Fated to My Twin Brother

CHAPTER 11

Hannah's P.O.V

Stood there, in the hall, thinking. The corridors of university were quiet and seemed to be creaking under their own weight; no stir of students and professors moved to take their rightful seats, only a soft stirring of the fluorescent lights above. Today was different, heavier, like storm brewing and I walked right into it.

I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be walking toward Dr. Philip's office, but here I was, my feet moving me closer to something that I really couldn't avoid.

As I reached just outside his office, a voice suddenly called out behind me.

"Hannah!"

I turned on my heel to see Sonia—a fellow student, passed on campus to whom I'd never really spoken. She was always keeping to herself, and most of the students avoided her, but there seemed to be something in her face today. She had desperation; urgency, which couldn't be ignored.

Sonia was hurrying towards me, her eyes slid furtively round the vacant hall as if she feared being noticed.

"I must speak to you," she panted.

I hesitated. "Now? I'm on my way to see Dr. Philip"

She drew in a frightened breath. Her eyes shot to mine and flew wide with panic as she touched my arm and yanked me back away from the door. "This is why I want to talk to you. Please listen.”

I glanced across the door to Dr. Philip's office and felt my stomach twist. I did not want to go in anyway. Maybe whatever Sonia had to say would make me stall for as long as possible.

"Okay," I said slowly. "What's it?"

Sonia took a shaky breath, peeking around her shoulder once again before speaking in barely above a whisper. "Don't go to that office, Hannah. Whatever you do, don't ever go near him."

My heart stopped. "What? Why?"

She pressed her lip into her mouth now, her anxiety somehow worse than before. "Because he's dangerous. You. you saw something, didn't you? You saw what he did."

I felt as though a sizable glob in my throat was going to obstruct my breathing as I thought about the horrible scene I had recently witnessed-the way that Dr. Philip treated her like some useless, discarded piece of trash. My skin crawled thinking about it, and my throat was welling up with bile.

"I. I did," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "But Sonia, we can't let him get away with it. We have to report him."

Her face twisted in pain, and she shook her head violently. "No! You don't understand. It's not that simple."

"How is it not simple?" I demanded, my voice rising in frustration. "He's abusing his power. He's hurting you!"

"I know!" she snapped, her voice breaking. "But I need this, Hannah. I need the rank he's offering. I can't afford to make enemies here. I. I don't have the luxury of refusing him."

Words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stare, speechless, at her. And in her eyes, desperation sparks, one that told me everything-no way out, no choice; she has to bear whatever Dr. Philip throws at her as the system has trapped her.

"Sonia," I whispered softly, my heart aching for her, "You don't have to do that. There's another way."

She shook her head once more, speaking barely above a whisper. "You don't get it, Hannah. There is no other way for someone like me. I'm an omega. I don't have the same opportunities. I can't risk everything by going against someone like him."

I wanted to argue, scream at the unfairness of it all, but I could tell Sonia had already made up her mind. She had thrown in the towel, and it was slowly killing her.

She pulled my arm out from under hers and took a half-step backward. "Just. don't say anything, okay? Don't tell anyone what you saw. Please."

I swallowed hard. On one hand, was there the overwhelming desire to help her, and on the other hand, was there the poison that fastened her. "I. I don't know if I can do that, Sonia."

Tears welled up in her eyes and for a moment, she looked like she would crack apart. She pulled herself together though, rubbing the tears away nervously.

"Well," she whispered. "But you better be careful, Hannah. Dr. Philip is definitely not someone you want to mess with."

And with that, she walks away, the echoes of her footsteps down the empty hallway till she is out of sight.

I stand there, trying to put it all together in my mind, my heart pounding in my chest, fear now a full-blown panic. What am I walking into?

Deep breath. I tried to start moving forward. Too late now to turn back. I was already too far in. All I had to do was keep my wits about me, stay focused and get out of that office as quickly as I could.

Final glance over my shoulder towards the hallway where Sonia vanished, I turned my attention back to the door of Dr. Philip's office and pushed it open.

---

Immediately, I had a sense of change in the air. Dr. Philip sat at his desk in his office opening a folder full of papers. He drew attention when he spotted my presence in the room and flashed that same macabre grin that showed earlier across his face; a face that made me want to crawl away in my skin.

"Hannah, good to see you," he said, smoothly standing up from his chair. "Come in. Have a seat."

I swallowed hard and started walking toward the chair he motioned to. The room was eerily silent except for the ticking away of a clock on the wall. Windows were closed, so stale air filled the room, and I actually felt myself begin to suffocate.

He walked around his desk, his eyes glued to me. There was something predatory in the way he looked at me, sizing me up, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

"You know," he said, leaning over his desk. "I never see such beauty like you in this University.”

His words dripped with poison. He'd said them, and they crawled under my skin, wanting me to recoil. Yet I remained calm, not giving him the glimpse of the fear that bubbled just below the surface.

"Thank you," I muttered, barely trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.

Dr. Philip stepped forward, and I was leaning back in the chair as if my hands were somehow keeping some sort of foundation. He was getting too close.

"I think you could do well," he said, low and almost. seductive. "But you need the right kind of support. Someone who can help guide you through the complexities of this university."

I could barely breathe. His words were charged full of implication, and I knew exactly what he was saying to me. I wanted to run, scream, do anything but sit there and listen to him. But I was frozen in place, a victim of fear. At least, the possibility of what would happen if I moved kept me from it.

All of a sudden the door suddenly swung open with a loud bang. There, slumped in the doorway, heaved Hadzen against the door frame, his chest palpitating furiously, his eyes wild with rage. 'Hannah!' His voice was a lifeline pulling me out of the fog of fear which had settled over me.

Dr. Philip rounded at him, unruffled, but his eyes narrowed into annoyance. 'Hadzen, this is a private meeting-

Before he could get the words out, Hadzen burst across the room and punched Dr. Philip in the face. He felt like a sledgehammer. The impact was brutal as the professor sprawled to the floor, blood dripping from his nose.

"Don't you ever touch her," Hadzen growled, standing over the professor with his fists clenched. "You sick bastard."

Grabbing his nose and groaning as he sat up, the rest was not over for Dr. Philip since Hadzen grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the ground to bang him into the wall.

“Hadzen?” Dr Philip trembled and his reaction changed. He looks scared.

“I don't want to see your face again here. Now f**k off and leave the University before I hunt you down and ripped you apart.” Hadzen's eyes are full of anger.

“I didn't do anything to her!” Dr. philip.

“Not yet, you bastard. Don't wait to be kicked here. You think you can get away with this?" snarled Hadzen. "You think you can just abuse your power and no one will stop you?”

The man spat onto the floor, blood, full of rage and agony. "You will regret this," he spat at the two of them. "You have no idea who you're playing with. You might be Alph son but you can't just throw me like trash!”

Hadzen didn't blink an eye. "Neither do you."

He let go of Dr. Philip, letting him spill to the floor and turned to me, softening his expression. "Oh, Hannah. We're getting out of here.”

I nodded, still in a trance, and followed Hadzen out of the office. My head was spinning, my body quivering from the rush of adrenaline. I had just barely escaped something awful, and Hadzen had saved me.

But as we walked away from the office, I couldn't help but feel that this wasn't over. Dr. Philip was dangerous, and he wouldn't let this go so easily.