Chapter 23: Ignore them
Alex's eyes darkened at the sight of Gabriel's gentle gaze on Eveline. His blood boiled in rage and he was about to march towards them but Tiffany stopped him.
"Remain still; you will get us into trouble." Tiffany cautioned, noticing Alex's agitation.
"You said Gabriel would hate Eveline more after I uploaded those photos, but it seems that they have gotten together quite easily," Alex growled, looking ahead and yanking her hand away.
Tiffany was too surprised to see Gabriel being gentle with Eveline after he had blamed her for being desperate before.
What caused him to change his heart all of a sudden? She pondered.
Tiffany squinted her eyes, watching the two from a distance, and waved for Alex to approach her as an idea came to her.
Eveline was in the middle of studying when suddenly her phone pinged and she paused for a moment before looking into it.
Her brows furrowed watching a text from Alex.
'Eh, Why would he text me?' Eveline pondered reading the message before she began to type something in reply.
Sitting beside her, Gabriel saw the shift in her demeanor as she kept tapping her thumb more quickly on the phone's screen before closing it and shoving it into her pocket.
Gabriel was intrigued by the calm expression on Eveline's face. "Ahem, concentrate," he said, catching her glance before she turned away to return to the lesson.
After two hours of continuous study, they finally ended the session and decided to leave.
"I don't think it's convenient for you to skip your class. Why do we not study at your house? Mine is fine either way." Eveline paused before moving her eyes to Gabriel.
"What? I know you skipped your classes," Gabriel stated, as he had already seen through her schedule for the day.
Even though Eveline was a quick learner, Gabriel insisted that she attend all of her classes and not force herself to study more at night to make up the lost material.
Eveline knew that Gabriel was correct in everything he said, so she did not respond to him right away. She might have to study more than usual if she continued to miss classes, which would cut into her sleep.
"Well, I see. You can come home tomorrow after college," Eveline nodded in agreement.
Gabriel's lips curled into a smile, but he concealed it with a distant expression and said, "We will go together." Without waiting for Eveline to respond, he pivoted on his heel and left.
****
Stepping out of the library's building, Eveline was about to head back to the main building when Gabriel stopped her.
"Aren't you going home?" he asked.
"I have some work before going home," Eveline said, turning to face him.
With his brow furrowed, Gabriel uttered, "Act quickly. I will be waiting outside for you."
Eveline scowled, thinking his remarks were ridiculous. "And why will you do that?" she questioned, crossing her hands over her chest.
Eveline had been handling Gabriel's nonsense because he was helping her in her studies. But she was becoming irritated with this intrusive behavior.
"It is because I drove you to the college and I will be the one to drop you off at home," Gabriel said, making Eveline grit her teeth.
"You don't have to do that. I can call my chauffeur to pick me up" Eveline retorted.
Gabriel fumed at her stubbornness and turned to leave.
"You have five minutes to get your work done, or else I will call your dad and tell him that you refuse to come home"
"..."
"You.."
"Four minutes," Gabriel brushed aside her warning and continued to look at the time.
Eveline found Gabriel's behavior so incomprehensible that she had to give up on meeting Alex and submit to his authority.
"Okay, I will go with you," she said angrily before scurrying off to get into his car.
Gabriel, wearing a confident smile, trailed behind and quickly got into his car before driving off.
Alex, in the meantime, was waiting for Eveline inside the empty classroom. The moment he agreed to meet her, both he and Tiffany returned to the classroom.
However, enough time had passed and there was no sign of Eveline coming there.
"Did she change her mind?" Tiffany expressed concern that Eveline would abandon him after they agreed to meet.
With a chilly stare, Alex gave Tiffany a sharp glare that silenced her. His patience was running thin as he fiddled with the phone in his hand when all of a sudden it buzzed.
"What is it?" Tiffany rushed to his side and peeked into his phone.
"I am sorry, Alex. There was an issue that required me to head home. Do not worry, though; I will see you tomorrow right after classes."
The moment Alex read the text from Eveline, the slight smile that had appeared on his face disappeared.
"See, she ditched you," Tiffany stated, gritting her teeth.
Tiffany's phone buzzed in the middle of the tense moment, and she clicked on the college portal, sharing the picture of Eveline and Gabriel heading out together with the other students.
"And that too for Gabriel." she finished showing him the photos.
Alex face darkened at Tiffany's taunting remark, but he simply ignored her and started walking.
He hated the fact that Eveline lied to him however he was content that she agreed on meeting him the next day.
Tiffany in the hand clutched the phone in her hand until her palm turned white.
"Argh!" Stomping on her feet she yelled releasing her frustration over the photos she just witnessed.
"What is so good about Eveline that Gabriel can't let go of her."
Tiffany had been chasing Gabriel for almost year and half. She even befriended Eveline to get closer to him. But the boy was affected and always kept himself away from any attention despair him garnering a lot.
"This Eveline why can't she just let him go" Tiffany snarled as she grabbed ber bag and storm out of the classroom.
After sending the text to Alex, Eveline opened the forum page only to find her picture again surfacing on the internet.
"This is why I told you stop bothering me" Eveline snapped shoving the phone right in Gabriel's face.
Gabriel furrowned darting his gaze from her furious one to the screen and sighed.
"Why don't you just ignore them?" Gabriel stated looking away.
Eveline furrowed when Gabriel neglected her words and said," Aren't you bothered about your image anymore, or you want to blame me for being characterless. Because you don't mind assuming me one"