All Chapters of So This is Love : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Norah clocked out late.The diner lights were half-off, the sign flickering tiredly above the door. Jules had already gone, and Mr. Ben was counting the register up front, grumbling about receipts.She slipped out the back with a paper bag in her hand — fries for Mary, the night-shift cleaner who worked two blocks down. The street was almost empty, the air cold enough to sting her nose.Her footsteps echoed softly as she walked.Then she heard it — a dull thud.Then another.A voice — low, hard, angry.She slowed, turning toward the sound.And froze.At the end of the alley, under the yellow flicker of a busted streetlamp, Ivan was there.Bent over someone.Fists moving.The man beneath him wasn’t even fighting back — just gasping, one arm twitching weakly before falling limp against the ground.Norah’s stomach turned. For a second, she couldn’t even make sense of what she was seeing.Then Ivan’s voice cut through the night.“You think that’s funny? Talkin’ to her like that?”He hit h

Norah couldn’t shake his voice.It kept echoing in her head all day — the words, the tone, the way he looked at her before he left.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him again, standing there in the dark.And every time, her stomach twisted.She kept replaying the conversation — what she said, what she didn’t. The fear in her chest mixed with something else now. Regret.By evening, she was sitting by the dorm window, her books open but untouched. Outside, the campus buzzed like nothing had happened. People laughed. Music drifted from somewhere. Life just… went on.But inside her, it felt stuck.Mary had gone out an hour ago, probably with Liam again. The room felt too quiet without her.Norah sighed, running her thumb along the edge of her notebook.She told herself to stop thinking about him, but it was useless.Ivan’s voice kept slipping through the cracks of her thoughts—low, rough, and too close.“The kind of life I live is eat or be eaten.”She shivered.He’d said it like a

Norah dragged herself to work on Wednesday evening, because she couldn’t afford to lose the job.Sleep had been impossible the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Ivan’s face — the argument replaying over and over in her head until the guilt became a weight she couldn’t shake.The diner buzzed with its usual evening rhythm — the clatter of plates, the hum of conversation, the hiss of coffee machines.Norah moved from table to table, a practiced smile on her face, though her eyes looked distant.Angie, wiping down the counter, caught the look right away.“Girl, you’ve been sighing since you walked in,” she teased. “What’s wrong? Someone forget to tip you, or are you just tired of being everyone’s favorite waitress?”Norah forced a small smile. “Just tired, I guess.”“Tired?” Angie laughed. “Please. We’ve had more customers this week than ever — and half of them come here for you.You should see how they look when you bring their order.”Norah rolled her eyes, cheeks wa

Norah’s hands clenched the wheel until her fingers ached, her vision swimming as streetlights melted into golden smears through the blur of tears.In the seat beside her, Ivan sagged sideways, his breathing ragged, skin drained of color. His hand rested over his stomach, trying—and failing—to stop the steady leak of blood soaking his shirt.“Stay with me,” Norah said, her voice trembling. “Just—just stay awake, okay?”Ivan let out a soft, broken laugh. “Relax… I’m just taking a nap.”“Don’t you dare close your eyes!” she snapped, glancing at him before turning back to the road. “The hospital’s still a few miles—”But even as she said it, her heart sank. The hospital was far — too far. And every second, his breathing grew shallower.“Damn it!” she hissed, slamming her palm against the steering wheel. Her mind raced.She couldn’t risk getting caught at a checkpoint — not with him bleeding and wanted.Then she saw it — the turn leading toward her dorm.It wasn’t much. Just a cramped, two

Norah opened the curtains and light spilled across the room, landing on the bed where Ivan lay stretched out — her gray shirt clinging to him like it belonged there.He watched her quietly for a moment before speaking, voice low and amused.“So… I heard you told your girl Mary you weren’t ever talkin’ to me again.”Norah froze halfway through folding a towel. “You heard that?”He smirked. “Hard not to. She said it loud enough for the whole hallway, yeah?”He tilted his head, that lazy grin pulling at his mouth. “Guess you lied, baby.”“Don’t call me that.”“Why not? You let me bleed on your bed, patch me up, and now you’re bringin’ me breakfast. What am I supposed to call you—Doctor?”“I told you—no doctor jokes.”He laughed softly, the sound deep and rough. “Alright, no doctor. But you sure got good hands.”She shot him a glare. “You’re impossible.”“I prefer unforgettable,” he said, grinning wide.Norah walked over, snatching the empty cup from his nightstand. “You need rest, not at