Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

"Why didn't you come home for my birthday? And who's this guy? Are you dating someone at school now?"

Scarlette was totally blindsided, the questions hitting her all at once. She just stood there, stunned.

"How long have you been waiting out here? You're soaked! What if you get sick? Where's the driver?"

Nicholas sniffled, wiping his nose. "I ran here by myself. Ah-choo..."

Scarlette shot an apologetic look at her classmate. "Sorry, can we talk about this tomorrow? Do you mind if I borrow your umbrella? I'm really sorry."

The boy glanced over at Nicholas, feeling a little uneasy. There was something way too possessive about the way the kid clung to Scarlette. And honestly, he got this weird, hostile vibe from him. But Nicholas was her brother, after all. He liked Scarlette, so naturally he wanted to be nice to her little brother too.

"Sure. See you tomorrow," he said.

Scarlette slipped off her jacket and wrapped it around Nicholas, then took his hand.

"How could you just run over here by yourself? Didn't the driver come with you? Never mind, let's get you upstairs to change. You'll have to wear my clothes for now."

Her class was the honors class, so even at this hour, most people were still in the classroom working through practice tests.

She brought Nicholas into her dorm, grabbed some of her clothes, and started helping him change.

But Nicholas clung tightly to his wet shirt, refusing to let go.

Scarlette couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, fine. Change by yourself, alright?"

He nodded and quickly swapped his wet clothes for hers.

Back then, Scarlette was so much taller than him—tall, slim, fair-skinned, and just so pretty. That was all Nicholas could think: Scarlette was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Her clothes smelled faintly sweet, and it made him strangely embarrassed. For the first time, he felt a weird mix of shame and nervousness.

Scarlette noticed him standing there, head down, the tips of his ears bright red. She gently cupped his face and pressed her forehead to his.

"Nick, you're burning up. Are you getting sick?"

Nicholas's mind went totally blank. In that moment, he didn't dare think about anything at all.

Scarlette grabbed his hand, checked in with the dorm matron, and

popped open the umbrella to tone

whe

him back to the Greenard family's place.

The walk was long. Rain drummed on the umbrella, filling the world with that steady patter. To Nicholas it felt like everything around him was turning upside down.

When they reached the school gate, the Greenard family driver was already

waiting. He looked so relieved to see them.

"Thank goodness. Miss, your

mother's called you a ton of

times you didn't answer. And young master here ran off without telling anyone. We were all worried sick, searching everywhere."

Scarlette apologized, opened the car door, and got in with Nicholas.

As soon as they sat down, she started scolding him. "What if somethingnoveldrama

happened to you on the way, Nick? Don't ever do that again."

The driver, overhearing her stern voice, tried to defend Nicholas.

"He's still a kid, Miss. It's normal to be impulsive at his age. But honestly, you should really keep your phone with you."

Scarlette dropped her gaze and quietly grabbed a towel to dry Nicholas's hair.

Nicholas couldn't stop watching her; she looked beautiful no matter what she was doing.

"Hey, can we take a picture together? It's my birthday tonight, and you didn't even get me a present, did you?"

Scarlette looked at the camera and smiled.

And that's how they ended up with that photo-Nicholas still wearing her clothes.

Snapping back out of the memory, Nicholas heard the sound of typing nearby and leaned closer.

"Still working, sis?"

He rested his head on her shoulder, feeling completely content.

Yeah, being grown up was pretty great.