Semua Bab When loving you meant losing me: Bab 41 - Bab 43

I walked slowly down the hallway. The walls, once painted brown and ash, were now faded and chipped. Peeling paint clung like old memories. Puddles from the morning rain dotted the cracked walkway, reflecting a sky that hadn’t quite decided what it wanted to be.Three years of walking this hallway, and somehow, it still felt like a prison. Two more months. Just two. Then I was out of this hellhole for good.Students buzzed around me, chatting, laughing, rushing past like they were excited to be here. I couldn't relate. What was so thrilling about college? My music blasted through my headphones, drowning out the noise. I tapped my screen—8:30 AM. Already late. But it didn’t matter. The lecturer had texted earlier; he’d be running late too.I sighed. Two months till graduation. And with my birthday coming up—twenty-three—I was desperate to move on from this phase of my life. I was so over it.Bianca had called earlier, and as soon as I stepped into the lab, I spotted her in the front ro

I stood in front of the door, not ready to go in but too tired to keep stalling. My chest rose and fell slowly as I sucked in a deep breath and released it through trembling lips. Then I knocked—twice, sharp."Come in," Mr. Charles called from inside.The door gave a little squeak as I pushed it open. He didn’t look up."Good day, Mr. Charles," I said, voice calm but distant.He was surrounded by papers. It was always like this—his desk drowning in scattered documents that looked important but probably weren’t."Oh, hmm," he finally muttered, barely glancing up. "Miss Sharon. You still haven’t made the payment for the publication."My body tensed. So that was the first thing on his mind."Sir, I have no money for that. I’m barely hanging on." I eased into the nearest chair, hoping he didn’t see the way my fingers gripped the edge.He hummed again. "You’ll have to find it. I sent you the final draft already."My phone was somewhere deep in my bag. I fished it out, thumbs fumbling as I