It was late, most students were already in their rooms, leaving the hallway empty. The corridor dimly lit by the soft glow of the overhead lights.

  Mira walked toward her door, exhaustion pressing down on her shoulders. She lifted her hand to the biometric lock...

  Adrian stood just outside his door. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes, dark, unwavering, told her that he had been waiting.

  A beat of silence stretched between them.

  Then, his voice, low and direct. “You didn’t answer my message.”

  Mira exhaled slowly, her jaw tightening just slightly. She could lie. Say she was busy. Say she forgot.

  But she was too worn out for that.

  Instead, she looked away.

  Adrian didn’t move, but his voice lowered slightly. “And the anonymous article. The suspension.” A pause. “Was that you?”

  Mira didn’t answer. But something inside her tensed.

  She had enough problems already.

  This wasn’t his fault. She knew that.

  But still, because of him, because of the obsession certain people had with him, she had been dragged into something she never asked for. Her wrist throbbed beneath the bandage.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Adrian was still waiting.

  She met his gaze, expression carefully blank. “Go inside, Vale.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  Mira exhaled, pressing her fingers to her temple. “I have enough to deal with.”

  Adrian’s voice remained persistent. “I know.” A pause. “That’s why I’m asking.”

  Her fingers curled slightly at her side.

  He was looking at her like she was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

  Mira forced a smirk, stepping backward toward her door. “You want to hear it from me? Sorry, but I’m not giving you an exclusive interview.”

  Adrian’s eyes narrowed just slightly.

  She stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind her.

  Only then did she exhale, pressing a hand to her forehead.

  It would be better if he stayed out of it.

  And more importantly...

  It was better if she stayed away from him.

  Before things got even worse.

  ?

  Mira no longer sought him out.

  She walked past him in the hall without a glance. She sat in the same lecture halls without ever acknowledging his presence. She ignored his messages, with a kind of conviction that made it clear she had already moved on.

  She made it look so effortless, like he was just another face in the crowd, like the hours they spent together, her birthday celebration, the photoshoot where they exchanged teasing glances as the camera clicked, their debates in the infamous project that had caught the attention of both students and faculty, meant absolutely nothing.

  And that silence, that absence of acknowledgement, rattled him in a way he didn’t anticipate.

  She was choosing to leave him out.

  She was choosing to erase him from her world.

  And Adrian, who had never been left on the outside, suddenly found himself standing alone, uninvited, unnoticed, and entirely unprepared for what that meant.

  He had never had to earn anyone’s attention before.

  But now, he realized he might want hers.

  And it might already be too late.