บททั้งหมดของ Love and pain : บทที่ 101 - บทที่ 110

That night didn’t feel quiet to Oliver.Even though everything around him was.His room.The hallway.The campus outside.All still.But his mind wasn’t.Because for the first time, nothing felt unclear anymore.There was no confusion left to hide behind.No “I don’t know” to delay things.Ariana had said it plainly.She hadn’t changed.He had just stopped meeting her where she was.And now…someone else could.That thought stayed with him longer than anything else.Not jealousy.Not anger.Something sharper.The realization that if he didn’t move now—he might not get another chance to.—The next morning, Ariana didn’t expect anything different.She woke up.Got ready.Walked to campus.Same routine.Same calm mindset she had started building over the past few days.She wasn’t waiting anymore.And that alone made things feel lighter.When she reached the usual spot, she slowed slightly—out of habit.Then kept walking.But this time, someone stepped in front of her.Oliver.Not stan

For the first time in days, nothing felt wrong in the morning.That alone made Ariana suspicious.Not of Oliver.But of the feeling itself.Because “normal” had stopped being reliable.Still, when she arrived at campus, Oliver was already there.Waiting.Not in a desperate way.Not in an uncertain way either.Just… present.He looked up when she approached.“Morning,” he said.“Morning,” Ariana replied.No tension.No hesitation.Just a simple exchange.They started walking together without thinking about it anymore.That was new.Not perfect.But smoother.Ariana noticed something quickly though.Oliver wasn’t trying to fill silence anymore.He let it exist.And surprisingly… it didn’t feel heavy.It felt natural.“You seem calmer today,” she said after a while.Oliver glanced at her.“I stopped trying to force things to feel normal,” he replied.Ariana nodded slightly.“That helps,” she said.A pause.Then she added:“But it also makes things quieter.”Oliver thought about that.“I

That night, Ariana couldn’t sleep.Not because something was wrong.But because something didn’t feel complete.She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the conversation over and over again.“Flat.”The word stayed with her.It didn’t feel harsh.It didn’t feel negative.But it didn’t feel right either.Because what they had now wasn’t empty.It wasn’t broken.It was… steady.And yet, something inside her kept searching for something more.She turned onto her side, closing her eyes.Trying to ignore it.Trying to convince herself that stability should be enough.But her mind didn’t settle.Because deep down…she remembered what it used to feel like.Not the confusion.Not the distance.But the intensity.The way being around him felt like something she didn’t have to think about.The way moments felt… alive without effort.Now everything worked.But it felt controlled.Balanced.Careful.And she didn’t know if that was growth…or something quietly missing.—The next day,

The second message came the next night.Oliver had hoped it wouldn’t.He had convinced himself that maybe it was a one-time thing.A mistake.A coincidence.Something he could ignore.But deep down, he already knew better.His phone vibrated once.He didn’t check it immediately.He was sitting on his bed, staring at nothing in particular, trying to focus on anything else.But the silence in the room made it impossible.Another vibration.Short.Controlled.Deliberate.Like whoever was on the other side knew exactly how long to wait.Oliver exhaled slowly and reached for his phone.Unknown number.Again.He opened the message.*“Still pretending?”*His jaw tightened slightly.He didn’t reply.Didn’t react outwardly.But something inside him shifted.Because that tone…it wasn’t random.It wasn’t guessing.It was familiar.Too familiar.Another message appeared before he could lock the screen.*“You always did that. Act like you could choose your life.”*Oliver stood up immediately.Not

Oliver hadn’t planned to think about it again.That part of his life had been sealed.Not forgotten.Just… locked away.Because remembering it meant remembering everything that came with it.And he didn’t need that.Not now.Not when things had finally started to feel stable again.But stability had a way of breaking when something unfinished came back.And now—it had a name again.Elias.That night, Oliver didn’t stay in his room.He couldn’t.The walls felt too close.Too quiet.Too easy for his thoughts to fill.So he left.Walked without direction.Past the familiar parts of campus.Past the places that meant something.Until nothing around him felt connected to the life he was trying to hold onto.That was when it started.Not a message.Not a call.A memory.Sharp.Clear.Uninvited.—It had been raining.Not lightly.Heavy.The kind of rain that blurred everything into motion and shadow.Oliver stood in the middle of it, barely feeling it.His focus wasn’t on the cold.Or the