Semua Bab Rich Love : Bab 111 - Bab 120

J.J.’s POVThere are moments in life where silence is louder than any words. Louder than shouting, louder than sobbing, louder even than the sound of your own guilt dragging chains behind you.That was what Carolyn had become to me now: silence made flesh. A silence so sharp it cut me every time she walked past.It had been three weeks since she returned. Three weeks of watching her glide through hallways like a ghost carved from stone—untouchable, unshakable. And in those three weeks, I hadn’t managed to get a single word past her walls.Until today.I told myself I would try. For real this time. Not just a letter thrown like a coward. Not a glance across the courtyard. Not a memory playing like a broken record in my skull. But words. From my mouth to her ears. Even if she crushed me with her indifference.The chance came after History.She was gathering her books, methodical as ever. Not rushed, not careless—deliberate. Her hands moved like a clock’s pendulum, each motion measured,

J.J.’s POVSilence is an art form.I never understood that until Carolyn turned it into a weapon.You’d think anger would be louder. That a scream, a slap, a public denouncement would cut the deepest. But no. Silence does worse. Silence makes you imagine every word she’s not saying. Every thought she’s not giving you access to. Every wall she’s built because of your mistakes.And she’s an artist at it now.I’d know—I taught her the strokes.It’s unbearable, this distance she’s crafted. And the worst part? She doesn’t even flinch anymore when she walks past me. Doesn’t fumble. Doesn’t crack. Her eyes slide right over me as if I’m nothing more than a blurred shadow in her periphery.I used to be her center.Now I’m her void.And I don’t know how to live in that.The courtyard that afternoon was loud with chatter. Spring had a way of pulling people outdoors, even in uniform and under the watchful eyes of prefects. Laughter bounced off stone walls. Birds darted from tree to tree. Everythi

J.J.’s POVPeople think strength is a wall.They think it’s cold, impenetrable, tall enough that no one can climb it. But what they don’t understand — what I was only beginning to learn — is that walls don’t just keep people out.They keep the one inside trapped, too.And Carolyn had built one so high around herself, I wasn’t sure she even remembered what sunlight felt like.But I remembered. I remembered the warmth in her laugh when she let it escape. The way her shoulders loosened when she forgot the world hated her. The softness in her gaze when it landed on me, back when she trusted me to hold it.And the longer I watched her walk the halls now, colder than steel, sharper than glass, the more I realized I couldn’t live with what I’d done.I didn’t want her trapped behind that wall forever.Even if she never lets me back in.I’d tried words. She shut me out.I’d tried waiting. She walked past me.And every time, I felt the bricks stack higher, the mortar dry harder, the silence th

J.J.’s POVI never thought silence could feel like a wall.But with Carolyn, it did.Not the kind of wall you could pound on until it cracked, or climb over if you were determined enough.No, this was glass.Clear. Fragile-looking. You could see straight through it, see her face, see the flicker of her eyes, the curve of her mouth — but you couldn’t touch.Every time I tried, I left fingerprints she refused to acknowledge.And if I pressed too hard, I knew it would shatter.Not in the way that would free me.In the way that would cut her open.I’d been fooling myself, thinking I was protecting her.Staying close enough to shield her, far enough not to intrude.But the truth was simpler.I wasn’t protecting her.I was haunting her.I saw it that morning at the lockers.The way her hands trembled when mine brushed against them.The way her eyes — those eyes I used to drown in — went sharp as knives, not soft.“Don’t,” she’d said.Just one word.But it was enough to unravel me.I walked

J.J.’s POVAbsence is a weapon.That’s what my father always said.“Silence is sharper than steel. If you want to win, don’t fight with your hands. Fight with your absence. People will beg for what you withhold.”I never thought I’d use it on Carolyn.But here I was.Wielding silence like a blade.Not to win. Not to punish.But because it was the only thing left I could give her — the dignity of distance.The first day, I told myself I was being noble.I stayed out of the courtyard, skipped lunch, buried myself in the art room.I thought, This is good. She doesn’t need me breathing down her neck. She doesn’t need me poisoning her air anymore.But then I saw her in English class.Her hair pulled back. Her posture straighter than steel.She looked… free.And it almost killed me.Because if my absence gave her freedom, then I had no right to break it.But freedom, I realized, wasn’t the same as peace.Not for me. Not for her.By Thursday, I noticed her scanning the halls. Quick glances o