So that was how I came to this point in my life.

Turning back to the textbook, I flipped a page, and continued to write furiously.

"Caitrin?"

My stomach instantly churned at the sound of the voice. In the past I would have melted into a puddle at the sound of his calm accent, originating from somewhere on the east coast with a hint of something else that I couldn't quite place, and there was a time when I had. Now it only made me sick and angry to hear it. Looking up, it only made me feel worse that he could still make my heart race.

Aidan Breaux was one of the few people in the world that I could say I genuinely hated. His blond hair annoyed me, I always thought it made him look like some sort of a preppy jock, which he was. His blue eyes made me loose my concentration every time I saw him, and he was so handsome that it made me gag. Aidan was the son of some upper-crust family in Maine, and he probably slept in a bedroom that my apartment could fit easily into. He was self-centered, egotistical, son of a bitch who was disconnected from reality.

The real catcher was that he was still the same arrogant, self-centered jerk who I was in love with. Glaring at him, I turned back to my book to scribble another note, and prayed that he would go away.

"Come on, Caitrin, I-"

I slammed my textbook shut, and scooped everything into my bag, "No. Go away, Breaux. Leave me alone."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Caitrin, please, listen to me. It was a misunderstanding, I told you I love you and I-"

I raised a hand in the air, and brought it down on his cheek.

Truthfully, I hadn't meant to slap him. I had never really been a violent person. All I wanted was for him to go away and leave me alone. Just seeing him made me feel like my heart was being ripped from my chest.

His eyes slowly lifted to look up at him. I didn't realize that there were tears streaming down my face, I refused to cry in front of him.

"Were you really engaged to her?"

"It wasn't-"

"Tell me!"

Aidan was quiet for a moment, and then whispered, "Yes."

It was so soft that I could barely hear him.

"I'm done. Stay the hell away from me, you son of a bitch."

He flinched at my icy tone as I away from him.

Emillia and Lucian stared back at me sadly in the hallway as I stormed out of the library. I used all of my energy to smile grimly back at them, which was all I could do instead of screaming and pulling all of my hair out.

"You knew, did you?" I asked, "You all knew about this. That he was engaged to Taylor Jacobson, and none of you told me."

Emillia looked away from me, tears filling her eyes. Lucian was much more brave, and stepped forward to me, "We did."

I shrugged, "I thought so. At least you're honest about it."

"It's not what you think, Caitrin."

"Not what I think?" I chuckled, not really sure why I suddenly felt like laughing, "Lucian, I think it's a little late for that now. I'm going home. Since I can't go to classes anymore, I might as well not even bother staying here."

Emillia reached a hand towards me, "Cate-"

"Don't touch me!" I roared. An odd silence filled the hallway, and I looked away from her, "Just please, leave me alone."

Lucian and Emillia watched as I marched down the hallway away from them, happier than ever to get away. All I wanted was to go home and cry and be away from reality.

Three days later, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Today was the day of my job interview, or rather, was originally supposed to be the day of my job interview. I looked at my alarm clock to see that the time read 8:30 am.

My interview was in a half an hour.

On the day I had broken up with Aidan, the last day I had even bothered to go to school, I had called Kyber, Black, & Breaux and canceled my interview. It hadn't mattered, I had three other firms that had accepted my applications. They may not have all had the same prestige, but they still paid well and offered plenty experience. But, since I was currently suspended thanks to a system of connections that I had no control over, I would be unable to graduate and get a job anyway.

What would I do if I couldn't graduate? Traveling may be nice. I had always wanted to go overseas and see something I had never seen before.

The phone rang.

Normally I would check the ID to see who it was, but today I could bring myself to care. If it was anyone I didn't want to talk to, I would just hang up on them. Big deal.

I picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"You have thirty minutes to get into my office or I will be sending one of the security officers to come to your house and drag you here."

The deep voice on the other line pulled instant recognizance into my head. No one would ever forget that voice.

