Chapter 5 Torn Between What Was and What Could Be

The days after that night passed like a storm waiting to break.

Zara drowned herself in schoolwork. Study groups. Club meetings. Anything to silence the echo of Jace's voice and the memory of his lips on hers. But every time she closed her eyes, he was there-laughing softly, brushing his thumb across her cheek, saying her name like a song only he remembered.

Worse, he respected her boundaries.

He didn't text. Didn't knock again. And somehow... that made it harder.

She thought distance would help her think, but all it did was remind her how close they used to be. How he used to know the things she was too proud to say. And now, he walked the campus like a ghost-close enough to see, too far to reach.

Then, one afternoon, she walked into the student union and saw him sitting across from another girl.

Smiling.

Leaning in.

Zara's chest tightened with something sharp and sour.

Lia noticed and whispered, "You okay?"

Zara forced a smile. "Of course. I don't care."

But the truth was buried in the way her eyes lingered. In the storm brewing behind her composed mask.

She did care. Maybe too much.

And if she didn't figure out what she really wanted, she might lose everything again-before she even had the chance to decide.