SINFULLY YOURS

Chapter 22: Chapter 22. Who Is Tim?

Chapter 22. Who Is Tim?

Rosa Lin’s POV

I waited. I prayed. And God, I so prayed.

Watching him, leaning closer, my hand was against his arm. But he still remained frozen, looking straight at the windscreen, hands on the steering wheel, his body still, like he was lost in thought. A fake, obvious, bright smile appeared on his face as he chuckled.

”For real, it’s nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head. ”Nothing.”

Uh... He looked to the side as if he was trying to remember something. I just watched him trying to keep up the fake act.

I lifted an eyebrow. As I observed him for a while, he slowly tilted his head to look back at me.

”For real, nothing,” he said. ”You should head off now. I’m sure your class should be starting in like a few minutes.”

I could see he was clearly avoiding my gaze. I don’t know why I suddenly felt down that I didn’t get what he wanted to say. What was he about to say? Was he seriously about to ask me out? Or was it just my imagination playing tricks on me? The fact that I couldn’t piece it together was driving me nuts right now.

I finally exhaled and just nodded my head slightly. Why the hell was I even interested anyway?

I shook my head. ”Yeah, sure, I should be going,” I said.

He chuckled, but he didn’t look at me.

I grabbed the door and then opened it, stepping out as calmly as I could. I waited. Then I turned back to look at him in the car. He was staring at me now in that sharp, piercing way that always made the heat in the pit of my belly rise rapidly.

I honestly couldn’t keep the smile away from my face. I smiled at him and waved.

He chuckled. ”Run along, little kitten,” he said with a big smile on his face as he waved back as well.

I couldn’t do this anymore. I quickly closed the door and turned around, hiding the heat on my face. Then I walked away toward the direction that led out of the official compound, hoping that no lecturer would catch me and question me about my whereabouts.

I guess he would speak up for me, wouldn’t he?

Just as I was about to leave the threshold of the official section—just at the edge, behind a shrub of flowers that concealed the entrance—I saw Tim standing there.

I froze.

The sight of him standing there was a sharp contrast, jolting me out of my mind as I froze, completely taken aback, my eyes wide. He stood visible. Half of his body was revealed like he was peeking at me, while the other half remained hidden behind a few of the shrubs, staring at me with a blank expression on his face.

I frowned. I tilted my head to look behind me and then looked back at him. He still remained there.

Weird.

However, I saw the smile that later blossomed on his face. A genuine, warm smile that looked like he actually cared, or like he had just been observing me, or I don’t even know whatever the hell I was looking at right now.

I saw him turn around and vanish behind the shrubs, as if he had never been there.

I remained frozen, blinking.

Okay. What the hell was that? I thought to myself, feeling a certain uneasiness crawling through my spine.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Hell nah, what the hell.

The uneasiness bled deeper into my system. Right from the moment I had my lectures till the moment they ended, the uneasiness didn’t vanish. I couldn’t shake off the image of Tim standing behind the shrubs, the way he stood there like a vanguard on duty, the way he smiled at me. The creepiness crawled through my spine.

I kept having this eerie, uneasy feeling that he was going to be back, and probably not in a good way. I thought about the way he was back at the cafeteria, the way he was making moves on me like he wanted to have something to do with me. I compared it to the visual of who I saw behind the shrubs.

Something wasn’t sitting quite right, and my mind had no peace.

I stepped out of class into the parking lot, heading toward the usual spot, the chatter of students surrounding me, my hands clinging tightly to the straps of my backpack, but my gaze was fixed on the floor. I couldn’t even bother to know what was going on around me, as all I could see was the stone pavement and my footsteps counting each step while my mind kept returning to Tim.

Just what the hell was that? I kept thinking.

The heat was now a heavy weight in my chest. And God help me, I couldn’t push it away.

I got to the parking lot and looked around. To my surprise, Mia’s car wasn’t in the usual spot where she parked it—exactly where she had parked it this morning.

I frowned. I took out my phone and dialed her number.

She picked up. ”Hey Rosa, hey baby girl, oh my god, I am so sorry. I actually wanted to call you earlier. I am not around at the moment. Are you done with your lecture?” she asked.

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. ”Yes,” I replied.

