All Chapters of By the Time He Noticed, I Was Gone: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Adrian said that if I was determined to suspect him, he might as well give me something real to suspect. Then perhaps I would finally stop making a problem out of everything.After that, he brought Sienna even closer.The more upset I became, the more openly he favored her.He seated her beside him in the trustees’ section at hockey games, wrapped his scarf around her neck in front of half the campus, and once dropped to one knee at a student council fundraiser to tie her shoelace.Whenever I confronted him, he stopped speaking to me for days. Whenever I apologized, he invited our mutual friends over and let them take turns telling me I was too jealous and needed to grow up.Eventually, I began to question myself.Maybe I really was too sensitive. Maybe I simply wasn’t mature enough to accept that men and women could be close friends. Maybe if I stopped reacting, Adrian would become the boy who used to wait outside my evening classes in the snow.Then, on the third day of our latest fi

“Was there something else?” I asked.In the past, whenever Adrian came into the study to speak to me, I immediately put down whatever I was doing and gave him my full attention.He clearly wasn’t used to my indifference. His expression stiffened.“Actually, there is.”He pulled out a chair and sat across from me.“Sienna did well at the trustee demonstration, so I’m promoting her to co-captain of the robotics team. It will also encourage the younger students.” He looked at me. “What do you think?”He made it sound as though he wanted my opinion, but I knew the appointment had already been decided.“I don’t have a problem with it.”Surprise flashed across his face. He hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.“But if I reward one person, I also have to hold the others accountable,” he continued. “You haven’t led a major competition project in months, so I’m moving you to equipment inventory for now. Once your performance improves, I’ll consider returning you to the algorithm group.”His to

I had no proof, and I no longer cared enough to defend myself."Don't be angry, Adrian." Sienna touched his sleeve, then turned to me with wide, innocent eyes. "Please don't misunderstand. I rolled my ankle downstairs, and Adrian was only helping me stabilize it. The doctor said it had to be wrapped right away or I might not be able to walk tomorrow."Her voice trembled. Triumph glittered underneath it.She wanted me to misunderstand. She wanted me to explode, because every ugly reaction from me made her look sweeter and more reasonable.Ms. Patel stared at the floor. It no longer mattered who had arranged the meeting.Even if she told the truth now, Adrian would accuse her of covering for me.I turned toward the door."Stop." Adrian was still furious. "Our personal relationship is one thing. Student council rules are another. You entered the president's suite without an appointment. I have to respond, or no one will respect the rules again."Right there, he canceled my travel grant fo

I took out my phone and called the Campus Safety Office. "Then we'll let the university decide."I hadn't planned to make any of this public. If Adrian intended to trap me with a disciplinary complaint, however, I had no objection to dragging every record into daylight.The call had barely connected when he snatched the phone from my hand and ended it. "Have you lost your mind?""I'm thinking clearly for the first time in months. I only want to know whether Kingsley's rules follow the system records or Mr. Hale's mood."He had never seen me refuse to give an inch. Panic finally broke through his confidence.After several seconds, he forced his voice to soften. "Fine. Enough. I understand that Sienna makes you uncomfortable. Starting tomorrow, I won't meet her alone. Is that what you want?" He moved closer, as if the crisis had already passed. "We'll settle our plans for after graduation too. Right away."He opened a message thread with an event planner and held out the screen."I've be

"Claire, I've never bent this far for anyone in my life. That should tell you how special you are to me."His voice grew steadier as he spoke."I don't have one-tenth this much patience with Sienna."Every word made him more certain of his own generosity. He seemed to believe that once he displayed a sufficiently expensive form of devotion, I would gratefully return to my place beside him."You've misunderstood."I picked up the documents beside my laptop and held them toward the camera.The first was a four-year doctoral contract with the Zurich Institute for Intelligent Systems. The second confirmed my fully funded position in the European Alpine Rescue Initiative."I'm not on vacation, and I'm not waiting for you to collect me."I showed him the official seal."My academic record has been permanently transferred. I won't be returning to Kingsley for the next four years."Adrian's expression went completely blank.The velvet box slipped from his hand. The bracelet struck the floor wi