Because if Raffa Fathurrahman ever started really looking at her, if he ever started paying attention, he would see what she had spent two years hiding.

Not just the notebook. Not just the list. Not just the name she still couldn't prove was hers.

He would see the reason.

The reason she sang in mafia clubs. The reason she memorized license plates. The reason she sat in lecture halls and watched doors and learned the walking patterns of every man who worked for a family without ever once letting anyone know.

He would see the girl who was hunting.

And he would ask.

What are you looking for, Qis?

And she would have to lie.

And Qistina had never been good at lying to Raffa Fathurrahman.

Not even once.

Not even now.

Because there was something about him, something she couldn't name, something she didn't want to name, that made her want to tell him the truth.

And that was the most dangerous thing about him.

Not the rumors. Not the money. Not the family.

That.

***

She opened her eyes.

The corridor was empty.

The roses were still burning red in the courtyard.

And somewhere, out there, on this island that belonged to a family she didn't know yet, the person she was looking for was walking the same halls she was. His eyes still on her. Without her knowing. He was still there, standing still.

She just didn't know it.

She straightened her bag on her shoulder.

She checked that the notebook was still hidden.

She started walking toward her lecture hall, the long way, past the library, past the courtyard, past the roses.

And she reminded herself of the promise she'd made two years ago.

I must keep searching.

I must find the heir.

He must be here, somewhere.

Among all these faces.

He must be among these students.

And when I find him...

She stopped walking.

Just for a second.

Just for one breath.

Then she kept going.

Because the thought didn't finish.

She didn't let it finish.

Not yet.

Not until she was ready.

***

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The Heir's Obsession Web Novel By Aimi Hikaru.