Chapter Six— Stephanie.

Chapter Six— Stephanie.

I woke to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar windows and cold sheets beside me.

He was gone.

I sat up slowly, my body aching in places that reminded me exactly what we'd done last night. The pillow next to mine still held the indent of his head, but the spot was cold. He'd been gone for a while.

My clothes were scattered across the floor. My bra hung from the doorknob like some kind of twisted trophy. I grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around myself, my cheeks burning as memories from last night crashed over me in waves.

His hands. His mouth. The way he'd looked at me like I was something he wanted to consume.

This changes everything, he'd whispered against my skin.

Apparently not.

I found my phone on the nightstand. Ten fifteen. No messages. No note. Nothing to indicate that last night had meant anything more to him than scratching an itch he'd had for two years.

I felt sick.

This was exactly what I'd been afraid of. That I'd give in, that I'd let him back in, and he'd prove that I was right to run in the first place. That whatever was between us was just physical, just heat and wanting with nothing substantial underneath.

I pulled on my clothes with shaking hands, my throat tight with something that felt too much like tears. I wasn't going to cry. I refused to cry over Micaiah Hayes.

The house was silent when I stepped into the hallway. I checked his room—door open, bed made, no sign of him. Downstairs was empty too. His keys were gone from the hook.

He'd left without a word.

I stood in the kitchen, wrapped in the ghost of his cologne and the humiliating realization that I'd been used. That last night had been exactly what I'd feared—him proving a point, getting what he wanted, and then disappearing like it meant nothing.

Like I meant nothing.

I needed to get out of this house. Needed air, space, anything that didn't remind me of his hands on my skin and the promises he'd whispered that apparently evaporated with the morning light.

I grabbed my wallet and phone, blinking back the burning in my eyes.

Most of my clothes were still in Seattle, packed in boxes I hadn't bothered to ship. I'd need things for the semester. For sitting in his classroom and pretending last night never happened while he pretended the same.

The car keys mocked me from their hook. Richard had kept my Honda maintained. Micaiah had told me that yesterday, being nice, being helpful.

I wondered if that was part of his plan too. Give me just enough hope before ripping it away.

I grabbed the keys and left.

✿

The mall was exactly as I remembered. Same sprawling layout, same stores, same overpriced food court that smelled like cinnamon. I wandered through Nordstrom in a daze, pulling clothes off racks without really looking at them.

My phone stayed silent in my pocket. No texts. No calls. Nothing.

I told myself I didn't care. That I'd expected this. That last night was a mistake I should have never made and his absence this morning was just confirmation that I'd been right to run two years ago.

But it still hurt.

I was examining a black sweater through blurry vision when someone called my name.

"Maliya? Oh my god, Maliya Marie?"

I blinked hard and turned to find a girl with auburn hair and a smile so bright it was almost aggressive. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her through the fog in my head.

"It's Stephanie. Stephanie Chen? We had Marketing together freshman year?"

The memory clicked. Stephanie Chen, who always sat in the front row and asked too many questions and somehow made everyone like her anyway.

"Stephanie, right. Hi."

"I heard you transferred to Seattle! What are you doing back?" She didn't wait for an answer, just kept talking, her words tumbling over each other in excited bursts. "Actually, I'm so glad I ran into you. Are you coming back to ASU? Please tell me you're coming back."

"I'm transferring back in January."

"That's amazing! We need more girls in the business program. It's like, seventy percent guys and most of them are insufferable." She grabbed my arm like we were old friends instead of people who'd shared one class two years ago. "What year are you?"

"Junior."

"Me too! Oh, we should totally coordinate schedules. Do you know what classes you're taking?"

The question made my stomach drop. "I'm not sure yet."

"Well, if you're business admin, you definitely have to take Intro to Business Ethics. It's mandatory for juniors. I'm taking it next semester."

Of course she was.

"I heard there's a new professor teaching it," Stephanie continued, oblivious to the way my chest was tightening. "Young, supposedly super hot. All the girls are trying to get into his section."

Super hot. The words felt like glass in my throat.

"His name is Dr. Hayes or something. Micaiah Hayes? I looked him up on LinkedIn. He's only like twenty-four. Can you imagine having a professor who's basically our age?" She sighed dramatically. "I'm definitely sitting front row. Maybe I'll actually pay attention for once."

I swallowed hard. "That's great."

"Have you seen him? I found his faculty photo and wow. Like, criminally attractive. It should be illegal to look that good and teach ethics. The irony, right?"

Every word was a knife. I wanted to tell her to stop, that I didn't care, that Micaiah Hayes could be a male model for all I cared and it wouldn't matter to me.

But my voice wouldn't work.

"Anyway." Stephanie finally released my arm. "We should exchange numbers. I can fill you in on all the campus drama you missed. There's a lot. Like, a lot a lot."

She pulled out her phone expectantly, and I found myself typing in my number because what else was I supposed to do? Tell her that the hot new professor was my stepbrother? That I'd slept with him last night and he'd left me before sunrise like I was nothing?

"Perfect!" She beamed at her phone. "I'm texting you now so you have mine. Oh, and there's this party next weekend. You should come. It's at Josh Martinez's place. You remember Josh, right?"

I didn't remember Josh.

"Sure."

"Great! I'll send you the details." She glanced at her watch. "I have to run—meeting my mom for lunch—but text me, okay? We'll get coffee before classes start."

Then she was gone, disappearing into the crowd of shoppers like a hurricane that had briefly touched down before moving on to cause chaos elsewhere.

I stood there holding the black sweater, my vision blurring again.

Stephanie thought Micaiah was hot. Every girl on campus apparently thought Micaiah was hot. They were fighting to get into his class, planning to sit in the front row and get his attention.

And why wouldn't they? He was young, attractive, successful. He could have anyone he wanted.

He didn't need me.

Last night proved that. He'd gotten what he wanted and left.

My phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: hey its stephanie!!! so excited to have you back at asu 💕

I saved her number and pocketed my phone, my hands shaking.

This was my life now. Shopping for clothes I didn't want, making friends I didn't need, preparing to sit in a classroom and watch other girls flirt with the one person who'd made me feel like I mattered for exactly one night before proving I didn't.

I grabbed three more sweaters without looking at them and headed for the register.

The cashier smiled at me. "Find everything okay?"

"Yes." My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears.

"That'll be two hundred and forty-seven dollars."

I handed over my card, watched her scan and bag everything with efficient movements, and tried not to think about Micaiah's hands doing those same practiced motions across my skin.

Tried not to wonder where he was right now, what he was doing, if he was thinking about me at all.

Probably not.