Shattered Legacy : A Dark Bully Romance (Gravestone Elite Book 1) by Caitlyn Dare (great novels of all time .txt) 📗

I feel the burning stare of more than a few of them, but I don't give them any of my attention in return. I refuse to feed the gossip in any way.

The atmosphere changes the second she steps into the room. Maybe no one else notices it, but suddenly, the air around me becomes hard to breathe and every nerve in my body is on full alert.

I'm desperate to torture myself further and look up to see if he’s delivered her to class like he seems to enjoy—any chance to lord it over everyone—but I keep my eyes glued to my desk, telling myself that I don't need to know.

What either of them do shouldn't have anything to do with me. Thoughts of them being together also shouldn't tear me up inside like this.

The seats on either side of me might be empty, but I already know Mia won't take either of them. She's not stupid and knows that even if Cade doesn't see it with his own eyes, he's got enough minions roaming Gravestone U halls to ensure all information gets straight back to him. Hell, he's probably got access to the entire campus CCTV.

When my need to see her becomes too much to bear, I lift my eyes. But before I manage to find her, a body drops into the seat beside me.

"No one's sitting here, right?" a sickly sweet voice says. One that I recognize but don't want to hear.

"It's taken," I growl, spinning to look at Brook, Cade's old plaything.

"It is now." She gets herself comfortable and pulls her books out, ready for our professor to begin his lecture.

"What do you want, Brook?" I snap, deciding that I've probably got more chance of getting rid of her if I allow her to say what she's got to say.

I have no time for anyone who's connected to any of the Electi—even Alex right now, seeing as I left the dorms without knocking for him this morning—and I certainly don't want to talk to Ashton's little sister.

"Did you hear about their little date last night?"

My teeth grind. If she's just come over here to push my buttons, then she's going to be bitterly disappointed because she's going to get nothing out of me. It doesn't matter how painfully I might be shattering on the inside; she's never going to witness it on the outside. I've got a better game face than that.

"Is there a point to this?" I grit out.

"Cade took her to the most exclusive restaurant in town, bought her the most expensive bottle of champagne they sell."

"Right? Was there also gold leaf on their dessert?"

She shrugs, completely missing my sarcasm. "Probably."

"Brook," I warn as the professor begins and every other student in the room focuses their attention on him, just like I should be doing.

"Okay, fine," she huffs as if I'm the one wasting her time. "I think… if we team up, maybe we both get what we want."

"And what is it that you think I want, Brook? Other than for you to leave me alone."

"Bexley, Bexley," she sighs. "Always so quick to judge." My lips press into a thin line as I stare at her.

Her makeup is thick and flawless, her hair styled within an inch of its life. While she's beautiful—any hot-blooded guy can see that—she doesn't hold a candle to Mia.

Mia's natural beauty brings me to my knees, and it's not just her outer beauty. What she's hiding beneath is even more breathtaking.

"Cut to the chase. I need to listen. I'm in college for a reason, and it's not just to spread my legs for Electi." I pin her with a look, but if she's shocked by my words then she doesn't show it. That, or she's just well aware of her rep and happy to own it. I don't know whether to feel sorry for her or be impressed.

"You want her." She tilts her chin in Mia's direction.

"Do I?" I ask, keeping all emotion and desire out of my voice.

"You do. You might think I'm a dumb blonde, but I see things. I've seen how you watch her, how you stare at her with longing in your eyes.

"I get it, because I watch him like that. Let's work together, and maybe we can both come out of it happier."

"She's his prosapia, Brook. You understand what that means, right?"

A smile curls at her lips at my comment, and I regret it instantly. I might as well have just told her I was falling for Mia faster than I can control.

"I understand more than you know, Bexley. But I'm not one to back down from a challenge, and we all know that my name should have been drawn that night."

"Yeah, about that… why wasn't it?"

"Fuck if I know. Someone screwed up. She's not the one for him. Everything about them as a couple is just wrong. She'll never be able to give him what he needs."

I open my mouth to argue, to tell her that Mia is everything, but I catch myself at the last minute and swallow down the words.

"So what do you say?" She leans forward on the desk, ensuring her tits are pushed up and right in my view.

I roll my eyes at her display. If she believes any of what she's just said to me, then she must realize that she's barking up the wrong tree, trying to convince me with her body.

"I'm not interested, Brook. I'm already in deeper with the Electi than I want. I'm not starting any games with them."

"But—" she pouts. "Don't you want her?"

Yes, more than anything. But not like this.

"No. She's Cade's."

Her chin drops, and she stares at me as if I'm about to throw my head back and laugh.

"Wait… you're serious?"

"Deadly. Now, do you mind? I actually want to pass this class."

I turn away from her, pull my notebook closer, and focus on the professor as he paces back and forth, his enthusiastic voice booming across the vast