Chapter 60
Andrea woke up and shivered slightly, realizing she was wrapped in Aiden’s leather jacket. The faint scent of him—cigarettes and pine—lingered on the fabric, offering her a moment of comfort.
But as she sat up and looked around, her comfort gave way to unease. Aiden was nowhere to be found.
“Aiden?” she called softly, her voice echoing in the stillness.
Silence answered her.
Andrea stood, clutching the jacket tightly around her shoulders as she made her way out of the atrium and down the narrow staircase they had climbed the night before. A feeling of dread began to creep into her chest, but she shook it off. Aiden had probably just slipped away early.
The campus was unusually lively for so early in the morning. As Andrea walked back toward her dorm, she noticed clusters of students gathered in hushed groups, their heads bent together.
Every now and then, someone would glance in her direction, their whispers intensifying.
Andrea’s stomach twisted. She was no stranger to gossip or stares, but something about this felt different. She straightened her shoulders, ignoring the prickle of unease, and focused instead on the lingering warmth of the night she had shared with Aiden.
When Andrea finally reached her dorm room, she found her new roommate, Grace, sitting on her bed, scrolling through her phone. Grace was the exact opposite of Sophie—quiet, reserved, and distant. They barely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary.
Grace glanced up as Andrea entered, her face pale.
“Have you seen the news?” Grace asked, her voice hesitant.
Andrea frowned, shrugging off Aiden’s jacket. “What news?”
Grace bit her lip, looking like she didn’t want to say more. “It’s about Aiden Sinclair.”
Andrea froze. “What about him?”
Grace hesitated, then held up her phone. A video played on the screen, the grainy security footage showing Aiden in the greenhouse. Andrea watched in horror as the scene unfolded—Aiden beating Stephen Olister mercilessly, his movements swift and brutal.
The blood drained from Andrea’s face as the reality of the situation hit her.
“The Olisters got the footage,” Grace said quietly, lowering the phone. “Everyone’s talking about it. They say the family’s pressing charges. They have enough to make it stick.”
Andrea’s stomach churned. Her mind raced as she tried to process what this meant.
Without a second thought, Andrea ran from her dorm, the jacket still clutched in her hands. She needed to find Aiden, to warn him, to do something.
The Sinclair brothers’ dormitory was tense when she arrived. She could hear raised voices even before she entered.
“You’ve doomed us all!” Nathaniel’s voice rang out, sharp with fury.
“He’s our brother. We don’t abandon family,” Damien countered, his tone equally heated.
Andrea pushed open the door to find Nathaniel pacing the room, his fists clenched, while Damien leaned against the wall, his face dark with frustration.
Both brothers fell silent when they noticed her standing in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” Andrea demanded, her voice trembling. “Where’s Aiden?”
Nathaniel exchanged a tense glance with Damien before answering. “He’s made his choice. Now we’re all paying the price.”
“What does that mean?” Andrea asked, panic rising in her chest.
Damien opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of distant sirens cut through the air, freezing them all in place.
Andrea’s heart sank. “No…”
She ran outside with the brothers in tow, just in time to see a police car parked near the dormitory. Two officers stood beside it, one of them securing handcuffs around Aiden’s wrists.
Andrea’s breath hitched as she took in the sight. Aiden stood still, his head held high, his expression calm, almost resigned.
“Aiden!” she called, her voice breaking.
He turned at the sound of her voice, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment. Regret flickered across his face, but he didn’t say anything.
Andrea tried to run to him, but Nathaniel grabbed her arm, holding her back.
“Let me go!” she cried, struggling against his grip.
“You can’t,” Nathaniel said firmly, his voice low. “You’ll only make things worse for him. For all of us.”
Andrea’s legs gave out, and she sank to the ground as the car pulled away, taking Aiden with it. Tears streamed down her face, her chest heaving with sobs as she watched him disappear.
Back in her dorm room, the reality of what had happened hit Andrea like a tidal wave. Aiden was gone. The Olisters had won.
She sat on her bed, clutching his jacket to her chest. The fabric was damp with her tears, but she didn’t care.
Her mind replayed the events over and over. If she had said something sooner, done something differently, would it have changed anything? Could she have stopped this?
“I’ll fix this,” Andrea whispered to herself, her voice trembling. “I’ll bring him back. No matter what it takes.”
As the night wore on, Andrea clung to his jacket, the scent of him still faint but comforting. She stared out the window, her tears drying as resolve took its place.
This wasn’t over. Not yet. And she wouldn’t stop until Aiden was back where he belonged—by her side.
