Chapter 105. Not Found

Chapter 105: Chapter 105. Not Found

Chapter 105. Not Found

Rosa stared at Mac’s outstretched hands, her eyebrows drawing together in complete and utter disbelief. Her brain was already fried from everything that had happened since last night, and this absurd gesture was only pushing her closer to the edge.

"What are you doing, Mac?" Rosa asked, staring at his hands as if he were offering her a handful of poison.

"I’m trying to help you," Mac said, keeping his hands open toward her with a smooth, disarming smile. "Your bag looks heavy, Rosa. Let me carry it for you to your class."

Rosa scrutinised his face, searching for the catch. It was beyond weird that he was suddenly acting like a chivalrous gentleman. Her mind couldn’t put two and two together to make sense of it. Was this another stupid trick? Was he trying to set her up for another round of humiliation?

"No, thank you," Rosa said flatly, pulling her backpack straps tighter against her chest. "I can carry my own bag."

She shifted her weight, attempting to step around him, but Mac smoothly sidestepped to block her path again.

"Come on, Rosa, don’t be like that," Mac insisted, his tone light and playful. "I’m just offering a helping hand. You look completely exhausted today. You should at least accept it."

"And I told you I don’t want to," Rosa shot back, her patience wearing paper-thin. "Just let me pass, Mac."

"Hey, don’t worry about it!" Mac said, waving off her refusal with a casual flick of his wrist. "It’s really no big deal. I’m going in the same direction anyway."

Rosa stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she glared at him. "Why are you suddenly doing this?"

"Doing what?" Mac asked, playing innocent.

"This!" Rosa gestured vaguely between the two of them. "This whole helpful, caring guy act! It’s weird, Mac. Extremely weird."

"There’s nothing wrong with a guy being nice to a girl," Mac countered, shrugging his shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Why does everything have to be a big mystery with you?"

"Because you’re not a nice guy!" Rosa snapped, her voice echoing off the concrete walls of the entrance.

She felt a throbbing headache blooming behind her temples. So many overwhelming things were crashing down on her all at once—Don’s glowing tattoos, his cold dismissal in the car, Mia’s chaotic questioning—and now Mac was standing here talking absolute nonsense. She genuinely felt like she was going to lose her mind if she had to stand here for another second.

"I am going to class," Rosa said, trying to push past his shoulder again.

Mac reached out and stepped firmly into her space, stopping her once more. "Rosa, wait—"

"Stop it, Mac! Just stop!" Rosa called him out, her voice sharp and dripping with intense annoyance.

Mac froze, his hands hovering in mid-air as he took in the sheer anger flashing across her pale face.

"Quit pretending," Rosa spat, stepping right into his face with a fierce glare. "Just stop acting like you suddenly care about me or my heavy bag. I know your true nature, Mac. I know exactly who you are under this stupid, fake smile. Watching you try to act like a sweet, protective friend is just pathetic."

Her words slammed into him like a physical blow.

Something inside Mac seemed to crack. The smooth, charming mask he usually wore shattered instantly. His facial expression broke, his mouth opening slightly as his confident posture collapsed. He stood there trembling slightly, his jaw working as if he were desperately trying to control a wave of dark, violent frustration bubbling up beneath his skin.

Rosa didn’t wait to see if he would recover. She scoffed bitterly, side stepped him, and began walking quickly down the corridor.

"Rosa, wait!" Mac called out, his voice laced with a sudden, desperate edge.

She didn’t stop. She kept walking, her sneakers squeaking against the polished floorboards.

"What is your true relationship with Don?!" Mac yelled after her.

The question hit Rosa like a bucket of ice water. She halted her footsteps, a wave of sheer confusion washing over her mind.

What? she thought, her brow furrowing deeply. Why the hell is he asking about Don now?

She felt a sharp spike in her head, her brain absolutely refusing to process Mac’s strange obsession. Slowly, Rosa turned her head back to look over her shoulder.

Mac was standing a few paces away, his face pale, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. He looked genuinely tormented, staring at her with a desperate, demanding gaze.

"Are you serious right now?" Rosa asked, rolling her eyes in absolute disbelief. "What does Mr Don have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the damn question, Rosa!" Mac pressed, taking a step closer, his voice strained. "What is he to you? What’s really going on between the two of you?!"

Rosa stared at him for a long, silent moment. She didn’t have the energy, the patience, or the time to indulge his childish jealousy. She had a mountain of her own problems to deal with, and answering Mac’s invasive questions was at the absolute bottom of her list.

"I don’t owe you any explanations, Mac," Rosa said, her voice deadpan and icy. "I have a class to get to."

Without giving him another second to respond, Rosa turned on her heel and walked away, disappearing into the crowded hallway without looking back once.

Mac stood alone near the entrance doors, staring at the empty space where she had just been standing. He watched the corner of the corridor until the last trace of her figure vanished completely.

SMACK!

Mac slammed his palm hard against his own forehead, letting out a sharp, frustrated grunt that rattled his own teeth.

"Fuck!" he swore under his breath, dragging his hand down his face in pure self-loathing.

