The professor's voice flew in through one ear and out the other. He had begun teaching and I was in no mood for it. My hands picked at a piece of lined paper, tearing it into small pieces in my binder.

Avery's words were running through my mind and I couldn't believe I never noticed how true they were. For lack of better words Hunter was a dick. And my mom liked him, that should have been enough of a hint.

He wouldn't let me ride on my motorcycle, keep my hair up, wear red lipstick and at events he always picked my outfit.

Liam's voice from next to me interrupted my thoughts, "The plaintiff is correct because according to the Privacy Act they had their personal information disclosed with third parties without their consent."

I rolled my eyes from the sound of his voice. Unfortunately, since both Liam and I were the last ones to arrive, there were only two seats left and they were right in front of the professor.

Now I had to listen to Liam's stupid voice. This was the third time he answered a question.

"Okay," the professor wore a satisfied smile on his face. He turned around to scribble something on the whiteboard behind him.

"Try hard," I coughed under my breath. "You're not the only one who did the pre-reading." I huffed. I had done it with Avery briefly the night before, but I hadn't expected that Liam would be one to show off. He was pretentious even in this life.

"Idiot," Liam shot back without hesitation. I eyed him from the corner of my eye, only to see a smug smile on his face. I gritted my teeth. There was no way I'd let him win.

"Is there a different way we can look at this?" the professor's voice echoed through the room and I turned my attention back to the front.

My hand shot up at the same time Liam's did. He gawked at me from his seat which I returned it with a toothy smile.

"The defendant actually consented when he signed the terms and conditions without reading it," I said all in one breath.

"Oh please, that's a novice's answer," Liam whispered in my ear. My shoulders tensed at that comment and I took a deep breath. It was the only way I could keep from strangling him.

"Excellent, just what I was looking for. That concludes our class for today," the professor beamed at fact that someone other than Liam actually participated.

"Tell that to the prof," I smirked at him.

"I'll need everyone to read the cases from pages 15- 50 for tomorrow's class. That's all," the professor continued from the front.

Immediately, the class erupted in the relieved voices of other students, mixed with groans about the amount we had to read tonight. I stood up to pack my binder and pen away.

Novice. I was anything but that. Here Liam was, acting arrogant and rude when he had no right to be. If anything I should be the one throwing insults — not him.

I brushed past Liam on my way to the door as I mentally prepared myself for my option class soon. I had chosen Anatomy and Physiology for the fun of it but now I was suddenly regretting it.

A pair of hands tugged on my backpack, pulling me backwards. I staggered back with a grunt. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Hey!" I snapped, glaring at Liam.

"I think you owe me an apology, Ophelia," his voice was low as he leaned in close to me, but there was still a smug look plastered all over his face. "For yesterday."

I swallowed hard, taking a step back to calm my racing heart. All of a sudden, my brain became muddled. He seemed satisfied at my reaction.

My eyes traveled to his jaw and sure enough there was a bruise on his face — an ugly shade of yellow and purple.

"Well, you should thank me. It suits you so well," I shot, holding back my laughter. My brain was finally working again.

"I don't know how you've got so much fire in you for such a tiny person," Liam shook his head, incredulously. "Two hundred years and the first thing you do when we see each other is this." He pointed at his bruise.

"I had an amazing life before meeting you again," I rolled my eyes.

"Likewise," he said without missing a beat. "Also, you're lucky I'm not pressing charges. After everything, that's at least what you deserve."

"You owe me," I eyed him, ignoring his confused expression as I walked out of the class, leaving him in the dust. Avery stood on the other side of the hall, holding a cup of coffee in her hand.

After everything, that punch was the least he deserved. I couldn't believe he could say that to me without blinking, after what he'd done to me. It was his fault that I'd lost everything two centuries ago.

"Why do you look so annoyed?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because of that guy," I nodded my head over to Liam as he walked by. Steam seemed to be escaping through his ears as he moved, his friend from yesterday chasing after him.

Avery's eyes widened, "Isn't that Liam, the one with the cake!"

I rolled my eyes, "Unfortunately."

"You're so lucky you have the same class as him," she squealed.

Yeah sure, if lucky meant that I had to be tormented by him every single day for the whole semester. Not only that, his presence constantly reminded me of what happened two centuries ago.

"I'd trade classes with you any day," I sighed.

Avery and I both had half an hour to waste before our next class. We walked in silence for a few moments when a switch flipped on in my brain.

