‘Did he just call me childish? Of course, I’m always a fucking child in his eyes.’

Hera glared daggers at him, wishing her looks could kill him right now. 

He was mocking her, wasn’t he? Hera laughed humourlessly. He addressed her as Hera. He rarely used her first name, and he would call her Hera only when he gets angry. 

And Hunter was angry because she blamed Bianca. 

‘It’s always Bianca.’ 

Hera’s dislike for his so-called best friend only increased. “Of course, Hunter. I’m the child.. Don’t you remember? That’s why you were screwing some whore, not me. I’m sure Bianca is one of your sluts too,” she spat, with all the bitterness she could add. 

“Enough,” he shouted, and Hera screamed frightened when he picked up the bed lamp and threw it at the mirror. Glass shattered everywhere. 

Their fight had suddenly become something else and shifted onto Bianca. Hunter knew Hera hated her, but it didn’t mean he would let her blame his best friend with such filthy accusation. He would endure any punishment for hurting his Hera, but not this. Bianca had nothing to do with their fight. She was innocent.

“Bianca is my best friend. We’re buddies, and I don’t sleep with my friends. You crossed the line, Hera,” he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. Hera looked at him in disbelief. “I crossed the line, Hunter? Seriously? Don’t you think, that’s a bit rich coming from you?” Hera asked in a ridiculing tone. Ignoring her question, he walked to the dresser and picked up the keys. 

“Get ready. I’m taking you back to your room. You need time to forget all this. Right now, whatever I say won’t make any sense to you because you’re angry and you won’t think sensibly. It’s the space you want, right? I’m giving it to you. But remember, it’s a break. Not a breakup. You’re mine, and you’ll always be,” he pronounced in his rude as fuck attitude. 

Hera stepped away from him, disagreeing with everything he said. 

“I’ll never forget what you did to me. And I’ll never forgive you. You, cheating bastard, I’ll never take you back,” Hera swore. Within a blink of an eye, he crossed the distance, and they were face to face. Before she could take a step back, he grabbed her hair, keeping her face where he wanted. “Don’t you ever dare call me a bastard again. Because I’m not one, and I don’t take it nicely when someone insults my mother,” he warned through his gritted teeth. 

And then he kissed her to make her shut up. 

“Now, tell me, Love, did that kiss make you feel anything?” He asked in that mocking tone. 

Of course, it did. Hera felt insulted and hurt. 

However, she kept her mouth shut because he looked enraged, and she was scared. 

“The answer is, no,” he answered himself and scoffed at her. Hera couldn’t understand why he was mocking her. She didn’t even know what he meant with that punishing kiss. He walked out of his mansion, and she silently followed. She couldn’t be happier to get out of that hellhole. 

When they reached their dormitory building, he didn’t get down from the car. He waited until she entered the gate of the building. She glanced over her shoulder and mouthed “I hate you”. Sparing her one last look, he pressed the button, and the windows closed, making him disappear from her sight. Hera watched as the car sped off. 

Hunter couldn’t sleep that night. All he could think was her hateful words. 

‘I’m done with you.’

‘It’s over.’

‘Whatever we had, it’s finished.’

‘I don’t trust you anymore.’

‘I’ll never forgive you.’

‘Bianca is your slut.’

‘I’ll never take you back.’

‘I hate you.’

He was angry, he was restless, and he was beyond hurt. All rational thinking left his senses, and in that reckless state of mind, he made a stupid decision. He asked Samantha to be his girlfriend. He knew that she liked him, and he shamelessly took advantage of her feelings. His only motive behind this was to hurt Hera. Samantha gladly agreed to be his girlfriend. She finally got what she’d always wanted, the tag of his girlfriend. 

Samantha had known Hunter for five years now, and her crush on him gradually transformed into love in no time. Though she never made it to the list of his best friends, Hunter still considered her a friend nonetheless. She was part of his gang and best friends with Bianca and Evelyn. 

He shouldn’t hurt her. 

As soon as his anger died down, Hunter realized that he’s using Samantha to his advantage, and he genuinely felt sorry. He decided to come clean the next day and confessed that he wasn’t serious about asking her to be his girlfriend. He knew it would hurt her if he revealed how he’s only using her to spite Hera. 

So instead of telling her the truth, he simply said that he wanted to try a casual relationship and have some fun. He thought his absurd proposition would piss her off and she would tell him off. But to his surprise, instead of feeling offended, Samantha agreed to his proposal. She conveniently said, if it’s fun and entertainment he wanted, then she would be his entertainment. In return, he should officially present her as his girlfriend to everyone at school. 

She surely was ready to be his fake girlfriend with benefits, of course. She wasn’t a fool to let go of the golden opportunity that magically fell into her palm. She was aiming to become his real girlfriend soon. 

If Hunter had been smart, he would’ve said no, but he didn’t know how to handle the mess he’d unintentionally caused. However, it worked in his favour, and he got what he wanted without feeling the burden of being guilty. 

He couldn’t wait to see Hera’s reaction. 

Hunter had warned Samantha that she shouldn’t expect anything serious out of this settlement. She assured him that it would be strictly a “no strings attached” thing between them, and she would never cause any trouble. She confessed that she likes him so much it’s enough for her to get addressed as his girlfriend. 

“I’ll win your heart someday, Ace,” Samantha had said. But Hunter knew that would never happen. Hera had already stolen his heart and owned it for life. 

It didn’t take much time for Hera to learn the truth of their committed relationship, courtesy of Samantha, of course. It was an understatement to say, her wounded heart shattered into nothingness, and Hera died a little every day. 

Hera wanted revenge as well.

She tried to get close to other boys to get back at him. And it worked. Hunter died with jealousy and anger every time he saw her with other boys. To keep her away from other boys, he started to scare them away. He and his friends would beat the boys to pulp whoever dared to befriend her. 

Hunter was egoistic, and Hera was stubborn. Neither of them wanted to give up their pride. Their love-hate relationship continued without interruption until today. 

To Hera, it was their breakup, but for Hunter, they were only on a break and never broke up. 

Someone nudged Hunter’s shoulder, bringing him back to the present. So lost in his past, he was totally oblivious to his surroundings. Danny’s eyes wordlessly asked, “What’s wrong?” Shaking his head in reply, Hunter recovered from the aftereffects of his short trip to the past. 

“Why are you not hungry? I thought you’ll swallow the whole pig alive after that tiring soccer practice,” Hunter heard Bianca say. But he didn’t have the answer to her question. He didn’t want to reveal what happened between Hera and him, so he feigned a headache. 

Hunter vaguely remembered telling his friends to have dinner without him because he was tired and wanted to sleep. He wasn’t hungry anyway. 

Eric cocked his brow in silent question. He knew his buddy was faking it. Hunter shook his head, silently beckoning him to keep his mouth shut. Eric agreed, but the look on his face said they were going to talk about it later.

“Let’s just go out. We will eat outside. What say, Ace?” Bianca asked, and Hunter agreed without any protest. At least, they didn’t force him to have dinner at their dormitory. He would preferably jump the gate off and sneak out of that place than meet Hera’s accusing eyes. He needed to clear his mind to get rid of the haunting images from the past. 

Images of his Hera crying were still disturbing him.

That night, they all snuck out secretly. Obviously, breaking the rules had always been fun. They ate out, and Hunter got drunk to forget Hera’s tear-filled glassy green eyes. 

In the dormitory, Hera felt relief that Hunter didn’t come for dinner and she didn’t have to face him. She was pleased to know that none of his friends was around. At least, she could have her dinner in peace. 

Hera found her group of friends and joined them.