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River’s POVI couldn’t keep still.The apartment was too quiet, too tight, too heavy. I sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on my knees, staring at the wall like it had answers. The lamp cast a weak yellow glow over the room, but it felt dim compared to the storm in my head. My fingers kept twitching, opening and closing, as if my body needed to do something, anything, instead of just sitting there.Noah had gone into the bedroom a while ago, maybe to change, maybe to breathe, I didn’t know. He had this way of pulling back when he was too quiet, and I didn’t want to push him, not tonight. I already felt like I was asking too much of him.I kept hearing Daniel’s voice in my head. The way he leaned across the table earlier, telling me we’d meet someone who could help. Someone who could trace the messages, dig into them, and maybe, finally, give me an answer. His confidence had steadied me for a moment, but now that I was alone, the weight of it all came crashing back.Two stalkers. One

Daniel’s POVThe papers on my desk weren’t moving. I had tried to go through them three times already, but each time the words blurred together, lines breaking apart until they meant nothing. My pen sat in my hand, clicking against the wood in this slow, annoying rhythm, but I didn’t even stop myself. I was too wound up inside, too restless to sit still.The silence in the apartment was heavy. Every small sound seemed louder than it should’ve been. The fridge in the kitchen kicked on, humming in that low, steady way. The occasional honk from the street outside slipped in through the window, muffled by the glass. But none of it could drown out the one thought stuck in my head, River.I could still see him sitting across from me earlier, the way his fingers shook slightly when he pushed the phone across the table, the way his eyes locked on mine like he was daring me to understand. That message. Warn Daniel or he’ll regret messing with me. The words replayed every time I blinked. I had

Daniel’s POVI sat at my desk with piles of papers spread out in front of me, notes and drafts I had been meaning to finish ever since I stepped back from the university. My pen rested between my fingers, the ink bleeding slightly into the page because I hadn’t moved it in minutes. I had told myself I would focus on work tonight. I had told myself I would catch up on everything I had pushed aside because of the scandal. But every time I tried to read a sentence, River’s face came to my mind, and with it the weight of responsibility I felt toward him.The message he had received earlier was still replaying in my head. I could almost hear his voice when he told me he didn’t know who sent it, that it could be from Karden or the other stalker we still knew nothing about. That uncertainty made my chest feel heavy. The unknown was always worse. At least with Karden, there were records, there was a face, there was a past to build from. But with the other? Nothing. Just shadows.I leaned back

River’s POVI woke up again in the middle of the night, or maybe it was already morning. I couldn’t tell. The room was quiet except for the low hum of the heater and Noah’s breathing beside me. It was deep and steady, the kind of sound that should’ve made me relax, but instead I just lay there staring at the ceiling like it was supposed to give me answers.I couldn’t sleep. I’d already tried. Twenty minutes of shutting my eyes, rolling over, tugging the blanket higher, pressing my face into the pillow until it almost hurt. None of it worked. My brain wouldn’t turn off. Every time I closed my eyes, the message flashed in my head.The words were carved into my head now. I could still see them, feel the way my chest had dropped when I read them. And even though I’d sat across from Daniel and told him, even though he promised to handle it, the weight hadn’t gone away. Because I hadn’t told Noah the whole truth. I’d told him about the message, sure, but not about meeting Daniel after. Not

River’s POVI woke up with a start. The room was quiet, too quiet, except for the faint hum of the heater and Noah’s soft breathing beside me. My chest felt tight, my mind refusing to rest. I glanced at the clock—barely twenty minutes had passed since I’d closed my eyes. It was useless. Sleep wasn’t coming, not with everything racing in my head. The messages, Daniel, Karden, it all piled up until my chest ached.I turned onto my side and watched Noah’s face in the dim light slipping through the blinds. He was awake. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling like he hadn’t been sleeping either.“You can’t sleep too?” I whispered.He turned his head slowly, his eyes finding mine. “No. You were tossing. Thought maybe you’d finally gone under.” His voice was low, a little rough, like gravel.I licked my lips, not knowing why my throat felt dry. Maybe it was the way he looked at me—like he was searching for something, like he was waiting for me to ask him for it.I shifted closer, my hand

Noah’s POVI sat there with him, both of us sunk into the couch, the air between us too heavy to move through. He had just told me. Every word was still circling in my head. Daniel. He had gone to meet Daniel. He had sat across from him, shared things with him, things I should have been part of. He had gone behind my back.I clenched my jaw and tried not to let it all spill out at once. My anger was buzzing, but beneath it there was something worse. That sharp ache that came when I thought about River choosing someone else over me. Choosing Daniel.He was staring at his hands now, his shoulders hunched like he wanted to fold in on himself. And part of me wanted to reach out, to pull him against me and tell him it was okay. But it wasn’t okay. It wasn’t even close.“You should have told me,” I said finally, my voice low, steady, too calm for how I really felt.His head lifted just a little, and his eyes met mine. They were wide, full of guilt. He whispered something about not wanting m