003.

~ BRIELLE ~

After I am gone from my father's office, I find my way back to my dorm room.

I don't greet anyone as I climb into the elevator and finally arrive at my floor. Stepping out, I head down the hall and the instant I open the door of my dorm room, I enter inside and shut the door loudly before locking it up.

“Fuck!” I slam my bag straight to the bed and crumble to the floor.

I can't fucking believe this!

Lifting up my eyes, I wipe away the furious tears threatening to fall on my cheeks. My dorm room is my first sanctuary of meticulous order. Everything here is in place, and I know exactly where I placed all of my things.

That’s just my life. Order. Procedure. Extreme perfection and never doing anything out of place.

So what is this nonsense about Kade Merrick being my tutor?! The dude is a criminal on parole! What was my father even thinking?!

Well, I thought he controls everything around here. Seems like he doesn't hold all the cards afterall.

Sighing, I get up from the floor and move towards my bed. Some of my textbooks are open, and instantly, my eyes shift to the single, audacious C+ on my unofficial transcript printout.

I never expected that I will have that damned grade. And now, thanks to the C+, I am stuck with this Kade Merrick.

The name alone tastes like ash in my mouth.

Was making him my tutor even necessary? My father, the Dean of Saint Aldric, talked about my scholarship that he "personally fought for." He always talks about "our legacy”, but never about ME.

He never cares to even know what I truly want. I don't matter to him. Everything he does is always about magnifying his image, his power, his reputation, and his stupid constant need to keep molding my life into something that reflects his own twisted sense of perfection.

He is like a puppet master, and I just happen to be his most valuable puppet.

Funny.

“This is all fucked up.” I throw myself on top of the bed and lock my eyes up to the roof. I hate being my father's daughter. I hate the way he broke my mother and reduced her to a mere ghost like she was never someone important in our lives. He never physically hurt her, but he chipped away at her spirit and continued destroying her piece by piece until there was nothing left but a hollow shell of a woman I barely even recognized was my mom before she died.

And for years, he has been trying to do the same to me.

However, I am not my mother. I can’t be my mother who just died and everyone who knew her just forgot about her. That is the major reason why I haven't resorted to suicide despite thinking about killing myself so many times in the past.

I will keep living. If I die, my father wins. He might just find himself another precious puppet, so there is no point cutting my life short for him.

Being the golden girl of Saint Aldric makes me flawless. Pristine. Loved by everyone. Kade Merrick is just a mere obstacle thrown into my way, and I promise to not let him belittle me or drag me into his mess, considering the nasty rumors I have heard about him.

Also, I could find out for myself if he is exactly who everyone keeps saying he is: Cold-hearted. Rude. Nasty. Violent psycho with brains.

Fascinating.

My phone buzzes. It’s Olivia, my close friend because I don't really do ‘bestfriends’. She is the president of the campus charity committee, and the only person who knows me a little more than the golden girl mask that I always carry with me everywhere I go.

Sighing, I pick up the call.

“Elle?” She speaks.

I don't say anything.

“Hello? You’re awfully quiet. What’s going on?” she asks warmly.

“Well,” I sigh deeply, closing my eyes, “My statistics grade slipped. Minor hiccup. But my dad, being my dad, has enrolled me in the new mandatory tutoring program.”

A pause. “Oh. Well…. that’s not so bad, right? Just a bit of extra help.”

“Extra help?! Ollie, my tutor is Kade Merrick!”

“What?!” She gasps on the other end. “Kade Merrick?! The… the parole student?!”

“Yep.”

“Elle, are you serious? Dean Danvers allowed that?”

“He said he couldn’t stop it. Anonymous funding, something about untouchable assignments. But I know him, Ollie. He is doing this to test me and see if I can remain ‘untouched’ by the ‘less desirable elements’ of our university.”

The sarcasm in my voice is so clear I don't bother hiding it.

“That’s… that’s insane.” Ollie sounds genuinely concerned, her usual bubbly tone replaced by anxiety. “Kade Merrick is literally the breathing, living example of everything your father hates. The rumors about him are wild. You know this. Everyone knows this, so why would your dad allow you near him?”

“Like I said, my dad is doing this to test me. Your Dean is a manipulative bastard,” the words slip out before I can censor them.

“Elle I'm so sorry—”

“No, don't worry. I can handle this. Since my father wants to see if his ‘golden girl’ can withstand contamination and—”

“Contamination?” She cuts me off sharply, “Elle, Kade Merrick is a person not a disease!”

I roll my eyes. Leave Olivia Wright to ever be the moral compass.

“You talk like you haven’t seen him around campus, Ollie. He always looks like he just stepped out of a back alley fight club. Tattoos, scars, and a permanent scowl on his scary face. He is the complete opposite of everything Saint Aldric stands for, and I still don't fucking get why he was even accepted here.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Also, I feel like he has already gotten the memo of who his tutee will be and probably, he hates my guts already and—”

“Why would you say that? I know the guy behaves like the people around him are pests, but you just have to prove him wrong. Show him you’re more than whatever nasty things he may have already cooked up inside his brain about you. Show him that Dean Danvers’s daughter isn’t just a pretty face with a perfect GPA.”

She has a point.

“You’re right. I will go to the tutoring sessions, fix my grades, and when everything falls back into place, Kade Merrick will be ancient history.”

“That’s the spirit! Good luck tomorrow and remember to text me all the juicy details, okay?”

“At this point Ollie, just hit the red button and end this conversation.”

“Come on, don't be like that. Anyway, take care of yourself and just try to keep things cool with Kade Merrick. I believe everything will be alright.”

“Me too.” I smile into the phone. “Thank you Ollie.”

“You're welcome. Bye.”

She hangs up. I drop the phone to my stomach.

Kade Merrick. I barely even know the guy, and I wonder what he will think of me when we meet for the first time tomorrow. He will probably think that I am just another pampered rich kid and a saint better than everyone else.

Phew. So much for being the Dean’s puppet daughter.

However, a strong wave of determination fills up my heart. I want to believe Ollie and hope that at the end of all this mess, everything will be alright.

It has to be.