"She ignored you?"
Kieran's friend stared at him, clearly amused.
Kieran leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair.
"I wouldn't say ignored."
"She literally walked away."
Silence.
He exhaled slowly.
"Yeah," he admitted. "She did."
That had never happened before.
Not with Amara.
She used to stay.
Used to listen.
Used to give him chances he didn't deserve.
But now?
She walked away like he didn't matter.
And that bothered him more than it should.
Meanwhile, across campus—
Tessa folded her arms, staring at Amara.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
Amara kept her eyes on her book.
"Yes."
"And??"
Amara turned a page calmly.
"Nothing."
Tessa frowned.
"Nothing?"
Amara finally looked up.
"It's been a year, Tessa."
Her voice was steady.
Controlled.
"People come and go."
But her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her book.
Because the truth?
Seeing him again did something.
Not enough to break her.
But enough to remind her.
Of what she felt.
Of what she lost.
Of what she survived.
"You're pretending," Tessa said softly.
Amara shook her head.
"No," she replied.
"I'm choosing."
That answer surprised even her.
Because it was true.
She wasn't ignoring him.
She was choosing not to go back.
But later that night…
Alone in her room…
That choice didn't feel as strong.
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
And for the first time in months…
Her mind went back.
To him.
Not the version people talked about.
But the one she knew.
The quiet one.
The honest one.
The one who said he felt it too.
She closed her eyes.
"Don't start again," she whispered.
Because this time…
She might not be strong enough to stop.