Girl Possessed (Book 1 of The Girl Trilogy) by Reussie Miliardario

for me. It
wasn’t possible and I knew it was just my mind playing tricks on
me. A boy as good looking and charismatic as he was wouldn’t like a
humpback like me.
    “ Cordellia.” His expression
was amused as he pointed at my face. “You have something on your
nose.”
    I blushed, now feeling even angrier in
my humiliation. I brushed the tip of my nose with my finger. “Any
better?” I asked in an indignant tone.
    “ Yeah.” He
smirked.
    I stood there awkwardly wondering if I
should leave, but unable to get myself to walk away from this
gorgeous boy who consumed my thoughts even when I hated
him.
    “ What do you want from
me?”
    “ I don’t know.” His stare
was more intense now. “That’s the problem.”
    I felt like his eyes were boring into
me. I wanted to touch his perfect face and this infuriated me even
more.
    “ I can’t stay away from you
anymore, Cordellia. I just can’t.”
    “ Then why do you?” I
responded in a frustrated tone.
    “ You should stay away from
me though.” He squeezed his eyelids shut.
    “ I don’t understand you.” I
shook my head. “Why did you bring me here if you want me to avoid
you? Am I so repulsive to you that you can’t have me as a
friend?”
    “ Friend?” He laughed.
“You’re not my friend, Cordellia.”
    “ Thanks a lot.” I turned to
the tree beside me and leaned against it. My emotions were such a
jumble that I wanted to cry, but I was way too proud to do that in
front of him. I was too embarrassed to ask him about what Jezebel
told me.
    “ I’m not a good friend for
you,” he mumbled as if he was trying to convince the both of
us.
    It took everything within me to gather
my strength, but with that, I walked away.
    “ Wait.” He climbed off the
boulder and chased after me. When he caught up to me, he placed his
hand on my shoulder.
    Electricity shot up though my body. I
turned to him and looked at his face. Our bodies were close enough
that I could feel his breath on me.
    “ I shouldn’t have brought
you here,” he whispered. His musical voice was genuine.
    “ I don’t understand you. I
really don’t. Nothing you do or say makes any sense to
me.”
    “ I wasn’t expecting to feel
the way I feel.” He grasped his head in his hands and turned away
brooding. “Run away from this place, Cordellia.” He faced me now,
terror in his eyes. “Run as fast as you can.” He turned and ran
through the woods toward the boundary line.
    “ Wait, Shaul,” I screamed.
“Wait.” I ran after him, pleading with him, but I was too late. He
had already crossed the boundary.
     
    9
    I stood there at the edge of the woods
as Shaul climbed over the side of the cliff and down the mountain.
My heart beat so fast that I thought it was going to explode out of
my chest.
    How could I stop him? If I yelled out
to him anymore, someone else might hear me and discover that Shaul
had crossed the boundary line. But, I had to stop him. If he got
caught, he would be imprisoned for life. Or even worse the serpent
people might spot him with their military air scouts that flew over
the lake below.
    I couldn’t let that happen to him; I
just couldn’t. Even if it was true what Jezebel said, I couldn’t
let him destroy his life. I paced back and forth for a few minutes
trying to figure out what to do.
    The music got louder and louder in my
mind. It was calling me. The force was greater than it had ever
been.
    And Shaul was in danger. He had saved
my life once before. And he had saved my mother’s life. I owed him;
I had to stop him.
    No—he had betrayed me. He said ugly
things about me to girls I hardly knew. It would be foolish to risk
my life for someone so horrible despite my intensely desirous
feelings for him.
    I turned away from the cliff and
started running back toward the community. It took all of the
self-control I could draw up in my mind to turn my back on Shaul
and go the other way. It was his fault, I reasoned, and I had to
let him go.
    But, then the music