He began pacing back and forth in front of the pillars, berating himself continuously under his breath.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Mac?" he muttered angrily to himself. "Why the hell do you fucking care so much?! What is wrong with your damn brain?!"

He stopped pacing and glared in the direction Rosa had departed, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.

"Fucking forget her!" he told himself fiercely, jamming his hands deep into his jacket pockets. "Just forget her! She’s not even in your league anyway! She’s nothing!"

He tried to force the thought out of his mind, but as soon as he closed his eyes, the vivid memory of yesterday afternoon flashed behind his eyelids—the moment Don had walked into the mansion room, effortless and commanding, stepping right up to Rosa and claiming her presence as if she belonged entirely to him.

A sharp, searing pain twisted deep inside Mac’s chest.

"Why the hell does it hurt so much?" Mac whispered to the empty doorway, his knuckles turning white inside his pockets as a bitter, ugly feeling swallowed him whole.

Meanwhile, Rosa finally reached her lecture hall.

She pushed open the heavy double doors and stepped inside. The massive auditorium was mostly quiet, with only a handful of students scattered across the front rows, chatting quietly or looking at their phones. The lecturer hadn’t even arrived yet.

Seeking peace and quiet, Rosa walked all the way up the steep steps to the back row, picking a secluded corner seat far away from everyone else. She collapsed into the chair, letting her heavy backpack slide onto the desk in front of her.

She rested her chin in her hand, staring blankly at the empty chalkboard at the front of the room. The silence around her only allowed her racing thoughts to return with full force—the glowing runes, Don’s cold eyes, Mac’s pathetic questioning.

Seeking a distraction from her own spiraling mind, Rosa pulled her phone out of her pocket. Boredom took over, and she unlocked the screen, tapping on the green icon to open her department’s official group chat.

The moment the app loaded, her screen was flooded with an endless stream of frantic notifications.

The group chat was completely exploding.

Rosa blinked in surprise as she saw a pinned announcement at the top of the chat, sent just a few minutes ago by the department representative.

[ANNOUNCEMENT: PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENT MacS RELEASED] Dear Year 2 Creative Arts Students, the allocated Macs for the recent Studio Music Production Assignment have been uploaded below. Please check the attached document for your individual scores.

Underneath the announcement, the chat was moving at lightning speed as hundreds of students typed out their reactions simultaneously.

"WTF?! 42%?! Is Professor Davies out of his mind?!"

"I literally lived in the studio for hours for a 50%?! I’m going to cry!"

"Bro, he Maced us like we’re professional sound engineers! This man has lost it!"

"Wait, did anyone actually get above 80%?!"

"Sarah got 85%! She’s the only one!"

"35% is manageable, right guys? If I round it up, it’s basically a 40%, which is a pass!"

"I’m dropping out. See you guys in the unemployment line ??"

"Davies really woke up and chose violence today!"

Rosa couldn’t help the small, sudden burst of excitement that bloomed in her chest.

The practical assignment! She remembered it vividly. They had been tasked with creating an original piece of music using recording studio—mixing vocals, arranging instrumentals, and mastering the final audio track.

Rosa had poured her absolute heart and soul into that project. She had spent every pleasing moment refining every single beat, ensuring her vocal harmonies were pitch-perfect. Music was her passion, her safe haven. She knew, deep in her gut, that her final submission was exceptional.

A rare smile touched her lips. She expected a high-level score—maybe an 88% or a 90%—along with some well-deserved admiration and encouragement from the professor. She really needed a win today.

Eager to see her hard work rewarded, Rosa tapped on the attached PDF document to open the official score sheet.

The file loaded, revealing a long, neatly alphabetised list of student names alongside their assigned Macs.

Rosa began scrolling through the document.

A... B... C... D...

She passed the top scores, her eyes scanning down toward the letter ’R’.

Robertson, James — 72% Rodriguez, Clara — 65% Ross, Michael — 58%

Rosa stopped scrolling, her eyes scanning the lines beneath ’Ross, Michael’.

The next name on the list was Samuels, David — 44%.

Rosa froze.

She blinked rapidly, rubbing her eyes before looking back at the screen. Her name wasn’t between Ross and Samuels.

"Wait... what?" Rosa murmured under her breath.

A small knot of unease tightened in her stomach. She quickly dragged her thumb up the screen, returning to the very top of the list, and began reading every single name line by line, exceptionally careful this time.

Adams... Baker... Carter... Daniel...

She scrolled all the way down to the bottom of the page.

Nothing. Her name wasn’t there.

Panic settled deep into her gut like a heavy lead weight. Her heart began to beat a fast, panicked rhythm against her ribs.

"No, no, no," Rosa whispered frantically, her thumb moving at lightning speed as she scrolled through the pages again. "This doesn’t make any sense!"

She tapped the search icon at the top of the PDF viewer and typed in her full name: Rosa...

A small pop-up message flashed on the screen: [0 matches found.]

Rosa’s hands began to shake violently. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead as she stared at the empty search bar in absolute horror.

"What the hell is happening?" Rosa gasped aloud, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes darted frantically around the screen. "Why the hell can’t I find my result?!"