At the canteen - Around 10 AM
I dragged Irina away from the gates, and once we found a spot to sit, I told her everything.
What happened at the restaurant.
The chip.
All of it.
And she was dead silent the whole time-
not blinking, not breathing, just staring at me like she was ready to strangle me with a spork.
When I finally stopped talking, I just sat there, waiting for her to say something... anything.
"So you're telling me... you pointed a gun at Alek?"
Her tone was flat. Her eyes? Lethal.
I nodded slowly, eyes glued to the table.
"And then you panicked... and told Sofia and Bogdan about the chip?"
Another nod.
"And as he was leaving, he told you 'see you soon'?"
Nod again.
"And now there are men from Crown Three standing at our university gate?"
One more fucking nod.
She leaned back, crossed her arms, and let out a dramatic exhale.
"You know what? I think... you're fucked."
I sighed, unbothered. "Come on, don't say it like that."
She smirked. "Oh, you want it with sprinkles? 'Oh my God, Alina, congratulations-you're so fucking fucked!' Better?"
I glared at her. "Let's not talk about it, okay?"
Irina rolled her eyes and sighed like I ruined her day.
Then I remembered.
"Oh right-why were you blowing up my phone last night?"
And just like that, she slammed both hands on the table and leaned over me like a maniac.
"OH RIGHT! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU!!"
Well, she got everyone's attention. Not just mine.
Eyes from every direction were locked on us.
She didn't care-just lowered her voice into a whisper, face close to mine.
"So you know I was with Diana last night, right?"
I nodded, slowly.
"We were at a hotel."
Wait, what now?
I gave her the look.
You know-that look.
And she caught it instantly, recoiling with a disgusted expression.
"Ew! It's not like that! I'm straight, okay?! And even if I was into girls, I'd rather die alone than even look at her like that!"
I laughed. "Same. So... why the hotel?"
Irina glanced around like she was guarding state secrets, then leaned back in.
"Because I wanted her to change my Criminal Law exam result."
Ohhh...
Right. Professor David.
He's got three kids:
Roman (30), Maxim (25), and Diana (22).
Maxim's in our year. Diana? A second-year brat who lives for drama.
And trust me, that girl's the queen of bullying-
unless it's me or Irina.
Why?
Because Irina once set her up for a one-night stand disaster just to shut her up.
And she just did it again.
"So," Irina continued, "I set her up. Told her the guy's hot as hell. But the thing she didn't know?"
She smirked.
I blinked. "Don't tell me..."
She grinned like the devil herself.
"Yep. The guy I set her up with? Not actually a guy."
My jaw dropped. "You're not fucking serious."
"I am. And get this-she messaged me today and said it was the best night she's had in months. Said she's never seen a dick that big in her life."
We lost it.
I mean really lost it.
Laughed so damn hard our stomachs started cramping.
Everyone around us was staring like we were crazy-
and maybe we were.
Just when Irina whispered with a serious tone,
"She won't find out, right? Because if she does... I'm dead,"
I nodded with all the fake confidence in the world, "Yeah, totally right."
But then-
"Then you two should lower your voices."
...Shit.
That voice was way too familiar.
I turned around, and yep. It was Ivan.
But before I could even register how much of that he might've heard, Irina was already on him-
Like, right there, in his face, grabbing his shirt's collar.
When the hell did she even move?
She yanked him close and stared into his soul, voice low and full of threat:
"Just. Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut... or else."
Ivan didn't even blink. He looked down at her, deadass calm.
"You really need to work on threatening people," he said.
"Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're begging me to keep your little secret. Maybe start with 'please' next time, huh?"
I nearly choked-what the fuck?
Since when could Ivan talk like that?
Irina clearly knew her intimidation act flopped, because she let go of his collar, cleared her throat, and muttered...
"Well, can you keep it a secret for me?"
Then after a second of silence, she added under her breath-
"...Please?"
I swear I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing.
She turned to glare at me, and I shut up instantly.
Ivan, that smug bastard, walked over and sat down across from me. Irina followed, sitting beside him, then looked at him again.
"You're not gonna tell anyone, right? I said please."
Ivan glanced at her sideways. "We'll see."
Before she could pop off again, Ivan added,
"Professor David is waiting for you. In his office."
Wait... what?
We agreed to meet after lunch.
I blinked at him. "He sent you to tell me that?"
Ivan nodded. "You missed his calls and texts."
...Oh shit.
Right. I'd silenced my phone while talking with Irina.
I jumped up. "Irina, wait here, okay? I'll be back."
