Chapter 3

Two days passed since the party, and I made sure to avoid Liam even more than ever. I would only show up to class and for food, and I absolutely refused to attend any of the shared classes that students from other majors would also attend. I didn't think that someone as busy as Liam would have the time to follow me all the way to my sculpture class. "Iris? The muscle definition in this piece is stunning," one of my classmates said, peeking over at my work when I was done with the framing. I just smiled at her and continued working. A long time passed, and soon, my stomach was growling with hunger. I looked at the time and realized that the sun had already set. I'd forgotten to eat dinner again. I went back to my dorm room and was surprised to see a paper bag on my table. It was my favorite beef sandwich, and it was even still warm to the touch. There was also a tube of ointment next to it, specifically for muscle aches. The usual price for this ointment was very expensive, and I would never normally buy it. Lia skipped over toward me and gave me a knowing smirk. "Someone brought this for you." I felt a pang in my heart. "Who was it?" "Who else would it be? A certain ice hockey captain, of course," she replied, nudging me with her shoulder and looking absolutely lovestruck. "He told me that he saw you busy sculpting in class and didn't want to disturb you. So, he just dropped off his things here and left." I gripped the paper bag tightly until the grease oozed out from the sandwich and stained my hand. It was impossible. Why would Liam come here? He was always very protective of his reputation. "You must have been mistaken," I said, stuffing the ointment into my drawer. "It wasn't him." "You're kidding me. Did you really think that I would mistake someone else for the biggest star on campus?" she asked. I didn't reply to her and took out my phone instead, tapping into the campus online forum, trying to distract myself. However, I suddenly felt my blood freeze at that moment. There was a post trending on the forum, and the title read, "A match made in heaven—the captain of the ice hockey team and the cheerleading captain!" In the attached photo, Elena was practically pressed against Liam's body by the ice rink. She was looking up at him and laughing as she chatted. Meanwhile, Liam had his head lowered, and it looked like he was kissing her hair. I felt my stomach clench in pain. Suddenly, I felt like throwing up the beef sandwich in my hand. My phone buzzed just then with a new text message from Liam. "This is the last time I'm asking you. Do you want your Christmas gift or not?" I typed my reply into the bar, my fingers trembling. "Throw it out." Liam didn't respond anymore after that. It was expected, after all. A proud young heir like him would never bow his head to me for the second time after getting rejected. I couldn't go to sleep that night. So, I decided to go back to the sculpting studio to continue working on what I was best at. When I finally came back to my senses, I finally caught a full glimpse of my latest creation by the light of the dim nightlight. I saw the shadows outlining a human figure with deep-set eyes, a tall nose bridge, and tightly pursed lips. It was Liam. I felt like I'd just been scalded and quickly flung the sculpture to the ground with all of my might. Liam was right. My body was always a lot more honest than my brain.