44: The Price of Desire Part 02

Asher's POV

“Bullshit, Asher!” she erupted, her voice rising above the murmur of students. “Don’t you dare lie to me! It’s her, isn’t it? You’ve got something going on with Cecilia. I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way she looks at you. That possessive little… act of defending her at the party? It wasn’t just some friendly gesture, was it?” Her eyes narrowed, her gaze piercing. “You want her, don’t you? You’ve been wanting her, haven’t you?”

My jaw tightened. “That’s ridiculous, Isla. You’re being paranoid. Cecilia is Julian’s girlfriend. She’s our friend.” The lie tasted like ash in my mouth, a stark contrast to the sweet, intoxicating taste of Cecilia’s surrender.

“Paranoid?” she scoffed, a harsh, bitter laugh escaping her lips. “Oh, I’m the paranoid one? What about you, suddenly ending things out of the blue? Don’t insult my intelligence, Asher. Your jealousy of the attention she gets from Julian has always been simmering beneath the surface. Maybe that’s why you’re doing this, huh? Because you can’t stand that someone else has her?” The accusation, twisted but containing a sliver of my own possessive nature, hit a nerve.

“My jealousy?” I retorted, trying to deflect. “Isla, your constant insecurity and accusations about my friendships, including my friendship with Cecilia, have been a strain on us for months. Maybe you should look inward for the reasons why this isn’t working.” It was a calculated jab, a way to shift the blame, to protect Cecilia and the fragile secret we now shared, even as the memory of her soft whimpers as I’d plunged deep inside her sent a fresh wave of longing through me.

Isla stared at me, her eyes wide with a mixture of hurt and disbelief. A choked sob escaped her lips, and without another word, she turned and ran, disappearing into the throng of students, her retreating figure doing little to stir any lingering affection within me, only a cold, calculating resolve to protect what was now mine.

I watched her go, a strange sense of relief washing over me, the path ahead clearer, followed quickly by a dull ache of guilt for the pain I’d inflicted, a fleeting discomfort compared to the burning desire that now consumed me, the possessive need to have Cecilia again, to lose myself in her touch, to hear her cry out my name once more.

Later that day, the midday sun warmed the picnic table where Noah, Kai, Liam, Julian, and I sat for our usual lunch. The familiar camaraderie felt… different. A subtle tension hummed beneath the surface, a silent awareness that something was off, and I knew I was the source. My own body still thrummed with the ghost of Cecilia’s touch, the possessive way she’d clung to me in the soft morning light, a secret warmth that contrasted sharply with the cool air.

Liam, ever the first to breach awkward silences, leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “So, heard you and Isla called it quits, Ash. You alright, man? What happened? Spill the tea.”

All eyes turned to me. Noah’s brow was furrowed with genuine concern, his gaze lingering a beat too long. Kai shifted uncomfortably, picking at the peeling label of his water bottle. Even Julian, usually so easygoing, regarded me with a quiet curiosity, his gaze unknowingly scrutinizing the man who now held the secret of his girlfriend’s intimate embrace, a possessive heat flaring low in my belly at his obliviousness.

I shrugged, trying to project an air of nonchalance that felt as flimsy as tissue paper. “Yeah, we broke up. It was… time, you know?” The words felt hollow, a stark contrast to the profound shift that had occurred within me after being with Cecilia, the possessive certainty that she was now mine in a way Isla never had been. The lie left a bitter taste, a betrayal of a different kind compared to the sweet memory of Cecilia’s soft moans, the possessive way she’d wrapped her legs around my waist.

A series of weird looks were exchanged. “Just… time?” Noah pressed, his voice laced with skepticism. “Seemed pretty sudden.”

“Yeah, well, some things just reach their expiration date, I guess,” I offered, forcing a casual tone.

Kai finally spoke, his gaze still fixed on his water bottle. “Everything okay, though? You seem… unfazed.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I countered, a little too quickly, the defensiveness in my voice a telltale sign.

Julian, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, his voice calm but with an undercurrent of something I couldn’t quite decipher. “Isla seemed pretty upset when I saw her heading away from the library earlier. Said something about a… disagreement.” His gaze met mine directly, and for a fleeting moment, I felt a prickle of unease, a fear that he might somehow sense the seismic shift that had occurred.

My heart hammered against my ribs. “Yeah, well, breakups aren’t usually sunshine and rainbows, are they?” I forced a chuckle that sounded strained even to my own ears.

Liam, ever the persistent one, wasn’t letting it go. “So, no dramatic screaming matches? No throwing of belongings out of windows? Come on, give us the juicy details, man.”

“Nah, nothing like that,” I lied smoothly, the image of Isla’s tear-streaked face flashing in my mind, a fleeting pang of guilt quickly overshadowed by the possessive longing for Cecilia’s soft skin against mine, the memory of her whispered cries. “Just… a mutual decision to move on.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to cut with a knife. Noah finally broke it, his brow still furrowed. “Didn’t exactly look mutual from what I saw. Isla was pretty torn up, Ash. Ran right past me heading towards the dorms, sobbing.”

My jaw tightened. So someone had seen her. I needed to shut this down. “Look, guys, it just… wasn’t working. For a long time, actually.” I tried to sound weary, like I’d been carrying a heavy burden. “Truth is… I just never really felt it with Isla, you know? And it wasn’t fair to keep stringing her along when my heart wasn’t in it.” The lie felt heavy and clumsy, a poor imitation of the genuine turmoil I knew Cecilia was facing.

Kai finally looked up, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “Never felt it? You guys have been together for, like, a year.”

I shrugged, trying to appear detached. “Yeah, well, sometimes you realize things late. Better late than never, right?” I forced a weak smile, hoping they’d drop it. The possessive ache for Cecilia was a constant thrum beneath my forced nonchalance, a secret fire that threatened to consume my carefully constructed facade. The weight of my secrets pressed down on me, a silent barrier separating me from their oblivious camaraderie, the memory of Cecilia’s intimate touch a constant, tantalizing distraction, a burning need to claim her openly, consequences be damned.