All Chapters of His Name Was Never Mine: Chapter 31 - Chapter 34

The apartment still carried the scent of cinnamon from the tea Ash had made the night before. They’d stayed late, talked about nothing, and promised not to talk about Sebastian again.But promises didn’t stop ghosts from crawling out of the walls.When August unlocked his phone, the first thing he saw was an anonymous email no sender, no subject, just a single line:“You’re welcome for the silence.”He deleted it before reading it again. He didn’t want to give it weight. But the words burned anyway.Chris was gone when August entered the kitchen, probably out on a supply run. They’d been taking turns managing groceries and pretending life was normal.On the counter sat a white envelope with no name. August stared at it. It hadn’t been there last night.Slowly, he opened it.Inside was a printed photo. Grainy. Taken from a distance. It was him, sitting in the café two days ago, laughing with Ash.The timestamp was real.August’s stomach twisted.He dropped the envelope and backed away

The silence after his outburst was sharp enough to cut.Chris stared at him for a long time, then slowly nodded. “Okay. Then prove it.”August blinked. “What?”Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver key. “Here. The spare. Take it back.”August stared at it. The key glinted under the ceiling light.He took it.His hands were shaking.“I’ve never used it,” Chris said. “I wouldn’t even come in if you were asleep, and you know that.”August did know. Deep down, he did.But fear had a way of blurring lines between memory and paranoia.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.Chris nodded once. “I get it.”That night, Ash stayed over. They took turns staying awake, watching the door, the windows, the hallway.“I keep thinking it’s over,” August said softly around 3 a.m., curled under a blanket on the couch. “Then he finds a new way to crawl back.”Ash didn’t answer right away. He sat on the floor beside the couch, head resting against the armrest.“I don’t think he ever left,” Ash fi