I reached into my bag, grabbed the chip, and handed it to her with a cold stare.
"If you lose this or give it to that dumbass," I said, nodding at Ivan,
"I'll tell Diana everything."
Irina looked down at the chip, then back at me.
"You can't be my friend."
I smiled sweetly. "Yeah, I love you too."
Then I rushed out of the canteen, heading straight for Professor David's office, reading through his texts on the way.
"It's urgent. Come to my office."
"You messed up, didn't you?"
Fantastic.
When I reached the office, two men were guarding the door. One opened it for me, and I stepped inside.
Three or four more men stood around the room.
Professor David was in his chair, looking right at me.
And in the chair across from him sat a man-his back to me.
I took a breath and opened my mouth, "I'm sorr-"
David cut me off immediately.
"You know I hate that word."
Here we go again.
Let me explain, you asshole. You gave me the mission.
Now you're acting like I'm the problem?
As I was mentally cursing him out, the man in the chair slowly turned to face me-
"Not bad to see people being sorry for what they've done, right, Mr. David?"
It was Grip.
That smug bastard had that same cocky smirk on his damn face.
David, still playing formal, said,
"That's true, Mr. Vadim."
So his name's Vadim. Whatever.
I stared at David. "Why did you call me here, Professor?"
Before he could answer, Grip cut in.
"Where's the chip?"
Straight to the point, huh?
I glanced at David-his eyes were screaming don't say shit.
I looked back at Grip.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Grip scoffed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
I sighed. "You can check my bag if you want."
He laughed. "You're not dumb enough to bring it here... right?"
...Well.
I did bring it.
But hey, I'm not gonna admit that.
One of his men stepped forward and started digging through my bag.
I kept my face calm. "You can even check my apartment if you want."
Yeah... I said that.
Probably not smart, but whatever-everything important's at Uncle Dmitri's anyway.
Grip smirked. Told his guy to stop.
Then he walked up to me-too close for my comfort-and said in a low voice,
"You still have time to tell me. Or..."
He leaned in a little more.
"You'll be in big trouble, Miss Whatever."
I looked him dead in the eye.
"I'm not afraid of dumbasses like you."
He didn't like that.
I could see the shift in his eyes.
But he didn't say anything-just turned to David.
"Thanks for your time, Mr. David."
Before David could even open his mouth, Grip and his men walked out.
Silence.
Then David slammed his hand on the table.
"Where is the chip?! Do you even know how important it was?! You can't even handle a simple mission-"
I tuned him out. Blah blah blah.
Eventually, after fifteen to twenty minutes of being yelled at, he told me to get out.
I grabbed my bag from the floor-thanks, random henchman who dumped it-and left.
Back at the canteen
Irina and Ivan were still there when I got back.
I told them everything.
Ivan looked at me. "Why are you hiding the chip now?"
I shrugged. "It's not like I want to, but he's the one who gave us this task, and now he's not even taking responsibility for it."
Ivan nodded slowly. "He's using us as shields."
"Exactly."
Then Irina suddenly grabbed my hand. "Alina, please... come back home. You even told them they could check your apartment-what if something happens?"
She was panicking. Irina always panics.
I squeezed her hand. "I'll be fine. I don't want to be a burden on Uncle Dmitri or you."
"You're not a burden. You're my family, Alina. Stop calling yourself that."
I nodded.
It felt... nice.
To be told I'm family.
Real family.
But I still couldn't go back. Not yet.
Then Ivan tapped the table.
"Hate to interrupt this little family moment, but I wanna see the chip."
I sighed. "Right. Wait a minute."
I reached down, slipped off one shoe, pulled out the chip, and placed it on the table.
"Here. It's a copy."
Ivan picked it up.
"...It smells."
I gave him a fake sweet smile. "You can throw it away if you want."
He took a deep breath, pocketed it, and started to walk away.
But then Irina shouted after him,
"Tomorrow. 5 PM. B-3 room."
Ivan just raised a hand in acknowledgment as he left.
I looked at Irina. "What was that about?"
"You forgot we have a group meeting tomorrow?"
"Oh, right... but wait-why did you tell him?"
She grabbed my hand and gave me puppy eyes.
"Please. I couldn't say no. If I refused, he'd tell Diana everything."
Fucking hell.
I sighed. "Fine."
Her whole face lit up. She kissed the back of my hand, then immediately gagged.
"EW! I forgot you touched your shoe with this hand!"
I laughed so hard I nearly fell over....
Alina's Apartment - 7:25 PM
I was just lying on my bed in my nightwear, scrolling through my phone like every other lazy ass night, when the doorbell rang.