"I know what to do, Avery," I glanced over at her, a solemn expression on my face.

"Huh?" she gave me a perplexed look.

"I'm going to try. I never cared much before but now I do," I started, but was only met with Avery's startled gaze. "If I can have the best GPA by the end of this semester, I can get an internship or a job at a law firm in the summer. I can make my own money!"

Resources meant power, and money was the most valuable resource.

"Why would you want to do that, you're loaded anyway. Well, your family is," Avery took a long sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, but it's not actually mine until I inherit it, and it also belongs to my brother," I explained. "My parents could cut me off at any moment and I'd be broke."

It sounded compelling to make my own money. That way, my mom couldn't use it as a threat if it really came down to it. She had been insufferable lately. I'd also have to act completely outrageous for my dad to want to punish me by cutting me off.

That didn't matter though, the notion was compelling regardless. I never had any of that in the 19th century.

"Hmm, that's actually smart," Avery pondered, gnawing at her lip. "But I could never be so motivated. I don't know if you have it in you, do you?"

"Yes," I said with conviction.

_________________________

"When have I ever been wrong?" Avery smirked at me from the mirror.

So, she was right.

It was a lot harder to stay motivated than I thought it would be. I guessed it was one of those things that were easier said than done. It had only been a week that had passed and I was losing it.

"Never," I groaned. "It's so hard with Liam there."

I ran the straightener through my last strand of hair as Avery touched up her face with a light powder. We were both getting ready for the event my parents were throwing for my nineteenth birthday.

Once again, they had taken the chance to invite their business associates over to talk, and I was expected to mingle. If they wanted to meet with their business partners they should do so in their own time instead of dragging me with them and using my birthday as an excuse.

"What do you mean it's hard with him there, it's hard in general," Avery sighed, placing her foundation back into her makeup kit.

"Well, we did our first quiz yesterday, and he got a hundred. I got an eighty-eight!" I threw my hands up in defeat and Avery's jaw dropped. "And I studied all night."

"Girl, I got a fifty-two on my first quiz this week," Avery shut her jaw and shrugged. "Given, I didn't really study for it. I was scrolling through Tinder."

"I'm not complaining that it's bad. It's just, Liam got a higher mark," I stormed out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. "He shoved his quiz in my face the first chance he got."

Avery muffled her laughter and I shot her a glare.

"I think Liam might like you, Thalia," Avery sat down on my bed, next to where I had laid out my outfit.

"That's unfortunate, for me," I began to take off my t-shirt to change.

Avery rolled her eyes, "Well, he's better than Hunter."

If only you knew, Avery. I thought to myself with a frown.

"I'll meet you downstairs in a few, my parents will be here soon," Avery got up from my bed and straightened her dress — a beautiful pink cocktail dress. I nodded and within the next second she was shutting my bedroom door behind her.

I eyed my own dress I had laid out on my bed. It was plain black, particularly long and conservative as it had a high neckline and the hem reached my shins.

Hunter had picked it out from my closet a couple days ago. After the whole fiasco with my motorcycle, Hunter apologized and genuinely seemed remorseful. A large part of me objected to it but for my mom's sake, I forgave him.

I didn't want to lie, it was a hideous dress. My mom had gotten it for me a couple years ago but I'd never actually worn it.

Without dwelling on it another second, I picked up the black dress and tossed it on the floor in my closet. I didn't even want to imagine how furious Hunter would be, but I could not care less. This was my life, not his.

I scoured through my closet, looking over dress after dress until one finally caught my eye. Quickly, I slipped it on and glanced in the mirror. It was a shoulder-less purple cocktail dress that hugged my waist and flared out, the hem ending right above my knees.

A small smile spread over my lips. It was my birthday after all, and if I was forced to attend this stupid event at least I could choose my outfit. No more long dresses and gowns. Maybe Liam would like it too, not that I cared what he thought.

I slipped on a pair of silver pumps on my way out of my bedroom and shut the door behind me.

My home was large, with 6 bedrooms, a kitchen, a family room and also a living room where all the guests would be. The living room was the largest in the house after all.

I made my way down the stairs, clutching the railing so I wouldn't fall face flat in my heels.

Before I'd even made it all the way down, I spotted Hunter at the bottom with his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw tense.

He was furious with me.

★★★

𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 <3

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑖𝑎𝑚'𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝? 𝐴𝑛𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑜?

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝐻𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜?

~𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