Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73: He Knew

Hailee’s POV

I was still staring at the necklace in the mirror when the doorbell rang.

I blinked, turning away quickly. I’d half-expected Nathan to show up through my window again like he always did, but the doorbell?

That was new.

I opened the door and found him standing there, his bag slung over one shoulder, his laptop tucked under his arm. His face was neutral, unreadable, but not cold like earlier. Just...blank.

"Hey," I said softly, stepping aside. "Come in."

He gave a small nod and walked in without a word, his eyes scanning the space briefly before he followed me toward my room. There was no unnecessary small talk. No teasing. Just silence and tension.

The moment we stepped into my room, he moved toward the bed, sat down, and opened his laptop like this was just another assignment. Like we were just classmates.

He didn’t even look at me when he said, "I already did some research and drafted an outline. I organized the sources and split the main points by subtopics."

I frowned, crossing my arms as I watched him click through a folder labeled with both our names.

Wait.

"Hold on," I said slowly, walking over. "You already did all of that?"

He still didn’t meet my eyes. "Yeah. I figured I’d get a head start."

I moved closer, my tone rising just a little. "Nathan, this was supposed to be a partner project."

"I know."

"Then why the hell did you do everything yourself?"

Finally, he looked up at me.

And for the first time today, he looked me straight in the eyes. "I thought you’d be busy."

I blinked. "Busy?"

He gave a small shrug, eyes flicking back to the screen. "With Dane. Or Callum. Or whoever else is currently making out with you."

The air between us tightened instantly.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure what to even say.

That one sentence—so calm, so casual—hit harder than anything he’d said to me before.

I stared at him, stunned.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked softly.

Nathan didn’t respond right away. His fingers tapped something on the laptop, his eyes locked on the screen like it held all the answers. Like I hadn’t just felt his words cut through me.

"Nathan?" I pressed again. "What do you mean by that?"

He finally spoke, but his voice was flat. "Nothing. Forget it."

And just like that, he went right back to talking about the project.

"We can use this source for the main argument. I already drafted the intro, but you can revise it if you want." He flipped the screen slightly toward me and pointed at a paragraph. "We need to split who presents what. I thought I’d cover the first two parts—"

I sat down beside him, barely hearing a word.

He was so calm. Too calm. But I could feel the weight behind his silence.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

"Nathan," I said, cutting him off. "Just say it."

He kept staring at the laptop.

"Please," I whispered. "Say what’s on your mind. I can’t take this... weird tension. If you’re angry with me, just—say it."

He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he slammed the laptop shut and shoved it off his lap with a frustrated growl.

"Fine," he snapped, finally turning to face me. "You want to know what’s on my mind?"

His voice rose, sharp and wounded. "How would you feel if we made out all night—if we stayed up touching, holding each other, if I told you things I’ve never said to anyone—and then, hours later, you saw me making out with someone else?"

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