”I’m sorry, I was done with my registration on time and I was so exhausted. Goddammit, those officials really know how to put someone to the test. Sorry, I’m at my apartment right now, I just came to relax. Do you want to come over?” she asked.

I exhaled. ”Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry. I’m just going to take public transport,” I said.

She chuckled. ”I am so sorry, baby girl. Okay, please, I hope you are not annoyed?” she asked.

I chuckled. ”Why should I be? It’s fine, it’s not like I’m not used to public transport,” I said.

”Okay, now you’re trying to make me feel like a bad person.”

I chuckled. ”I am not, Mia, for real, okay? Don’t think too much about it.”

She chuckled.

I smiled as the call ended. I heaved a sigh and then made my way out of campus, heading toward the bus park. I got there and boarded the public transport, going straight toward Mia’s apartment.

It didn’t take too long before I got there. I stepped up and knocked.

She opened the door for me, welcoming me in with the warm hug she usually reserved for me. But the uneasiness still hadn’t vanished from my stomach.

We stepped into the living room. I took off my backpack, dropped it by the sofa, and then crashed against the cushions, blowing out a breath that rattled my lips.

Mia was about to head back to the kitchen, but she stopped. ”I am preparing something really nice for us to...” She paused, and I saw her gazing at me when I looked up.

”Are you okay?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

I frowned, thinking for a while, then I nodded. ”Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”

Then I glared playfully back at her. ”You did a good job abandoning me with Mr. Don back at the cafeteria. You said you were going to come back.”

She chuckled. ”Oh yeah, I actually was, but you know, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it,” she said, grinning.

The nervousness on her face told me she did it all on purpose—she had no intention of coming back—but I wasn’t even in the mood to argue about it. I just rolled my eyes and crashed back against the chair.

”But I am sure it went well, right? Because from what I saw, you have clearly been wrong about him,” she said.

I looked at her.

”He is actually cute, and the way he keeps teasing you, it’s kind of giving off this feeling that he’s a very friendly, you know, Gen Z, casual, nice uncle,” she said with a smile. ”I have no intention of separating you two, so if he says you should stay with him, I don’t see anything wrong with you staying with him.”

My eyes widened. ”No, that is so not an option,” I said.

She frowned. ”Why not?”

”Come on, Mia, you can see the scandal going on about me on campus. What if someone finds out?”

She raised an eyebrow. ”I genuinely think anyone who would think you would have anything stupid to do with your uncle is sick in the brain and should have themselves checked,” she said.

I shook my head. ”Yeah, I get it, but they’re still going to think things, okay? And I’m not ready for that right now. You saw how they reacted to the both of us in the cafeteria.”

She frowned. ”They reacted?” she asked.

Then I remembered she was not there.

I sighed and let out a breath. ”Yep.” I traced my palm against my forehead. ”He had to take me out.”

She frowned, and I saw her eyes brighten. ”Take you out to where?”

I gritted my teeth. ”Nothing, he went to get me snacks. To make me forgive him.”

I saw her lips expand. ”And did you?”

”I had no choice,” I replied. ”It was my favorite snack.”

She chuckled. ”And let me guess... brownies.”

I pressed my lips together. ”Yep.”

The list of people who knew me too well was increasing by the second—Mia, and then Mr. Don Diaxu. It was shocking how he kept those memories of me after all these years, memories I had forgotten, when I had literally forgotten he even existed.

I exhaled and sank back against the chair. ”Let’s just forget about it anyway. I’ve actually rejected it.”

I saw her face fall. ”Oh, I guess I kind of expected that. Your paranoia is on a high level, but I’m still noticing this hint of tension in your eyes that I can’t shake off. Are you sure you are good?” she asked.

I slowly looked up and back at her. I thought about it for a while, tapping my finger against my chin.

”Um, I’m not actually comfortable with him,” I said.

She frowned. ”I’m sorry, comfortable with who?”

”With Tim,” I finally said with a raised eyebrow. ”The creepy guy. He’s just... he’s getting creepier by the second, and forget about what he said back at the cafeteria. I think...”

”Wait, I just—I’m sorry,” she interrupted me instantly.

I looked up at her.

She frowned, leaning against one of the chairs and looking at me with her eyes squinted, completely confused.

”Who is Tim?”