Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 19

Third-Person POV"That's enough." Esther's voice softened. Lionel looked at her, the corners of his mouth twitching. Esther turned and walked away. She hadn't gotten far before she stopped, her back still to him. "You're on your own," she said. "You should face the consequences, and I'll do the same."Esther walked away, her shadow stretching long beneath the streetlights as she disappeared into the distance. She didn't even look back. Lionel remained where he was for a very long time, the flowers scattered on the ground. The wind blew a couple of white petals to his feet, and he stared down at them without moving. Meanwhile, Esther stopped at the campus gate and leaned against the wall for a while. Her phone kept buzzing in her pocket. Lionel had sent her messages, one after another, but she didn't bother reading them. 15 minutes later, the police arrived. Esther led them to find Lionel.Lionel was still standing there, his hand touching his cheek again. The red mark on

Third-Person POVEsther closed her eyes and said, "I have to find Gabriel."Ethan fell silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, and placed it on the bedside table. "We've looked into it. Gabriel's studying at Lembin College in Cromosia. We reached out to the school while you were in the hospital. A spot just opened up in the exchange program, and they've approved your application."Esther turned to look at the piece of paper. There were a few lines of Cromosian on it, with the school's red seal at the bottom. Beside it was a photo, printed in low resolution. Gabriel stood at the entrance of a red-brick building, with a backpack on his back, his head turned toward someone next to him as he spoke. Esther stared at the photo for a very long time. Gabriel looked different. Sure, he had lost some weight, but he looked happier. She had seen his face from that angle every day over the past three years, but she had never seen him smile

Gabriel's POVI got up, still holding that stone, and took a step back. The young women on shore were looking our way. One of them laughed, and another held up her phone to take a picture of us. Lily stepped in front of me, shielding me from them. She whispered in my ear, "If you're scared, just stick close to me. I can get you out of here. They wouldn't even notice."Lily turned sideways, angling her shoulder toward me, making just enough room for me to hide behind her. She kept her back to the people on the shore. I lowered my gaze to her shoulder and at her soft cotton shirt. She stood there as if nothing could ever bother her. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against her shoulder blade. She then led me around the far side of the lake and took me back to the main walkway, using an unlit path. The moment the streetlights came back on, I looked up and uncurled my fingers. The stone was still warm in my palm. Just as I was about to say something, I spotted Esther in

Gabriel's POV"You didn't stand up for me," I said. "Not once.""I kept messaging in that group chat every day, but no one even bothered to reply. People judged me whenever I walked around campus. "After that shelf came crashing down on me in the equipment room, I couldn't even get up. Every second of it was hell. Did you ever stop to think about what I'd been through?"I stopped. The sun felt warm on my face. My eyes stung a little, but no tears fell. "I withdrew from school back home so I could be happy for once. I came here to start a new chapter. "I did all this for myself, not so you could come here and play victim in front of me." I pulled my hand free easily, and she made no move to hold on. "Esther." I finally glanced at her. "You should go home."I turned to leave. I had barely taken a few steps when I heard a soft thud behind me. It sounded like someone lowering themselves to the ground. The wooden bench creaked once behind me. Then all I heard was the wind rust