Episode 3

The laboratory smelled faintly of chemicals and polished wood.

Students shuffled inside, pairing up for the practical session.

Zayn stood near the teacher’s desk, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed — but his eyes were calculating.

He had already decided.

Today, he would sit beside her.

The lab teacher adjusted his glasses nervously as Zayn approached.

“Sir,” Zayn said casually, though his tone carried quiet authority, “I think I’ll need a serious partner today. Some people here can’t even measure properly.”

The teacher stiffened. Everyone knew who Zayn Ashford was — and what his last name meant.

“O-of course,” he muttered quickly. His eyes scanned the room and stopped at Emma. “Emma Whitmore. You will partner with… Zayn.”

Lucy’s head snapped up.

“What?” she protested immediately.

But the teacher avoided her gaze.

Emma looked up slowly.

For a second, their eyes met across the room.

She understood.

This was intentional.

She didn’t argue.

She simply stood and walked toward the lab table.

Lucy clenched her fists but couldn’t interfere during class.

Zayn pulled the chair back for Emma.

Not politely.

Not mockingly.

Just deliberately.

She sat without looking at him.

The experiment began.

For the first few minutes, he remained silent, watching how precisely she handled the apparatus. Her movements were calm. Focused. Steady.

“You’re good at this,” he said casually.

No response.

He leaned slightly closer.

“Or are you just ignoring me?”

Emma adjusted the measuring cylinder without glancing up.

Zayn smirked faintly.

He lowered his voice.

“You look at me like I’m nothing.”

Her hand paused for half a second.

There.

A reaction.

He felt a thrill.

“Does it bother you,” he continued, “that I don’t look at anyone else the way I look at you?”

Her jaw tightened.

She kept working.

He leaned closer, close enough that she could feel his breath near her ear.

“Say something.”

Her hand trembled — not in fear.

In irritation.

He noticed.

His eyes darkened with excitement.

“You’re angry,” he murmured. “There it is.”

Emma finally turned her head.

Their faces were inches apart.

Her eyes were no longer calm.

They were fierce.

Sharp.

Burning.

And for the first time since he met her—

She wasn’t unreadable.

She was furious.

Zayn’s lips curved slowly.

“There you are.”

She immediately looked away again and continued writing observations in the notebook.

The calm mask returned.

But he had seen it.

He had seen emotion.

And it felt like victory.

Before the bell rang, he stood up slowly.

He leaned down slightly near her.

“I will make you speak,” he whispered.

Emma didn’t flinch.

She didn’t look at him.

She just flipped a page in her notebook and continued working.

Zayn walked out of the lab like he owned the building.

Like it was his territory.

Lucy followed him immediately after class.

She grabbed his arm sharply.

“What are you doing?”

He looked down at her hand and then at her face.

“None of your business.”

“Leave my cousin alone.”

His expression hardened.

“She’s mine.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “She is not a thing you can claim!”

“I will have her.”

Lucy’s voice trembled with anger. “You don’t know what she has gone through.”

The words hit him unexpectedly.

Gone through?

For a split second, something shifted in his chest.

“What happened to her?” he asked, his tone lower now.

Lucy hesitated.

Pain flashed across her face.

Then she pulled her hand away.

“Stay away from her,” she said coldly.

And walked away.

Zayn stood there longer than he expected.

Something about that sentence didn’t sit right.

Gone through.

What did that mean?

Later that afternoon, the library was unusually quiet.

Emma sat alone near the back shelves, a thick book open in front of her.

She liked quiet spaces.

No noise.

No unnecessary attention.

Just pages and silence.

But silence never lasted long in Ashford Academy.

Three boys from the senior section entered the aisle.

They were known troublemakers.

One of them smirked when he saw her.

“Well, look who we have here,” he muttered.

Emma didn’t react.

She kept reading.

Another stepped closer.

“Hey, mute.”

Her fingers tightened around the book.

The first boy suddenly grabbed her waist.

“Why so serious? We’re just talking.”

She instantly tried to push him away.

He tightened his grip.

“Silent girls are interesting,” another whispered nastily.

Emma struggled harder.

Books fell from the shelf beside them.

The loud crash echoed through the library.

Students began gathering.

The headmaster rushed in.

“What is happening here?!”

The boy immediately let go and stepped back, pointing at Emma.

“She tried to touch me, sir! She came close like she want to have sex !”

Gasps spread through the crowd.

Emma shook her head desperately.

No.

No.

Her hands trembled as she tried to explain.

But no words came.

Someone from the back whispered loudly:

“How could a mute be this desperate?”

“She’s disgusting.”

The words sliced through the air.

Emma’s eyes turned red instantly.

Not with tears.

With humiliation.

With rage.

Zayn arrived just then.

He saw the crowd.

He saw her.

Standing alone.

Surrounded.

Accused.

He stepped forward.

“What’s going on?”

The boy repeated his lie dramatically.

Zayn’s fists tightened slowly.

Then someone muttered again:

“She can’t even speak. Must be hiding something.”

Zayn felt something snap.

Mute?

His eyes widened slightly.

So that’s why.

That’s why she never answered.

That’s why she never reacted.

She wasn’t ignoring him.

She couldn’t.

His chest felt heavy.

The headmaster frowned.

“Emma, explain yourself.”

She shook her head again.

Tried to gesture.

But the crowd was already judging.

Lucy pushed through the students.

“Sir, that’s not true! They were harassing her!”

But the situation was messy.

The headmaster sighed.

“Enough. Emma, you will reorganize these shelves as punishment for creating chaos.”

Lucy stared in disbelief.

“Sir—”

“Enough.”

Emma bent down slowly and began picking up the books.

Her movements controlled.

But her eyes…

Zayn had never seen that look before.

It wasn’t just anger.

It was hurt.

And something inside him shifted completely.

This wasn’t about obsession anymore.

This wasn’t about control.

It was about injustice.

The boys laughed quietly as they walked away.

But they didn’t get far.

That evening—

In the empty sports field behind campus—

They were running.

Running for their lives.

Zayn’s gang cornered them.

Adrian grabbed one by the collar.

“Speak the truth.”

Ronan punched another in the stomach.

“You think lies are funny?”

Zayn stood in front of the one who grabbed Emma.

His face was calm.

Too calm.

“Repeat what you said in the library,” Zayn ordered.

The boy trembled. “W-we lied! She didn’t do anything! We were just—”

“Louder.”

“We lied!” he shouted desperately.

The next morning—

In front of the entire assembly—

The boys publicly confessed.

The headmaster’s face darkened with fury.

They were suspended immediately.

Students whispered in shock.

Emma stood near Lucy.

Her eyes slowly searched the crowd.

They stopped on him.

Zayn stood at the back.

Watching.

For the first time—

She didn’t look away immediately.

Her gaze softened.

Just slightly.

Gratitude.

Unspoken.

But visible.

Zayn felt it.

And something inside him deepened.

Not obsession.

Not ego.

Something heavier.

Stronger.

Possessive — but protective.

He didn’t smile.

He just held her gaze.

And silently promised himself—

No one would ever humiliate her again.

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