Aria POV 

It all seems like I've made another mistake. I shouldn't have slapped Ethan even though he did called me a witch.

Frankly speaking, I'd thought his hands had landed on my cheek, but when I opened my eyes, I found Mr Francis holding his son's hand and do you know the first thing they came into my mind? 

"That was fucking close!"

Only God knows if I'd have retained my hearing if he'd slapped me with that much force – I'd likely be deaf forever.

On the other hand, I was really mad at my mother. If you can imagine? She was just standing as though she really wanted that arrogant son of a bitch to slap me. How sure am I that Valentina is my mother? She must be the witch Ethan is talking about.

Then there was a knock at my door, I hurriedly opened it. Then I found Mr Francis standing in front of my door.

I'm a bit scared. Is he here to scold me for slapping his son? Who wouldn't be angry if such a slap was given to their child? There's only one person who wouldn't be angry and that's no one else but my mother. She wouldn't even mind giving that person an hundred dollar for doing it.

I face downward, ready to take all the blames. Afterall, blames don't kill except you decide to die in guilt.

Just as I'm expecting to hear him start raining abuses on me like my mother would always do, I heard a calm voice saying.

"I'm here to say sorry for my son's attitude," he told me.

He's here to say sorry? Is this an irony?

"B-But I was the one who'd slapped him __" I stammered.

"That's partly why I'm here,'' he said with a hint of amusement. ''Thanks for slapping him – he deserved it.'' His calm tone contrasted with the weight of his words.

I'm speechless, Mr Francis is one of a kind. How can he be happy I slapped his son? Isn't this funny?

"I..."

"So tell me, why don't you want to go to Ethan's school?" He asked me cutting me off.

Well the reason is something I'd wanted to keep to myself. Should I say I'm scared of going there?

But sometimes in life, we're supposed to learn to face our fears. I'm changing my mind now, I'll go to that school; but what about Ethan's girlfriend?

"Okay, since everyone wants me to go there, then no calls for alarm, I'll go __" I told him.

"Since everyone wants you to go there; is anyone forcing you to go there?" He asked me.

I don't think anyone's forcing me to go there. Even my selfish mother had made it clear to me that being a housewife suits me. Isn't that enough reason for me to change my mind?

"No one's forcing me, but I think I need to go to that school." I told him.

"Alright then, get prepare by tomorrow morning I'll be taking you there.." he told me.

"Okay," I nodded then he left the room.

Just as he stepped out, my mom walks. For God's sake what's she doing here?

"You should thank your stars that slap didn't landed on your cheek__" she told me.

I knew she'd only stir up trouble, so I tuned her out. I walked over to the table, grabbed my headset, and put it on, escaping into music.

She was pissed but I didn't cared and after a while, she walked out of my room. I quickly removed the headset, locked my door and started making preparations for tomorrow.

The following day, I woke up early, took a shower, and then came out to have breakfast. Ethan kept smirking at me, and the way he was gazing at me, I could tell he was up to something. Maybe he was planning to make my life miserable in college since he knew I'd be getting admitted today. 

He could do his worst, but no matter what he was planning, he could never take my life away. I don't really blame him. I blame my mother who chose this kind of life for me. If she hadn't move on with Ethan's dad, this wouldn't have been happening.

After we were done, I followed Mr Francis down to the school. I really couldn't tell how life would be here, especially with Ethan around to make things worse for me.

With the admin formalities done, I headed to the lecture hall. As I turned to leave, Mr. Francis gave a warm wave goodbye. I returned the gesture and took a deep breath before heading to the hall.

"The entire campus is having a program, regardless of the course, so everyone is in that hall," a man told me, pointing to his right.

I thanked him and headed to the hall, which was unspeakably crowded.

I sat down on a chair and Ethan was busy staring at me, making me feel nervous. The worst happened when his girlfriend shot me a hard glare. 

"This won't be easy.." I whispered to myself bringing out a jotter.

"So, who can tell me anything about strategic management?" the lecturer, a slim, tall, good-looking white man, asked. 

Of course, I knew it, and without hesitating, I raised my hand, indicating that I wanted to answer the question.

"You can answer that question?" The lecturer asked me politely.

"I wanna try," I replied casually. 

"What's your name?" He asked me with a smirk.

"I'm Aria," he said.

"Nice name," he nodded, "so, go on."

"Strategic management is about making decisions that align with long-term goals, analyzing internal and external factors, creating strategies, putting plans into action, and assessing performance to drive success in business or various endeavors." I replied then he nodded.

"I'm expecting a round of applause for that," he said and loud claps were heard. "Ethan, get up," he order him then he stood up. "Why weren't you clapping? Wasn't that brilliant?"

"Of course it was," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Then why weren't you clapping?" He asked.

"I don't think that was necessary, there's a lot of people clapping already so mine wouldn't have changed anything." He said.

"After this lecture is over, meet me in my office," he ordered. "You can sit down."

He sat down, his gaze fixed on the lecturer and all of a sudden, his girlfriend made a throat-slitting gesture to me with her thumb, implying I'd be ''dead'' – a menacing warning that sent a shiver down my spine.