“Miss Xylia, the board has decided to replace Chelsea and appoint one of the male students instead. We have already chosen the new vice president.”
Xylia frowned in shock.
“I thought there would be another election,” she said carefully.
“That won’t be necessary.”
The board members continued explaining their decision, but Xylia could barely process their words anymore.
Chelsea was the current vice president of the university.
And now, without warning, they were removing her position and handing it over to someone from the men’s department.
Xylia already knew there would be changes within the student council after the merger.
Dean Romero had previously informed her that the council should eventually become a combination of men and women.
But she never expected the board to simply choose someone themselves without holding a proper election.
Especially not Chelsea.
Chelsea came from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Bloomsdale City.
Removing her so easily would undoubtedly create conflict.
Yet despite everything, Xylia failed to convince the board to reconsider.
By the time she returned to the student council room, exhaustion was already visible on her face.
“How could they do this?” Liliana ranted angrily the moment Xylia entered.
“They’re replacing Chelsea with someone from the new students? Xylia, you have to do something!”
Xylia sighed tiredly.
“I tried,” she answered softly.
“The principal originally told me there would be another election too. I was also surprised when they said they had already chosen someone.”
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Chelsea, who was sitting quietly in front of the desk.
For once, Chelsea looked completely defeated.
Xylia’s chest tightened with guilt.
“Chelsea…” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
But before Chelsea could respond— the door suddenly opened.
Everyone inside the room turned around in confusion.
Aciel casually walked inside as if he already owned the place.
Naomi immediately frowned.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” she snapped.
“This is the student council room. You can’t just walk in here without permission.”
Aciel smirked lazily.
“Well,” he replied calmly, “this is my room now too.”
His silver eyes swept across them.
“So I don’t think I need permission to enter.”
Xylia frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?” Chelsea asked coldly.
Aciel shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I’m the new vice president of this university,” he answered casually.
“The newest member of the student council.”
Then his gaze landed on Chelsea.
“So if there’s someone who doesn’t belong here anymore… it’s definitely not me.”
Silence instantly filled the room.
Chelsea’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The others looked equally shocked.
Even Xylia froze.
Then suddenly, Chelsea laughed bitterly.
“Really?” she muttered.
Slowly, she turned toward Xylia.
“Now I understand why you didn’t fight harder against them.”
Xylia frowned deeply.
“What are you talking about?”
Chelsea scoffed.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
Without waiting for an answer, Chelsea turned around and stormed out of the room.
“Chelsea!” Xylia called after her immediately.
She tried explaining that she never knew Aciel would become the new vice president.
But Chelsea ignored her completely and disappeared down the hallway.
Liliana and the others quickly followed after her, leaving Xylia and Aciel alone inside the room.
Aciel casually sat down on the couch as if nothing dramatic had happened.
Meanwhile, Xylia remained standing near the door while pressing her fingers lightly against her temple.
Her head was throbbing painfully.
It had already been an exhausting day.
And somehow, it still continued getting worse.
“Now you understand what happens when you keep agreeing with everything people tell you.”
Xylia immediately recognized the sarcasm in Aciel’s voice.
But this time— she was too exhausted to argue back.
“You didn’t even try to fight them properly,” Aciel continued coldly.
“Did you question their decision? Did you ask why they suddenly chose someone without an election?”
His silver eyes narrowed.
“No. You just accepted everything again.”
Xylia lowered her gaze.
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered quietly.
Aciel scoffed.
“Why are you asking me?” he replied coldly.
“That’s your problem, not mine.”
“Then stop scolding me if you don’t care,” she suddenly answered back.
Aciel fell silent.
Xylia clenched her fists tightly.
“You don’t even know what it feels like to be in my position.”
The moment she finished speaking, she immediately tried to leave.
But before she could open the door—
Aciel suddenly blocked her path.
Xylia froze.
Her back pressed against the door while Aciel stood directly in front of her.
One of his hands rested beside her head against the wall, trapping her completely between him and the door.
His dark expression immediately made her nervous.
“Please move,” she whispered weakly.
“I want to leave.”
Aciel stared directly into her eyes.
“Why?” he asked quietly.
“Are you scared of me?”
“N-No,” she stammered quickly.
“I’m not.”
A dangerous smirk slowly appeared on his lips.
“Then why can’t you look at me?”
