บททั้งหมดของ A Story That Doesn’t Belong To You: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Ryan didn’t run.He wanted to. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to bolt get out, scream, call Chris, call Daniel, call anyone. But Adrien’s voice had dropped so low and calm that it paralyzed him.“You’re not him,” Adrien repeated. “You’re better. You care too much. That’s why I knew you’d come alone.”Ryan clutched the blue notebook tighter against his chest. “Why did you leave this here? Why show me this?”Adrien’s eyes flicked to the book like it was nothing more than a discarded memory. “Elias was… sentimental. He liked to believe the world had meaning. Patterns. Redemption.” A faint smile tugged at his lips, slow and cruel. “But the truth is, some people are only born to destroy. No matter how much they love.”A silence settled between them, the kind that made every breath feel too loud.“I’m not like you,” Ryan said. His voice shook. “I’m not like him.”“You are like me,” Adrien said. “But you’re still in the sweet part. The before. The moment right before the world de

Ryan didn’t sleep.The audio message kept replaying in his head Adrien’s voice smooth and deliberate, each word sharpened with intent.“Legends are written with blood, Ryan. And I’m done being a ghost in someone else’s story.”He couldn’t breathe. Not properly. Not with those words lodged in his chest like thorns.Chris had tried staying up with him, offering water, music, silence anything. But by 3 a.m., Ryan had waved him off with a quiet, trembling, “I’ll be okay.”Now, standing in front of the mirror in the dorm bathroom, Ryan stared at his own reflection. His eyes were sunken, and the redness around them painted exhaustion into his face. But it wasn’t just sleep he’d lost. It was safety. Privacy. Even his thoughts no longer felt like his own.His phone buzzed again. Another message. This one just a photo.It was Ryan. Caught mid-step in the hallway earlier that day. The picture was grainy taken from a distance but unmistakably him.And underneath, Adrien’s text:Even your shadow

The campus buzzed like a wasp’s nest.Ryan couldn’t step into the library without someone staring. Whispers followed him down hallways, echoing off lockers and the edges of lecture rooms. Some eyes were filled with sympathy. Others pity. And a few gleamed with something darker.“Guess you’re famous now,” Chris said under his breath as they crossed the quad.Ryan adjusted the strap of his bag, keeping his head high. “Good. Let them look. Let them remember.”But just beneath the surface, he could feel the tremor.Adrien was silent.Too silent.Not a post. Not a cryptic comment. Not a stunt.And that, more than anything, put Ryan on edge.Daniel met them outside the administration building.He looked tired. Pale. He didn’t even bother with hello.“You need to see this.”He held out his phone.On it: a blurry photo taken inside a cafe near campus. Adrien. Sitting alone. Smiling.But that wasn’t the part that turned Ryan’s stomach.It was what was written beneath it—graffiti scrawled on th

For a few fleeting days, the world felt soft again.Ryan woke to sunlight filtering through half closed blinds, the buzz of campus chatter below the window, and the comforting rustle of Chris making coffee nearby. On the desk, Daniel had left a small folded note before heading to his morning class.“You were never small to me.D”Ryan held it to his chest and smiled.No nightmares. No late night knocks. No more watching his phone light up with unsent messages and threats.It was like Adrien had finally let go.But peace, Ryan had learned, was a temporary tenant. It never unpacked.That afternoon, Ryan, Chris, and Daniel sat outside the student center. A light breeze played through the trees. Chris was reviewing notes, Daniel watching students with quiet amusement.“I keep waiting for something bad to happen,” Ryan confessed, picking at the edge of his cup.Daniel met his eyes. “You’re allowed to feel safe now.”“I know.” He swallowed. “But it feels like he’s not really gone.”Chris fr

The next day arrived with a deceptive calm. The sun broke through pale clouds, and for a moment, it felt like things might settle. Ryan clung to that feeling until Chris didn’t show up to their first class.It wasn’t like him.Chris was always early. Always texting Ryan if he was running late.Ryan’s hands trembled as he slipped his phone out of his pocket and called. It rang once. Twice. Then a strange voice answered.“Looking for someone?” the voice said. Young. Male. But distorted, like it came through a voice changer.Ryan froze. “Who is this?”A low chuckle. “You should be more careful who you trust, Ryan. Not everyone around you is untouchable.”The line went dead.Panic swelled in Ryan’s chest. He shot up from his seat, ignoring the professor’s startled look as he rushed out of the classroom and straight to the dorm.When he flung open the door to their shared room, Chris was sitting there, groggy, blinking at the light. “What the hell why are you looking at me like that?”Ryan