روايات بقلم IGAFE Precious

The campus library was, in fact, perfectly open on Wednesday.Nadia arrived first, setting up at the corner table she had secretly started to think of as theirs. She had her notes and reference sheets neatly organized before Cullen strolled through the double doors at exactly the agreed time, wearing the proud expression of a student who had absolutely completed all his assigned reading.He had not done the reading.She knew this the moment she handed him a brief comprehension quiz to kick off the session. The answers he produced over the next ten minutes had the distinct, shaky quality of someone working entirely from a skimmed online summary rather than the actual text. Close, but entirely missing the mark.Nadia tapped her pen against the desk. "Did you actually read the chapter, or did you just memorize a synopsis?"Cullen looked up from his paper, totally unbothered. "The chapter.""The entire chapter?""The whole thing," he confirmed, with the absolute confidence of a man who ha

Nadia walked out of Caiden Wolfe's apartment with a single thought looping through her head.*Pay attention to your brother.*She had delivered the line with as much composure as she could manage and then shut the door behind her a little harder than necessary. The sound echoed down the corridor. Nadia winced and kept walking, refusing to look back.When she arrived home later that afternoon, she found Amara exactly where she always was: sprawled across the sofa in her pajamas, surrounded by snack wrappers and staring at the television with complete concentration.To Nadia's surprise, the financial news channel was on.She set her keys down."Since when do you care about global markets?""I don't," Amara replied without looking away from the screen. "I'm watching him."She pointed a half-eaten chip toward the television.Nadia followed her gaze and immediately recognized the photograph displayed behind the anchor.Caiden Wolfe.He wore a dark overcoat and the same cool, distant expres

Nadia didn't breathe. She didn't move. She just stood frozen in the entryway with the overturned bin clattering at her feet, the suffocating silence pressing in from every corner of the room while one humiliating realization kept looping through her mind.This was the second time.The second time she had walked straight into a room that didn't belong to her. The second time she'd caught herself standing somewhere she absolutely shouldn't be, with no logical explanation and no clean exit. The first time, it had been a strange hotel room with a man she didn't know. This time, it was his apartment, and she recognized the deep voice echoing through the wall with terrifying clarity.The sudden sound of heavy footsteps tracking down the hallway broke the standstill.Cullen appeared first. His shirt was untucked, his hair disheveled, looking exactly like someone who had been dragged out of bed mid-sentence. He skidded to a halt the moment he saw her, his eyes dropping to the mess on the floo

Caiden looked at her with the same cool patience he probably applied to difficult board meetings. "So," he murmured, his eyes locking onto hers. "What is your final answer, Miss Verne?""Still no," she said, making sure every word landed.He studied her for a long, quiet moment. There was no flash of frustration in his features, no hint of irritation. It was that same unreadable look, like he was weighing her answer and deciding what to do with it.Then, his voice dropped a fraction. "Your refusal... it has something to do with that night, doesn't it?"The blood drained from Nadia's face so fast she felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had known it would surface eventually. But knowing it was coming didn't make it any easier to sit across from him while he brought it out into the open.She didn't try to deny it. Instead, she gave a single, tight nod."I want to clear something up about that night," Caiden continued, his gaze remaining fixed on her fa

Nadia stumbled back two steps before she managed to catch her balance.The car window was already gliding down smooth and silent. She froze on the pavement because, out of all the black Bentleys in the city, of course it had to be his.Caiden barely glanced her way before his attention shifted to Cullen, who was already pushing the passenger door open with the eager energy of someone who had been waiting for exactly this moment."Get out," Caiden said flatly.Cullen stepped onto the pavement and swept his arm toward the open rear door with a theatrical bow. "Miss Verne. My brother would like a word."Nadia didn't budge. She looked right past Cullen, eyeing the shadowy interior of the car. "About what, exactly?""My studies," Cullen replied, flashing the distinct smile of someone who knew he wasn't being convincing but had decided to lean into it anyway.She let out a slow, controlled breath. Academics. Fine. That was a subject she could actually handle without her pulse doing whatever

Nadia was up at six.Outside, it was still pitch black—the kind of freezing winter morning where just stepping out from under the duvet felt like a punishment. She stood by the window, wrapping both hands around a mug of warm water, watching the bare tree branches whip around in the wind. Christmas was only two days away, but there wasn't a single flake of snow. The sky was just a heavy, indifferent sheet of gray.The sound of heavy, stumbling footsteps down the hall cut through the quiet.Amara appeared in the doorway, looking an absolute wreck. Her makeup was smeared, she was swaying on her feet, and the sharp, sour stench of stale alcohol rolled off her in waves. She leaned heavily against the doorframe, her chin tilted up with a defensive, irritated look that practically dared Nadia to say something."Amara," Nadia said, keeping her voice low to avoid an early morning shouting match. "Did you go gambling again?"Amara’s chin went higher. "Who says I lost? Nobody can prove I lost a