Defiant Heir (The Heirs 3)

He gives me a tight hug, then pulls back and smiles down at me. “Anything for my favorite sister.”

I let out a chuckle. “I’m your only sister.”

I move toward my walk-in closet. “I want to be gone before Kao gets back from the hospital.”

“Okay. I’ll run to the office. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Forest rushes out of the room, and I have to admit, I feel better knowing I’m going home.KAOI follow Noah into the suite but stop when he comes to a halt.

“I’m taking her home,” I hear Forest’s voice.

There’s a moment’s stunned silence, then Jase asks, “There’s still a week and a half until Christmas break. What about her work?”

“And the Christmas Ball?” Mila adds.

“The lecturers will forward all her assignments, and the ball is the least of our worries,” Forest states.

I hear movement, and then Jase asks, “Are you really going home?”

“Yeah,” Fallon answers, her voice sounding fragile and soft.

I turn my head in her direction, wondering what the hell happened while I was gone. Besides the awkwardness between Fallon and me, things didn’t seem so bad that she would leave. I was hoping for time, so I could at least salvage our friendship.

“I’ll see you all after the Christmas break.”

Noah pulls me to the side, then I hear him murmur, “Call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Noah,” Fallon whispers near me.

A couple of seconds later, Noah says, “Let’s get you to bed.” He takes hold of my arm and begins to pull me toward the hallway.

I rear back and ask, “What happened?”

“Fallon just went home,” Jase mutters.

“Because of me?” I hate asking the question, but if she’s hurting so badly, then I have to do something. After all, we need to get back to being friends.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Hana snaps as she passes by me. I hear the door slam shut behind her.

“Hana’s just upset because of everything that’s happened,” Mila tries to cover for her friend. “We don’t know why Fallon left. I’ll check in with her once she’s settled in at home.”

I nod, hating that I’m no longer in a position to go after Fallon.The campus and suite feel like a ghost town without Fallon.

I can’t message her, and calling her while things are so volatile between us feels wrong. Over the past week, I’ve been seeing more blunt objects. I can make out a person and even the length of their hair.

“The swelling looks better,” Noah murmurs as he puts in my eye drops. “The redness, as well.”

“That’s good.” I grin at him. “I’m surprised how quickly the pain faded from post-surgery to today.”

“How’s the itchiness?” he asks.

“It comes and goes.” Hopefully, that will be gone soon. When Noah is done, I put on my prescribed sunglasses. My eyes are still super sensitive to light, so for now, I stay indoors with the lights off.

“Let’s get two hours work in before I have to go to class,” Noah says. I can make out his frame as he moves around the room. Then he comes to sit next to me on the bed. “You have to make a business plan.”

Adjusting after the surgery and catching up with the work I missed has become my new routine.

But life feels empty, and I know it’s because Fallon’s not here. Every second used to revolve around her. Seeing her smiles. Holding her hand. Just being with her even though we weren’t dating.

And now there’s nothing but work, eye drops, and praying my sight fully returns so I can get Fallon back.

I hate that she’s missing the Christmas Ball. She worked so hard on all the preparations. I find myself spacing out, my memories of Fallon carrying me back to happier times when we attended the welcome function a couple of months ago.

Fallon crosses the floor toward our table. Reaching us, she locks eyes with me, her chin held high.

My God, she looks like a goddess.

“Kao, will you please open the dance floor with me?”

Surprise ripples through me. I know it’s a huge deal who Fallon chooses to dance with, seeing as she’s from one of the founding families at Trinity Academy.

I rise to my feet, and placing my hand on Fallon’s lower back, I walk with her to the open space near the stage where the band is situated. As violin strings begin to fill the air, I capture her gaze, and I take her right hand in mine.

The song, along with having Fallon in my arms, feels very different from when I danced with her at her prom.

I know Fallon’s responsible for choosing the band and the music they’ll perform, and knowing she chose Secrets by One Republic for the opening song, makes me listen to every word.

Everyone in the hall fades away, and for the life of me, I can’t break eye contact with Fallon. It’s like she’s placing me under a spell.