Chapter 20 : Dangerous Man (2)

This man! He is dangerous!

As I hastily stood up from my seat, I took a few steps backward to keep some distance from Mr. Gilbert. He appeared amused seeing me so agitated. We were just standing there while observing each other.

With the corner of my eyes, I glanced at the door on my left side. Good, the coast is clear. I could dash out of the room if necessary. In fact, I should've done that in the first place. My bad premonition came true as always.

"What's wrong? What are you afraid of? You look at me like I was some kind of monster."

Mr. Gilbert's light voice interrupted my train of thought. He was standing a few steps away from me, and I was ready to run out anytime if he tried to do funny business with me.

Mr. Gilbert chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't eat you. I said it before, right? I thought highly of you." He said as he started to move towards me.

I glared at him while stretching my hand forward. "Don't come any closer."

He smiled while spreading his hand as if beckoning to come closer. Oh god, he is so creepy!

"Why so much hostility towards me? I am on your side, Williams. In this school, I am the only one who will stand by your side."

What a load of crap. This school was hell and will always be like that as long as it's filled with people like him. He was trying to take advantage of my weakness to coax me, so I will act following his bidding. My foremost weakness is that I'm alone, with no guardian to protect me. He knew that well, and constantly tried to pressure me like this. This was the reason why Mr. Gilbert irked me the most among all teachers.

It's not like he cared about me, so why pretend to be one? Disgusting.

I stared at him sharply as I replied. "I appreciate the thought but I can deal with it myself, thank you very much."

"Now, don't say that. You'll need me eventually. If you want to continue your study, that is."

I narrowed my eyes while slowly moving my body so I could come closer to the door. "What do you mean?"

"I am sorry to burst your bubble, but unfortunately your matter won't be solved just by a simple apology. You see, you have angered the wrong people, and they will do anything to drag you down."

My brows twitched. I knew that I'd be held responsible despite me being in the wrong or not. It's always like that, so I was not surprised anymore.

"So what will the Michelson family do to me? Are they going to pressure the school board to expel me?"

Mr. Gilbert showed me a creepy grin. "You read the situation well. I am so proud of you Williams."

I ignored his last sentence and continued asking him questions. He already knew my true color after all. There was no need for me to keep pretending to be weak. "But how could the school board allow that? If they can expel me that easily, they must have done that since long ago."

"See, this is your problem. You are smart and observant, but still too naive. You are still not aware of how a person can stoop so low just to torment other people."

I couldn't form a rebuttal on that. He was telling the truth. In this world, there are always some people who take pleasure in tormenting others just to make themselves feel better. It doesn't matter if the other person was innocent or not, they won't hesitate to harass them, because they knew those people were helpless against the powerful one.

It doesn't have anything to do with conscience or common sense. It's just a simple law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.

"Deliberate or not, it's the fact that you have injured the Second Young Master of Michelson family. They are furious and they are trying to pressure the school board as we speak right now. While it's true that the school board is hesitant to expel you, you don't really think they'd protect you, right? Why should they risk offending such a powerful family just for an orphan like you?"

"This is not the first case of a powerful family dissatisfied with me being here. So why only now?"

Mr. Gilbert chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe the school board decided you are indeed a bad influence for the others seeing how you brazenly defied a teacher yesterday."

I pressed my lips into a thin line as I scolded myself inwardly. I kinda regret my action too. I should've known better than to offend a teacher. If it's just a simple conflict between two students, the school might be more lenient to me, but now that I gave them a chance to rain me with criticism, it'd be hard for me to restore it.

I was deep in my thought, I didn't realize Mr. Gilbert had approached and was currently standing in front of me. I jumped in surprise and hastily tried to put some distance between us. In a split second, Mr. Gilbert grabbed my shoulder tightly while pushing me backward. I almost yelped in pain when my back was slammed against the wall as he pressed my shoulder against it.

My heart was thumping loudly in my chest, and I lost my breath for a second. For the first time in a while, I was so shocked and scared by his sudden aggressiveness. I busily chanted a mantra inside my head to calm myself down. My fear threatened to consume me, but I stubbornly refused to give in.

I gritted my teeth as if to harden myself. I looked up and almost cowering when my eyes were met with his predatory one.

"What are you doing? Please keep your hands off me!" I tried to make my voice to sound tougher, but it came out like a whimper instead. I felt so pathetic.

Mr. Gilbert laughed at my pitiful attempt to resist. He was so close I could even feel the vibration of his laugh. "Are you scared? You were running your mouth so smartly before, where did all that courage go?" His tone was dripping with mockery and sarcasm.

"Please put some distance, Mr. Gilbert! No matter what, you can't treat your students like this!"

He leaned down on me, so his mouth was right beside my ears. I flinched at the proximity. By this point, I was trembling uncontrollably.

"You don't like this? Not even when I tell you I could help you with your dilemma? With a suitable price, of course."

In the next moment, he was caressing my shoulder with his thumb. I was disgusted to the point I never had before. However at that time, rather than his action, I unknowingly focused more on his deep voice, which struck some nerves inside me. I didn't know why, but all of a sudden, a series of events flashed inside my head in a second, reminding me of memories where I felt the most vulnerable.

Panic-stricken, I didn't think before unconsciously used both of my hands to push him away as hard as I could. "I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Mr. Gilbert, who was caught in surprise with my sudden outburst, couldn't keep his balance. I pushed him so violently he was practically thrown backward. His back was slammed hard against the desk.

For a moment, I was relieved since he was far away from me now. However, in the next second, his face darkened and he glared at me furiously. "How dare you push me away?" He said in a low and threatening voice. His aura thickened with animosity.

I didn't even spare any time to think, my feet moved on their own as the danger level reached its peak. Instinctively, I perceived that this situation was already out of control, and I needed to make a run from it. I frantically reached out to the doorknob, when he grabbed my hair and tugged me hard backward, sending me half flying to the couch near the door.

"Disobedient and ungrateful girl like you deserved to be punished!"

THUMP

At that time, it was as if time had stopped. There was no sound and light. There was only… darkness.