Chapter 9 The Cracks Beneath the Surface

The campus festival buzzed with excitement, but Amara's heart wasn't in it. She stood at the edge of the crowd, her eyes scanning faces she no longer cared about. Her mind was somewhere else-with him.

She hadn't seen Noah in three days, and it was driving her insane. Ever since the confession that night, he'd gone silent. Not even a message. Not a whisper through the dorm door.

Jade looped her arm through Amara's and tugged her toward the bonfire, laughing. "You need to stop moping. You're acting like he ghosted you after a one-night stand."

"He practically did," Amara mumbled.

Jade stopped, narrowing her eyes. "Wait... you didn't sleep with him again, did you?"

Amara didn't answer.

"Damn it, Amara," Jade hissed, dragging her behind a tent. "You said it was over."

"I thought it was. But... he said he loved me."

Jade's mouth dropped open. "And you believed him?"

Tears welled up in Amara's eyes. "He looked at me like I was the only person in the world. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to protect your heart!" Jade snapped, then softened. "You always fall too deep, too fast."

Amara turned away, brushing her tears off with shaky fingers. Her phone vibrated. Noah.

She answered without thinking. "Noah?"

"Meet me. West Hall. Rooftop. Now."

He hung up.

Jade shook her head, already guessing. "You're going, aren't you?"

Amara didn't respond. She was already moving.

---

The rooftop was cold and quiet, lit only by the glow of distant dorm lights. Noah stood at the edge, his back to her. His silhouette looked sharper, colder, like the weight of something had shifted.

She approached him slowly. "You disappeared."

"I had to think," he said, still not facing her.

"About what?" her voice cracked. "Whether you meant anything you said?"

He finally turned. "I meant every word. That's the problem."

Amara blinked. "Then why the hell did you vanish?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you the rest."

Her heart thudded. "The rest?"

He took a step closer, face drawn tight with pain. "My father is on the board. The scholarship you got? He fought to keep your name off it. Because of me. Because of... us."

Amara's jaw dropped. "What?"

Noah nodded. "He found out about us during freshman year. Said you were a distraction. That I was ruining my chances."

She stumbled back, the words slicing deeper than expected. "So you let me believe it was my fault. That I didn't work hard enough. You let me suffer-"

"I tried to fight him!" he snapped, voice cracking. "But I was seventeen, and he had power over everything. My tuition. My future. Yours."

Amara's knees nearly buckled. "So that's why you left me."

"I thought I was protecting you," Noah whispered.

"Bullshit," she hissed. "You protected yourself. And now you show up years later, saying you still love me-what am I supposed to do with that?"

He looked helpless for once. "Give me a second chance."

Amara stared at him for a long moment, tears falling freely now. Then she shook her head. "You had your chance. You burned it."

She turned and walked away, the sound of her heels on the concrete louder than her heartbeat. Noah didn't follow. He just stood there, shivering under the weight of everything he couldn't fix.

And for once, Amara didn't look back.