"Elara."
Her spine stiffened and the hair on the back of her neck rose. Turning around slowly,she plastered the most fake smile to ever exist on her face, hoping that somehow whoever had called her hadn't actually meant her.
But of course. There was no other Elara around the school parking lot. There were barely a handful of people around. There he stood… Mr. Grayson.
With a tall figure almost nearing six feet,he still managed to look a lot shorter than that. Elara suspected that it might be because he always had a hunch in his back whenever he moved. His already thinning hair was held back to his scalp with way too much gel necessary. He had a crazy obsession with trying to look young and act young even though he was very close to his mid forties. His eyes darted to Lucian Blackwood's retreating back before turning his gaze back to her. She noticed something cross his eyes but it was gone as quickly as it came. Was it suspicion? Was it curiosity? She couldn't tell.
What a spectacular way to start my morning,she thought to herself.
She hoped the smile didn't look as forced and fake as she felt inside. She wanted nothing to do with the man in front of her. "Good morning, Mr. Grayson."
His round beady eyes which always reminded her of a fish shamelessly drifted downwards lingering on her blouse,the neckline of her blouse which she had made sure was very modest. Even though there was barely any skin showing,he still made her feel as though she was scarcely dressed. The weight of his gaze made her skin crawl.
His eyes slid back to her—lingering, dropping unashamedly to her blouse, to the neckline she had tried carefully to keep modest. The weight of his gaze made her skin crawl.
"You're the most beautiful person I've laid my eyes on today, Elara" he said,his tongue peeking through his lips as he wetted his lips which looked like it hadn't felt the touch of a lip balm in a very long time.
Elara fought the urge to roll her eyes at his creepy compliment. He had a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters but somehow he hadn't found them beautiful. Her grip tightened around her bag strap and she forced the smallest smile she could manage. "Umm… Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Grayson. I really should be going…"
"You need to stop calling me Mr. Grayson. It makes me feel old. I'll prefer it if you call me Sam." He interrupted, stepping closer. "Why are you in such a hurry though? There's plenty of time left until the first lecture. Why don't I escort you to the teachers office and then you can head to your first class from there?"
Her teeth clenched. She wasn't naive to not notice the unspoken words he had left out. He wasn't only going to escort her,that she was sure of. He wanted an audience. He had somehow convinced the other teachers that she was his work wife last year and it had been difficult for her to get the other teachers to not pay heed to his words. She wasn't in a good place at the moment and the last thing she wanted now was rumours.
She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Mr. Grayson had his eyes on her. Despite the fact that he was married,he hasn't ever tried to be subtle about it. He'd thrown flirty statements at her openly,made inappropriate jokes about her which only he found funny,'accidently' brushed against her so many times. It was a miracle that she was still alive after what had happened that night.
Whenever she sees him, memories of that night always seem to flash in her mind.
She couldn't forget how helpless she had felt when his wife had cornered her after an evening event hosted by the school. She had recognised that look in her eyes. Pain and anger. It hurts so badly to find out that the one you loved had his eyes on someone else. Elara could still remember how the sharp metal end of the scissors felt against her skin. Mrs. Grayson had been so close to plunging that scissors through her chest that night. She was still grateful that some women had walked into the bathroom at the right moment or she'd have been long gone.
Since then, Elara had made sure to keep her distance but he didn't seem to get that.
"Mr. Grayson," she said firmly, "I think you should stop trying to talk to me or be around me. I'd hate a repeat of last time. I…"
He waved a dismissive hand, his chuckle almost confident and… bitter. "Is this what this is all about? You're scared of my wife? You have nothing to worry about. I'm sick of her ugly face and attitude. She had really let herself go after our last daughter. If she cared about me even the slightest bit,then she'd at least try getting in shape. She doesn't need to know about… us."
Her stomach turned. She didn't bother hiding the disgust that flooded her. He was too self centred to notice the change in her mood. Somehow he reminded her of Damien. Damien had never failed to make her feel less of herself. He always found every happy moment of hers to make her more insecure about herself.
Are all men really this evil?
She understood how his wife had felt that night. She had heard the other teachers gossip about how she had almost lost her life delivering their daughter only to have him talk about her this way.
"Like I said… I'm fine." Elara replied stiffly, already edging away. "Thanks for the offer and you should try putting all this effort in loving your wife."
She turned around quickly, failing to notice how his expression had hardened. She strode towards the building and further away from him,her heels clicking against the pavement with more force than required.
She didn't bother glancing towards him even when his voice rang out loud enough for everyone around to hear. "Have a spectacular day, miss Elara. Talk to you later"
Anyone who must have heard him would have thought that they were very close friends.
Mr. Grayson's expression darkened once he was out of sight and away from the ears of others. He still couldn't understand why she was still rejecting him. He knew of her financial status and he had enough money to make that go away but somehow she always rejected him.
"Slut."