Both our heads snapped toward her.
Samuel immediately pulled his hand away from my face, his expression hardening with clear annoyance.
"Seriously?" he muttered.
Great.
What could possibly go more wrong...
I screamed inwardly, my thoughts spiraling..
This wasn't just embarrassing-
this was bad.
This will change things...
The course of the novel-
Being in a state of panic I was able overlook Lilly's odd reaction.
Lily stood frozen, her gaze locked onto us as if the ground beneath her had shifted.
"It's- it's not what you think," I said quickly, taking a step back, my voice slightly unsteady.
But even to me-
it sounded unconvincing.
I didn't wait.
Turning around, I hurried away before the situation could get any worse.
______
I slipped into my seat just before the lecture began, my breathing still slightly uneven.
It didn't change the story... right?
The thought came quietly.
Almost like I was afraid to hear the answer.
I stared down at my notebook, my fingers tightening slightly around my pen.
Everything was fine.
It had to be.
That scene just now-
it wasn't supposed to matter.
Right?
My brows furrowed as I realized something.
Wait...
My eyes widened slightly as I straightened in my seat.
The story...
It had already changed.Not today.
I had been too caught up with Jessie and Mark to even notice-
or rather-
not notice it missing.
My grip on the pen tightened.
This morning...
I remembered overhearing a conversation in the hallway.
"You know Ryan Watt? The CEO? He didn't come to drop them off today-he sent a driver instead."
At the time, I had ignored it.Because I had already decided-to stay away from the leads.
To not get involved.
But now-
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Today was meant to be another interaction between them.
An important one.
And yet-
He didn't come.
"Ugh..idiot Male Lead..trailing off his own story"
I just hope I doesn't have any major affect
Ryan's POV-
Ryan stood by the window, the city stretching endlessly below.
His phone buzzed once.
Ignored.
His thoughts weren't on work.
They hadn't been-
Since he saw her, Lily
Why?
It lingered..her image.
Uncomfortable
Off.
The word surfaced again.The word surfaced aHe exhaled quietly, his grip tightening just slightly against the glass.
For someone he had just met-...The feeling was..unnecessary.
Unnatural...And that alone-
was reason enough
to keep his distance.
He had no interest in things that didn't make sense.
No patience for emotions that appeared without reason.
Love, especially, was not something he would mistake so easily.
His expression hardened slightly.
He knew very well this wasn't love.
Because he knew what it would have felt like—
An image flashed through his mind.
It wasn't of lily
Not even close.