"Mr. Breaux," I spoke, unnerved that Adian's father had called me from his office, "I canceled my interview. I apologize if you weren't informed."

"I uncanceled it. You now have twenty-nine minutes and fifty-five seconds."

"Mr. Breaux-"

"Twenty-nine minutes and fifty-three seconds."

He hung up.

I lay in bed, listening to the dial tone. There was no doubt in my mind that he would follow through with his threat. With the time given, there was no way I could get get cleaned up and get to the office. Pulling myself out of bed, I pulled on a pair of jeans that had been tossed on a chair the night before, and then slipped a hooded sweatshirt over my tank top.

I was going to an interview with one of the top corporate law firms in the country wearing a college sweatshirt, and the jeans I had worn the night before. My purse sat on the table next to the front door. I pulled it onto my shoulder, and left.

I walked into the front lobby with one minute and twenty-three seconds to spare, slightly impressed and disappointed at the same time. Maybe if I had been late, people would have just left me alone.

The secretary's eyes grew wide as I walked up to her desk. She was dressed impeccably in a dark suit, with elegantly maintained nails, and earrings that were worth the monthly rent on my apartment. For a moment I thought she was going to call security on me, which I didn't really blame her before. I probably looked like a nutcase.

"Name please?" she asked.

"Caitrin Frakes," I said, "I have an appointment."

"Of course," she replied, standing up, "This way."

I followed her down the hallway, where she proceeded to know on one of the doors. It was glass plated, with a name and title on the front that proclaimed it to be Nikolas Breaux's office. When she knocked, a gruff 'come in' was barked on the other side of the door. She tried to give me an encouraging smile when I went in, probably thinking that I might as well have been walking to my execution.

Nik was standing at the window, staring out at the city below. There were multiple branches of this particular firm, but that didn't make his office or the building any less pleasing. It was a beautiful office, that was the only way I could describe it.

"Please explain to me why you canceled your interview."

From the tone in his voice, I knew that it was a statement and not a question. He wasn't looking for questions or calm explanations, Nikolas was ordering me to tell him why I canceled. I began to have a feeling that there was more to this than a botched job interview.

"Perhaps because I was suspended from school," I said, "Perhaps because I currently won't be able to graduate in time, nor will I be able to order any of my transcripts," I then looked away, "Perhaps because your son neglected to tell me he was engaged to the same woman who's been tormenting me for four years."

"Jacobson," Nik murmured, followed by a curse. He finally turned to me, "I am sorry."

I said nothing to him.

Nik took it upon himself to explain, "The Jacobsons sent a proposal to Elsa and I a month ago. Aidan turned their daughter down."

My eyes narrowed, "Then, why-"

"Jule Jacobson thinks he can bully Aidan into leading his firm. It's declining, and he knows that if Aidan inherits a position here, Jacobson's firm wouldn't last another year," he explained, "Taylor has always chased Aidan around, has asked him to marry her five times now. They were briefly arranged into a marriage when they were young, but it was broken off the moment Elsa and I concluded that we couldn't stand the Jacobsons for longer than a minute."

I stifled a smile.

There was a sad smile on Nik's face, "There has been a misunderstanding," he told me, "Aidan can't be engaged to her anyway."

"Why not?"

His face changed to a sheepish expression, "It's supposed to be a secret."

I sighed, "Well, I'll talk to Aidan about it eventually. Right now I just don't feel like stressing about it. I'm going home for a little while," I glanced up at him, "Please don't tell Aidan where I am."

Nik shrugged, "You canceled your interview. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lawyers," I chuckled, I headed towards the door. Part of me felt slightly better, "Thanks, Nik."

"Make sure to reschedule your interview," Nik called out to me, taking a sip of the coffee on his desk. I stopped at glanced back at him, and there was a deadly serious look on his face, "You look like you may have caught the flu, Miss Frakes. I'm not surprised, there seems to be something going around. I expect you to speak the the secretary about a new time on your way out."

Staring at Nik a moment, I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Of course, sir."