LOGINAlex's PovSeeing her rattled me more than I cared to admit.Gwen looked shaken when she walked back to the table, shoulders tense, that forced smile not reaching her eyes. Something had happened. I could read it in the way she carried herself, the slight flush on her cheeks that wasn’t from running late. My gut twisted. I wanted to pull her aside, demand answers, fix whatever had put that look on her face.But it wasn’t my place. Not anymore.I gritted my teeth hard enough to feel the pressure in my jaw. Stay out of it, Thorne. She had made it clear she didn’t want me near her. The way she’d practically jumped out of my car this morning proved that. Still, the instinct to protect her hadn’t died. It burned low and constant, buried under layers of guilt and regret.I kept my face neutral for the kid sitting across from her, Nelson. Good student. Eager. Asked smart questions about the case study. I gave him a few pointers, and genuinely enjoyed talking with him. But my attention kept
Gwen's Pov“You!” Elena hissed, her perfectly arched brows shooting up in disbelief. Her voice was low, but venom dripped from every syllable. The restroom door swung shut behind me, trapping us in the small hallway that led back to the food court.My heart slammed against my ribs. Of all the people in this city, why her? Why now?I stepped back quickly, raising my hands. “Sorry. I didn’t see you.” My voice came out without shaking. But inside, my mind was screaming. Not today. Please, not today.She stared at me like I was a ghost that had crawled out of her worst nightmare. For a second, something almost like satisfaction flickered across her face, the look of someone who had just found an old enemy still breathing.I tried to sidestep her. “Excuse me.”But she shifted with me, blocking my path. Her heels clicked sharply on the tile. “You’ve got some nerve showing your face around here.”I swallowed hard, the burger and milkshake suddenly sitting like lead in my stomach. My past al
Gwen's PovI lasted until we were two blocks away from campus.The car was too warm, the silence too loud, and Alex’s presence too overwhelming. Every time he shifted gears or glanced in my direction, my stomach did this stupid little flip that reminded me exactly why I had spent the last year rebuilding my walls. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing us pull up together. The rumours would start before lunch.“Stop the car,” I said suddenly, my voice sharper than I intended.Alex slowed down but didn’t pull over immediately. “We’re almost there.”“Exactly.” I unbuckled the seatbelt he had helped me with earlier, the memory of his closeness still made my cheeks warm. “I’ll walk the rest. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”He exhaled through his nose, jaw tight, but he eased the car to the side of the road near a row of campus-adjacent cafes. “Gwen…”“Thanks for the ride,” I cut him off, already opening the door and jamming it close a little harder than necessary. I stepped out befo
Gwen's PovThe email was open on my screen before I could talk myself out of it.Thank you for the student list. –Dr. Alexander ThorneThat was it. Five words. Polite. Professional. Cold as ice.I stared at it for a full minute, waiting for something more, an explanation, an apology, even a stupid emoji. Nothing. I let out a bitter laugh that echoed in my quiet apartment. Why did you expect anything else, Gwen? He had made it crystal clear a year ago that I was nothing but a temporary distraction. Of course he wasn’t going to suddenly pour his heart out over email.I tossed my phone onto the nightstand and flopped back onto the bed, pulling the covers over my head. The day kept replaying in my mind like a bad movie on repeat: Alex at the front of the lecture hall, the way my body still reacted to his voice, Nelson’s hopeful smile, the humiliating elevator moment, and now this neighbour bombshell.Sleep refused to come. I tossed and turned for hours, checking the clock every twenty m
Gwen's PovI stood there for a second, heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. Part of me wanted to turn around and walk straight out the door. Just leave. But my bag was still on that chair, with my wallet, my keys, my notebook – everything important. I couldn’t just abandon it.‘Of course this would happen,’ I thought bitterly. ‘The universe really hates me.’I forced my legs to move. One foot in front of the other. I approached the table without saying a word, my arms crossed tightly over my chest like that could protect me somehow. Alex looked up when I got closer. For a split second, genuine surprise flickered across his face, like he hadn’t expected me to be here.But I wasn’t buying it. Not for a second. This was the same man who had once tracked my every move when it suited him. Stalking me to a random cafe? It wouldn’t be the craziest thing he’d done.I stopped beside the table, staring down at him. The silence stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable. He l
Gwen's PovMy finger hovered over the send button, trembling slightly.The email was perfect. Professional, cold, nothing more than a simple list of names, IDs, and contacts. But the second I hit send, I would be opening a door I had fought so hard to slam shut. Alex would have my email. He could reach me anytime. And even though I had blocked him everywhere else for the past year, a small, stupid part of me still wondered if he had ever tried reaching me.Why does that even matter?I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. My brain kept skipping over the most important details, the ones that should have made this easy. A year ago, when I finally gathered the courage to leave, the universe had noticed my hesitation and shoved me off the edge without mercy.I had been traced. Kidnapped right off the street in broad daylight. Blindfolded, terrified, and forced to listen to a distorted voice deliver deadly threats: ‘Stay away. Disappear. Or next time, we won’t let you go.’ They never said wh
Alex's PovEve was obviously freaked out after witnessing what she had. I get it. It’s not as if I’d been flirting and courting her for weeks. One moment we were distant coworkers playing a fake date game, the next she walked in on me fucking my secretary like an animal. The transition was too ugl
Gwen's PovFor the next few days, I avoided him like the plague.I changed my shifts, took longer routes through the hospital, and stayed far away from anywhere he might be. Every time I caught a glimpse of him, my face burned with embarrassment and something else I didn’t want to name. I couldn’t
Alex's PovEve wasn’t like the flirtatious women in parties, or the grinning girls who’d given me the eye for months on end, walking around the hospital coming for senseless checkups. Eve was a blank canvas. Her actions said more than words could ever say. Her innocence was obvious by the way she
Gwen's PovYou. I want you.Rosalyn had probably been talking absolute bullshit about men helping out always for a reason, but there was no doubt that the man in front of me meant every word.He wanted me. That’s why he had been helping me.It shouldn’t give me tingles. It shouldn’t make my heart r







