"Don't be nervous," Leo said, his voice calm and steady, like he was trying to pour his certainty into her. "Do your best."
Bella sat in the backseat beside him, her fingers wrapped tightly around her pencil case, her bag of notes clutched to her chest like a shield. The car was stopped outside the university gates, with students streaming past in colorful backpacks and nervous clusters. The morning sun was bright and warm, spilling through the tinted windows and catching the gold in her hair.
She had never taken an exam offline before.
Not once.
All her learning had been alone, in her room, on her laptop. No classrooms. No proctors. No rows of desks and ticking clocks and the quiet rustle of nervous students. The thought of walking into that hall, of sitting among strangers, of having her knowledge tested in a room full of people made her stomach twist.
Her brown eyes were wide, her lips pressed together, her cheeks slightly pale despite the warmth of the morning.
