The Ghosts That Never Leave

The music room echoed with silence.

Gianna sat at the grand piano, her fingers resting on the keys but unmoving. She had arrived at college earlier than usual, just to avoid the stares.

Tristan wasn't at college today.

He had taken a break, as he announced the day before.

Gianna was afraid of the words her father, Lucien Veymont said coldly:

" Then I'll remind him what happened to the last man who did"

Those words dug deeper than any insult Tristan had ever hurled.

Because Gianna remembered.

His name was Elias Drayke.

He was a transfer student—charming, brilliant, the heir to a smaller but respectable tech conglomerate based in another city. He joined the college three years ago. Tall, quiet, yet kind. He wasn't flashy like Tristan or Rael. But there was something steady in the way he looked at her. At first, she thought nothing of it. A casual smile in the hall, a shared seat at the library, or a quick offer to carry her books when it rained.

She was unaware.

He never crossed a line. Never made a move. Just remained... there.

Until the day that changed everything.

It was a Friday. The campus was buzzing with the upcoming Founder's Ball, and Rael had been out of town for nearly a month, accompanying his father on a business expansion tour in Switzerland. Elias, unaware of Gianna's relationship status and her family politics, had made plans.

Big ones.

As Gianna entered the college's central plaza that morning, students stopped in their tracks. A sleek black car was parked near the gates. Petals littered the pavement. A string quartet played something soft and classical. And in the middle of it all stood Elias, dressed in a tailored navy-blue suit, holding a single white rose.

"Gianna Veymont," he announced, his voice echoing through a mic connected to campus speakers. "I've waited long enough to say this... You are the most powerful, elegant, and graceful woman I have ever known. I don't care about your last name or the enemies it comes with. I care about you. And I want the world to know that I love you."

A collective gasp spread through the crowd.

Phones came out instantly. Instagram lives popped up. Someone even tagged the official college page and wrote, "#VeymontProposal OMG is this for real?!"

Gianna froze.

Elias walked toward her, smiling.

"I know we haven't known each other long, but you talk to me like you trust me. You smile like I matter. And I've never felt that with anyone before. Say yes. Let me protect you. Stand beside me."

Gianna took a breath. She didn't want to humiliate him.

"Elias," she said softly, taking the mic from him. "You're kind. You're sweet. But I already have someone in my life."

The crowd murmured.

"I'm with Rael. I thought you knew. We were always just friends. I'm sorry."

Elias's smile faltered, but he pressed on.

"He left you. He's always busy with his father's empire. You deserve someone who's actually here for you. I can be that. I want to be that."

"But I don't feel the same. I can't return your feelings. Please... don't make this harder."

It was too late.

In the Veymont tower office, Cassandra sat frozen, watching the livestream. Lucien stood beside her, jaw clenched.

"He embarrassed her," Cassandra whispered.

"He cornered her," Lucien growled. "And he did it in public."

Within minutes, Lucien Veymont left his office.

And within the hour, he was at the Drayke mansion.

"If you don't pack your bags and leave this town in the next two hours," Lucien said icily to Elias's father, "your company won't survive till dawn."

"It was just a proposal," Mr. Drayke argued.

"He cornered my daughter. He embarrassed her. And when she said no, he insisted. That's not love. That's delusion. And no one pushes Gianna Veymont."

Mr. Drayke paled.

He called his son.

Back at the college, the air changed.

Veymont bouncers in black suits arrived silently. No one dared to stop them. Gianna watched, wide-eyed, as two of them approached Elias.

"Excuse me? What is this?" Elias asked, confused.

They didn't answer.

"Gianna? What's going on?"

"Stop," she said, stepping forward. "Don't touch him."

"Sorry, Miss Veymont. Orders from the Master."

The crowd scattered as Elias was dragged toward the waiting car.

Gianna tried again.

"He didn't do anything violent. He didn't harm me!"

But they were already gone.

Elias arrived at his mansion in confusion. His parents waited, fear in their eyes. Then Lucien stepped forward.

"You have two choices. Leave this country in peace. Or starve in its ashes."

"I love her!" Elias shouted.

Lucien ignored him.

"Hit him."

"What?!"

"Don't stop until he says he will never return to this city again. Never look at Gianna again."

The first punch landed hard.

Then another.

And another.

Elias screamed.

Somewhere in another room, a screen blinked to life. A video call.

Gianna's hand flew to her mouth as she saw Elias being beaten in real-time.

"Stop it! STOP IT! Please! Dad!"

Lucien turned toward the camera, his voice cold.

"You are born a queen, Gianna. Queens don't cry for peasants."

She collapsed to the floor.

Eventually, Elias, bloodied and broken, whispered:

"I won't come back. I won't... look at her again..."

Lucien raised a hand.

The beating stopped.

Back in the present, Gianna sat alone in the music room, head bowed.

Everything had changed since that day. She never spoke of Elias again. Never saw him again. It was like he had been wiped off the map.

She touched the piano keys, trembling.

*"What if Tristan comes back and proposes me in front of everyone too? Would history repeat itself? Would Father destroy him too? Would I lose someone again just because I couldn't control what people feel for me?"

Tears welled up.

*"And... what if I say yes? Would I survive my own heart?"

The weight of memory crushed her chest.

And for once, Gianna Veymont—the girl everyone feared, admired, envied—felt powerless.