Sebastian Ashford's POV (Flashback)
She was standing near the anatomy lab, arms wrapped tightly around her books like she could disappear if she just held them close enough.
Rain Wang.
First year.Top of her class already.Always quiet. Always alone.
And always so fucking beautiful it made my jaw clench.
I should've ignored her.
I should've walked past and let her exist in her little perfect silence.But I didn't.
I couldn't.
Because that day, some idiot from my class had mentioned her. Said she looked like "some kind of Chinese doll" with that ridiculous hair brushing her knees and that pretty little face that never looked up. Said she had brains and a body. Said she was "Ashford's type, right?"
No.
No, she wasn't.
She was mine. And nobody had the right to say her name but me.
So I walked up to her.Blocked her path.Watched her eyes go wide like a deer in headlights.
God, she looked terrified. And I hated how much I liked that.
"You lost, Wang?" I said, voice loud enough to echo down the hallway. "Or is your hair just too heavy for that pea-sized brain to function?"
She flinched.
I didn't stop.
"You first years really need to understand your place," I kept going, eyes scanning the crowd gathering, the smirks, the laughs. "Med school's not some fairytale. You can't get by on a pretty face and a dumb stare."
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
She just stared.And God help me, I wanted to grab her and shake her.Make her fight back. Make her yell. Cry. Anything.
But she just turned away.Started walking.
So I stepped beside her. Leaned down. Whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Try cutting that damn hair. Might help you carry your own weight."
And the laughter that followed?
It was cruel.Loud.Merciless.
She dropped her books.
Didn't even try to pick them up.
Just stood there, frozen.
And me?I just walked away.
Didn't help her.Didn't look back.
I remember thinking: Good. Maybe now she'll stop showing up. Maybe now I'll stop looking for her.
But I never stopped.
And now, whenever I think of that day, all I remember is the way she stood there — perfectly still — like she was trying not to break.
And the worst part?
I think a part of me wanted her to break.
What the hell was wrong with me?