Ugh.
I dragged myself up and opened the door-
And there he was. Ruslan.
"You said you'll have dinner with us," he said, arms crossed like a tiny little mafia boss.
I ruffled his hair with a smile. "Right, right, little guy-I remember."
He gave me that satisfied look like he just won a war, and we headed to their apartment together. I helped Natalia set the table, and once dinner was ready, we sat down to eat.
While we were eating, I casually asked,
"Where's Ruslan's dad?"
Natalia, without even looking up, answered,
"He's out on a business trip."
I nodded and kept eating.
But then Natalia glanced at me, her tone shifting.
"Listen, I don't mean to scare you or anything... but when you weren't here-Alek came. With his men."
I stopped chewing for a second.
She kept going.
"They checked your apartment."
Oh, so Grip really went through with it, huh?
Damn, I missed the chance to see the disappointment on Alek's ugly face.
Natalia looked at me, concern creasing her face.
"You think it's not a big deal?"
Then Ruslan chimed in, all wide-eyed and serious,
"Alina, are you okay?"
I smiled at both of them.
I couldn't tell them the truth-not when Ruslan was sitting right there.
"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me. It was nothing, okay?"
They still looked worried, but I managed to change the subject like a pro.
"Forget that-I'll walk Ruslan to school tomorrow, yeah?"
That did the trick. Ruslan beamed. Natalia relaxed a bit.
After dinner, I said goodnight and headed back to my place.
And the moment I hit my bed-I was out.
The Next Morning - 7:15 AM
Guess what?

I'm dressed.
I brushed my hair.
I even look halfway decent.
I'm actually ready for campus today.
Not late.
Not messy.
I stood in front of Natalia's door, waiting for Ruslan to get ready. After a minute or two, the door creaked open, and there he was-his usual messy hair and that serious little face of his.
"Sorry for making you wait," he mumbled.
I moved to ruffle his hair like I always do, but I stopped myself-trying not to mess him up before school. So instead, I tapped his nose with one finger and smiled.
"Let's go then, or you're gonna be late."
He nodded, and we started walking.
We were chatting like always, and okay, maybe I was a little distracted, scrolling through my phone. That's when he let go of my hand and pouted like the dramatic little hero he is.
"Alina, you're not listening!"
I looked down at him and sighed.
"Okay, okay. I'll stop using my phone."
He crossed his arms.
"Put it on silent."
I couldn't help but chuckle at his bossy attitude, but I did what he asked-locked my phone, slid it into my pocket, and took his hand again.
"There. Happy now? I'm all ears, little guy."
He thought for a second, clearly working up to something serious.
"Alina... is Alek closer to you than me?"
What?
The fuck?
That question came out of nowhere and hit harder than I expected.
"No, not at all," I said immediately. "I don't even know him like that. Why are you asking?"
He looked up at me, frowning.
"Because when he was at your apartment yesterday, I went to him and said, 'Get out of here and don't you dare do anything to my future wife.'"
...This kid's gonna get himself killed.
I was about to scold him when he continued.
"But then he looked at me and said, 'Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your future wife is mine.'"
What. The actual. Fuck.
I stopped walking for a second, staring down at Ruslan like he just said Alek pulled a gun on him.
"Wait-he actually said that? To you?"
Ruslan nodded with a confused expression.
"What does that mean?"
Oh sweetheart, I wish I fucking knew.
I crouched down to his level and sighed.
"Listen to me. Whatever that asshole said-it's not true, okay? I don't even like him. And if you see him again, just ignore him. He's... he's a bad guy. You understand?"
Ruslan nodded, gripping my hand tighter.
"Okay. But you still like me more, right?"
I gave him a smile.
"Of course. You're my one and only little savior, remember?"
That earned me the tiniest, proudest smile from him, and just like that, we went back to talking about school, cartoons, and all the innocent things I wish I still had in my life.
After I dropped him off at school, I finally checked my phone. Missed calls. Irina. Texts too.
Ah shit.
I called her back, and before I could say a word, her voice exploded through the speaker.
"WE ARE FUCKED! HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU ALWAYS SO BUSY TO CHECK MY TEXTS AND CALLS?! AND WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, HUH?!"
I sighed, pulling my phone away from my ear.
"Can you chill the fuck out?"
"BITCH, ALEK HIMSELF IS HERE, AND YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING CHILL OUT?!"
...what the fuck?
That's it for this chapter guys i hope you enjoyed it and if you did please make sure to like it because it gives me motivation to upload fast...( ╹▽╹ )