Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 262: A slap in the face

Seraphina’s POV

The second Iris started walking toward me, I felt my stomach tighten. Just like yesterday, she was making a beeline for the empty seat beside mine—like we were friends or something. My instincts screamed, Move. Do something.

I didn’t want to be rude, but I had reached my limit, and I didn’t owe her politeness. At least, not anymore.

I grabbed my bag, yanked it off the floor, and slammed it on the desk with a little more force than I intended. "Don’t sit here," I said, keeping my tone calm but stern. "Sit somewhere else, Iris. I don’t feel comfortable with you beside me."

I expected her to be confused or maybe embarrassed, but instead, Iris smirked—smirked—and tilted her head like I was some amusing spectacle.

"There are only two empty seats in this class," she said sweetly, almost mockingly. "I’ve already been sitting here since I arrived, and it’s not against the rules, is it?"

I clenched my jaw. "That’s exactly the problem," I said, louder this time. "You’re a creep who doesn’t stop staring, you whisper to yourself like a psychopath, and you ask weird questions. I’ve been ignoring it, but I’m done pretending it doesn’t make my skin crawl."

That did it.

Heads turned, and I immediately started to feel the intensity of nearly everyone’s eyes on me with students looking over their shoulders or peeking from behind open textbooks, trying not to be too obvious.

No one had ever heard me raise my voice before—especially not like this.

Iris, unbothered, looked around as if acknowledging the silent audience. Then, slowly, she turned back to me. "You’re upset," she said softly, her expression unreadable. "That’s fair, but is it really me you’re upset with... or yourself? Because I see no reason you should be upset with me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped. My pulse quickened, and I could feel my cheeks burning. Not just from anger, but from the way she said it—like she knew something about me that I didn’t.

Iris shrugged. "Nothing. Just a theory."

"Then keep your theories to yourself, you dumb bitch!" I snapped again, louder now. "I want you to move. There’s a seat across the room, so take it while I’m asking nicely."

"Doesn’t sound nice," she said quietly. "Sounds scared."

I stood up before I could stop myself, the chair scraping loudly behind me. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, but I prayed they wouldn’t come now. Not when I was standing like I was about to leap across the desk.

"I’m not scared of you," I said through gritted teeth. "I just want my space. So respect it."

For the first time, something in Iris’s face changed. The smugness fell, if only slightly, and something sharper—colder—slid into her eyes. Not quite anger, but awareness.

She studied me, her blue eyes locked on mine like she was looking straight into my thoughts. Then, she nodded once.

"Fine," she said quietly, and picked up her bag. She turned and made her way to the other side of the class, sliding into the seat beside the window without saying another word.

I stayed standing for a few seconds, breathing hard. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d gotten, how tight my hands were clenched at my sides. Slowly, I sat down. No one said anything—not to me, at least—but I could hear the whispers starting in small clusters around the room.

"She just snapped at the new girl."

"What was that about?"

"Seraphina’s never like that..."

I lowered my head and stared at the textbook in front of me, trying to calm my racing heart. This wasn’t like me. I didn’t make scenes. I didn’t get into confrontations, but Iris... Iris wasn’t a sane person in the slightest.

There was something off about the girl, something that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t just the way she looked at me—it was how she acted like she knew too much and how she carried herself like she’d already won a game I didn’t even know we were playing.

She was a sick individual, and I’d rather not deal with any psychopaths until after my exams at least.

***

I’d left class with a single intention in mind: find somewhere quiet, preferably away from people, and try to cram some actual knowledge into my brain before my midterms arrived.

It was lunchtime at the moment, but I wasn’t hungry. All I wanted was some peace and quiet—somewhere I could breathe without eyes following my every move.

I didn’t want to sit with anyone, and I also didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to be alone and maybe bury myself in textbooks to distract my mind.

My steps were quiet as I left the classroom. I didn’t even look back. I knew there were still eyes watching me after what had happened that morning.

The tension with Iris had been suffocating enough to choke on, and now that I’d finally said something—actually stood up for myself—I figured maybe, just maybe, she’d get the hint and back off, but of course, I wasn’t that lucky.

I hadn’t gone far when I felt it—that weird, nagging sense that someone was behind me. My pace slowed a little, and I was just about to turn around when I heard my name.

"Seraphina."

I didn’t have time to react. Didn’t have time to think. The second I turned, a sharp sting exploded across my cheek, followed by the loudest crack I’d ever heard in my life.

My body stumbled back, more out of shock than the actual force of the slap. My hand flew up to my face instinctively, and for a second, I just stood there, stunned. My eyes were wide, and my lips parted in horror.

"What the hell?" I finally managed to breathe out, blinking in disbelief.

And there she was. Iris, standing in front of me and smirking like she’d just won a prize. Her red hair framed her face, and those icy blue eyes of hers held nothing but satisfaction. Like hurting me had actually made her feel good.

"That’s for calling me a stupid bitch," she said as though it were the most reasonable explanation in the world.

And I couldn’t even speak, as I was still trying to process what just happened. A few students nearby stopped walking and started staring, whispering under their breaths.

Great. More attention. Just what I needed.

Read 𝓁atest chapters at fr(e)ewebnov𝒆l.com Only