Xylia’s heartbeat instantly became uncontrollable.
Her knees weakened beneath him.
Only the door behind her prevented her from collapsing completely.
Was she scared of him?
Yes.
But not because she believed he would hurt her.
She was scared because Aciel saw through her too easily.
he would uncover every lie she carefully hid behind her smiles.
“Look at me,” Aciel ordered sharply.
Xylia bit her lower lip nervously before slowly lifting her head.
The moment their eyes met— her chest tightened painfully.
He was too close.
Only inches separated their faces now.
She could even hear his uneven breathing.
Truthfully, Aciel had already been in a terrible mood before entering the student council room.
He never wanted the vice president position.
But he already knew Martin arranged everything on Luciano’s behalf.
And after what happened a few days ago—
Aciel had been trying to avoid Xylia completely.
That night at the penthouse only made things worse.
For the first time in his life, he lost interest in the women brought to him.
Even with two beautiful women waiting inside his penthouse, his thoughts remained occupied by only one person.
Xylia.
And because of that— he hated her even more.
Now she stood directly in front of him.
Her emerald-green eyes looked strangely calming despite the panic inside them.
They reminded him of nature.
Peaceful.
Pure.
Then his gaze slowly dropped toward her lips.
Red.
Soft.
Swollen.
Aciel frowned immediately.
Without thinking, he suddenly grabbed her chin gently before brushing his thumb against her lower lip.
“Who did this?” he asked darkly.
Xylia’s breath hitched.
How did he notice?
She purposely covered the injury with lipstick earlier because she thought no one would realize it.
“I-It’s nothing,” she stammered nervously.
“I accidentally bit my lip when—”
“Stop lying.”
His voice instantly turned cold.
“And stop pretending.”
His grip tightened slightly against her chin.
“Who did this to you?”
“A-Aciel…” she whispered shakily.
“Please don’t do this.”
Her eyes trembled slightly.
“Don’t ask questions I can’t answer.”
Aciel’s expression darkened further.
He hated that answer.
And deep inside— he already knew something was terribly wrong.
“If you won’t tell me willingly…”
His voice lowered dangerously.
“Then I’ll just have to convince you.”
“Miss Xylia, the board has decided to replace Chelsea and appoint one of the male students instead. We have already chosen the new vice president.”
Xylia frowned in shock.
“I thought there would be another election,” she said carefully.
“That won’t be necessary.”
The board members continued explaining their decision, but Xylia could barely process their words anymore.
Chelsea was the current vice president of the university.
And now, without warning, they were removing her position and handing it over to someone from the men’s department.
Xylia already knew there would be changes within the student council after the merger.
Dean Romero had previously informed her that the council should eventually become a combination of men and women.
But she never expected the board to simply choose someone themselves without holding a proper election.
Especially not Chelsea.
Chelsea came from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Bloomsdale City.
Removing her so easily would undoubtedly create conflict.
Yet despite everything, Xylia failed to convince the board to reconsider.
By the time she returned to the student council room, exhaustion was already visible on her face.
“How could they do this?” Liliana ranted angrily the moment Xylia entered.
“They’re replacing Chelsea with someone from the new students? Xylia, you have to do something!”
Xylia sighed tiredly.
“I tried,” she answered softly.
“The principal originally told me there would be another election too. I was also surprised when they said they had already chosen someone.”
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Chelsea, who was sitting quietly in front of the desk.
For once, Chelsea looked completely defeated.
Xylia’s chest tightened with guilt.
“Chelsea…” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
But before Chelsea could respond— the door suddenly opened.
Everyone inside the room turned around in confusion.
Aciel casually walked inside as if he already owned the place.
Naomi immediately frowned.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” she snapped.
“This is the student council room. You can’t just walk in here without permission.”
Aciel smirked lazily.
“Well,” he replied calmly, “this is my room now too.”
His silver eyes swept across them.
“So I don’t think I need permission to enter.”
Xylia frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?” Chelsea asked coldly.
Aciel shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I’m the new vice president of this university,” he answered casually.
“The newest member of the student council.”
Then his gaze landed on Chelsea.
“So if there’s someone who doesn’t belong here anymore… it’s definitely not me.”
Silence instantly filled the room.
Chelsea’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The others looked equally shocked.
Even Xylia froze.
