Lili climbed the stairs to her room, the silence of her apartment welcoming her like a cold shroud. She unpacked her bag slowly, putting her textbooks back on her desk and her college sweaters back in the drawer.
She sat on her bed and looked at her phone. No messages. No calls.
She was back to her life—the life of a student, a girl from a small town, a "New Girl" in a big city. But as she looked at the city skyline from her window, she knew that even though she was back in her room, she had left a piece of her heart in the mountains, pinned against a stone pillar in the dark.
And miles away, in a penthouse office overlooking the same city, Leo stood at a floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the distant peaks, wondering how a man with everything could feel so completely empty.
The halls of Evergreen State College felt colder than usual. The bustling energy of the students, the scent of floor wax and old paper, and the constant hum of conversation all seemed like background noise to Lili. She moved through her days like a ghost, her eyes fixed on her textbooks but her mind miles away in a mountain lodge.
She had deactivated her social media. She stopped checking the news. She even avoided the student lounge where the television usually played financial updates. She buried herself in her sociology and economics notes, using the upcoming final exams as a shield against the pain.
"Lili, you need to eat," Maya whispered, sliding a granola bar across the library table. "You've been staring at that same page for twenty minutes."
"I'm fine, Maya. I just need to get through these finals," Lili said, her voice thin.
She wasn't fine. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt the phantom pressure of Leo's hands on her waist. Every time a car with tinted windows drove past the campus, her heart skipped a beat, hoping—and fearing—it was him. But the black SUVs never stopped. The phone never rang.
The day of her last exam arrived with a grey, drizzling rain. Lili sat in the large lecture hall, the scratching of pens the only sound in the room. She focused every ounce of her willpower on the paper, pouring her heartbreak into academic theories and data analysis. It was the only thing she could control.
When the professor called for the papers, Lili handed hers in with a shaky hand. She walked out of the hall, feeling a strange, hollow sense of relief. It was over. The semester was done.
"We did it!" Rohan cheered, catching up to her in the hallway. "Come on, Lili. A group of us are going to the campus cafe to celebrate. Luca is already there."
Lili tried to smile. "I don't know, Rohan. I'm pretty tired."
"No excuses," he insisted, gently nudging her toward the exit. "One drink. For the end of the year."
The day of her last exam arrived with a grey, drizzling rain. Lili sat in the large lecture hall, the scratching of pens the only sound in the room. She focused every ounce of her willpower on the paper, pouring her heartbreak into academic theories and data analysis. It was the only thing she could control.
When the professor called for the papers, Lili handed hers in with a shaky hand. She walked out of the hall, feeling a strange, hollow sense of relief. It was over. The semester was done.
"We did it!" Rohan cheered, catching up to her in the hallway. "Come on, Lili. A group of us are going to the campus cafe to celebrate. Luca is already there."
Lili tried to smile. "I don't know, Rohan. I'm pretty tired."
"No excuses," he insisted, gently nudging her toward the exit. "One drink. For the end of the year."
The campus cafe was crowded and loud, filled with the joy of students who had survived another term. Luca was sitting at a large corner table, but he wasn't cheering. He was staring at his phone, his face pale and his jaw set tight.
"Hey, Luca! We made it!" Rohan shouted, sliding into the booth.
Luca didn't look up. He looked at Lili, his eyes filled with a deep, aching sympathy. "Lili... maybe we should go somewhere else."
"Why? What's wrong?" Lili asked, her stomach doing a slow, sickening flip.
Before Luca could answer, the large television mounted above the bar flickered. The "Breaking News" banner of a major financial network flashed across the screen. The chatter in the cafe began to die down as people turned to look.
"LIVE: THE VANCE-LOGISTICS MERGER ANNOUNCEMENT"
The screen cut to a high-end hotel ballroom in the heart of the city. There were hundreds of cameras, their flashes creating a blinding strobe light. In the center of the stage stood Arthur Vance, looking like a king who had just conquered a new territory.
And standing beside him were Leo and Sienna.
Leo looked like a masterpiece of ice. He was in a perfectly tailored tuxedo, his hair slicked back, his expression a mask of absolute, professional stone. Sienna was draped in a gown of white lace and diamonds, her hand tucked firmly into the crook of Leo's arm. She was glowing, her smile triumphant as she leaned into him.
"Today, we announce more than just a merger of companies," Arthur Vance's voice boomed through the speakers.
"We announce the union of two families. The engagement of my son, Leo Vance, to Sienna Logistics will be finalized this Saturday at the Vance Estate Gala."
The cameras flashed even faster. Leo stepped forward to the microphone. He looked directly into the lens, his eyes dark and unreadable.
"I am committed to the future of this firm," Leo said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "And to the responsibilities I carry as a Vance."
Lili stood frozen in the middle of the cafe, the world around her blurring into a smear of colors and noise. She watched as Leo turned to Sienna, and under the pressure of a thousand cameras, he leaned down and placed a stiff, formal kiss on her cheek.
The cafe erupted in whispers. "Isn't that the guy who saved that girl at the club?" someone murmured. "Look at that ring! It must be ten carats."
Lili didn't hear them. She turned and walked out of the cafe, her footsteps echoing in the sudden silence of her own mind. She didn't cry. She didn't scream. She just walked out into the rain, the "New Girl" finally realizing that in the world of kings and empires, a girl from a small town was just a footnote in a business deal.