All Chapters of Ruined by My Best Friend’s Father: Chapter 11 - Chapter 16

I told myself I was only going for an hour.That was the lie I used whenever I needed to feel responsible while still saying yes. An hour meant I could show my face, toast someone's success, take a few pictures, then leave before the night turned into something I would regret.Nadia didn't let me pretend."You have been acting like a nun for two weeks," she said, tugging my sleeve as we stepped out of the car. "One night will not kill you.""I'm not acting like a nun," I said."You are," she insisted. "You say no to everything. You keep checking your phone. You look like you're waiting for a lecture."I shot her a look. "Stop reading my face."Nadia laughed. She was one of those university friends who collected people easily. She made plans the way other people breathed. If she decided you were coming with her, it was easier to accept your fate than fight.The new club was already glowing from the outside. Lights moved behind tinted glass. The bass hit the pavement like a heartbeat. A

Chloe's kitchen table had slowly disappeared under textbooks.Economics notes, highlighted pages, loose papers covered with formulas she insisted were easy if you "looked at them the right way."I leaned over one of the pages, tapping a line with my pen."You flipped the ratio again," I said.Chloe groaned and dropped her head onto the table. "I didn't flip it. The textbook flipped it.""That's not how math works.""It should be," she muttered.I smiled and pushed the paper back toward her."Try it again."She sat up with a dramatic sigh but started rewriting the numbers.Sunlight filtered through the tall kitchen windows, soft and warm, making the room feel calmer than it probably deserved. Outside, the late afternoon was quiet. A few cars passed occasionally, but most of the neighborhood had settled into the slow rhythm of the weekend.Chloe chewed the end of her pen."If I fail this exam," she said, "I'm blaming you.""You asked me to help.""Yes, but I didn't expect actual work."

"You keep saying that," I said.His jaw tightened slightly. "Because you should."I looked at him for a moment, searching his face for something softer than restraint, something easier than this constant push and pull between warning and want."But do you want me to?" I asked.The question settled between us like something dangerous.He didn't answer immediately."You know I should," he said finally."That wasn't what I asked."The words were out before I could stop them.His hand tightened once at my waist. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to register. The first visible crack in his control."Eva."The way he said my name this time felt like a plea.I should have stepped back then. I knew that. I knew exactly what kind of line we were standing on, how badly it could go, how impossible it would be to pretend after this that whatever existed between us was still made only of looks and unfinished conversations.But he hadn't let go.And I didn't want him to.So instead of stepping back,