Then suddenly, Chelsea laughed bitterly.
“Really?” she muttered.
Slowly, she turned toward Xylia.
“Now I understand why you didn’t fight harder against them.”
Xylia frowned deeply.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
Without waiting for an answer, Chelsea turned around and stormed out of the room.
“Chelsea!” Xylia called after her immediately.
She tried explaining that she never knew Aciel would become the new vice president.
But Chelsea ignored her completely and disappeared down the hallway.
Liliana and the others quickly followed after her, leaving Xylia and Aciel alone inside the room.
Aciel casually sat down on the couch as if nothing dramatic had happened.
Meanwhile, Xylia remained standing near the door while pressing her fingers lightly against her temple.
Her head was throbbing painfully.
It had already been an exhausting day.
And somehow, it still continued getting worse.
“Now you understand what happens when you keep agreeing with everything people tell you.”
Xylia immediately recognized the sarcasm in Aciel’s voice.
But this time— she was too exhausted to argue back.
“You didn’t even try to fight them properly,” Aciel continued coldly.
“Did you question their decision? Did you ask why they suddenly chose someone without an election?”
His silver eyes narrowed.
“No. You just accepted everything again.”
Xylia lowered her gaze.
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered quietly.
Aciel scoffed.
“Why are you asking me?” he replied coldly.
“That’s your problem, not mine.”
“Then stop scolding me if you don’t care,” she suddenly answered back.
Aciel fell silent.
Xylia clenched her fists tightly.
“You don’t even know what it feels like to be in my position.”
The moment she finished speaking, she immediately tried to leave.
But before she could open the door—
Aciel suddenly blocked her path.
Xylia froze.
Her back pressed against the door while Aciel stood directly in front of her.
One of his hands rested beside her head against the wall, trapping her completely between him and the door.
His dark expression immediately made her nervous.
“Please move,” she whispered weakly.
“I want to leave.”
Aciel stared directly into her eyes.
“Why?” he asked quietly.
“Are you scared of me?”
“N-No,” she stammered quickly.
“I’m not.”
A dangerous smirk slowly appeared on his lips.
“Then why can’t you look at me?”
Xylia’s heartbeat instantly became uncontrollable.
Her knees weakened beneath him.
Only the door behind her prevented her from collapsing completely.
Was she scared of him?
Yes.
But not because she believed he would hurt her.
She was scared because Aciel saw through her too easily.
She was terrified that if he looked at her long enough— he would uncover every lie she carefully hid behind her smiles.
“Look at me,” Aciel ordered sharply.
Xylia bit her lower lip nervously before slowly lifting her head.
The moment their eyes met— her chest tightened painfully.
He was too close.
Only inches separated their faces now.
She could even hear his uneven breathing.
Truthfully, Aciel had already been in a terrible mood before entering the student council room.
He never wanted the vice president position.
But he already knew Martin arranged everything on Luciano’s behalf.
And after what happened a few days ago—
Aciel had been trying to avoid Xylia completely.
That night at the penthouse only made things worse.
For the first time in his life, he lost interest in the women brought to him.
Even with two beautiful women waiting inside his penthouse, his thoughts remained occupied by only one person.
Xylia.
And because of that— he hated her even more.
Now she stood directly in front of him.
Her emerald-green eyes looked strangely calming despite the panic inside them.
They reminded him of nature.
Peaceful.
Pure.
Then his gaze slowly dropped toward her lips.
Red.
Soft.
Swollen.
Aciel frowned immediately.
Without thinking, he suddenly grabbed her chin gently before brushing his thumb against her lower lip.
“Who did this?” he asked darkly.
Xylia’s breath hitched.
How did he notice?
She purposely covered the injury with lipstick earlier because she thought no one would realize it.
“I-It’s nothing,” she stammered nervously.
“I accidentally bit my lip when—”
“Stop lying.”
His voice instantly turned cold.
“And stop pretending.”
His grip tightened slightly against her chin.
“Who did this to you?”
“A-Aciel…” she whispered shakily.
“Please don’t do this.”
Her eyes trembled slightly.
“Don’t ask questions I can’t answer.”
Aciel’s expression darkened further.
He hated that answer.
And deep inside— he already knew something was terribly wrong.
“If you won’t tell me willingly…”
His voice lowered dangerously.
“Then I’ll just have to convince you.”