Chapter 203 CHAPTER 203
By the time the afternoon settled over Lunaris, the air inside the classroom had grown heavy with the quiet fatigue that always came after a long day.
Lisa tried to focus.
She truly did.
But the professor’s voice, steady and measured as it moved through the lesson, seemed to blur into the background.
Her eyes were fixed on the open page before her, her pen resting between her fingers as if ready to take notes, but her mind refused to stay where it was supposed to be. It drifted, again and again, slipping away from the lesson and returning to the same place it had been all day.
Isabel.
Even at lunchtime, something had felt off.
Lisa could still see it clearly - the way Isabel had sat across from her, quieter than usual, her usual brightness dimmed as she picked at her food without really eating. It had not been dramatic or obvious, but it had been enough for Lisa to notice. Enough to make something inside her feel uneasy.
Isabel was not like that.
And even though Lisa had not pushed, had not asked too many questions, the image lingered in her mind now, growing heavier with every passing minute.
Her pen tapped lightly against the desk as she exhaled slowly, trying to pull herself back into the present.
The professor’s voice continued in the background, steady and measured, but her thoughts refused to settle where they should. Instead, they drifted back to the morning, to the quiet tension that had lingered between Ethan and Isabel like something neither of them wanted to name.
Lisa’s fingers tightened slightly around her pen as she stared at the page in front of her without truly seeing it. Something had happened between them the previous night. She was certain of it. The silence at breakfast had not been ordinary, and the way Isabel had avoided looking at Ethan, the way Ethan had not even shown up at the table, it all felt wrong in a way she could not ignore.
Her brows drew together faintly.
What happened between them?
The question pressed at her mind, persistent and unanswered. She had seen enough to know that neither of them wanted to talk about it, and that, more than anything, unsettled her. Isabel had always been open, expressive in her own way, and Ethan—though guarded—had never been one to completely shut her out like that.
A more troubling thought crept in.
Could Ethan have done something to hurt her?
Lisa’s breath stilled for a moment at the idea, her chest tightening slightly as the possibility formed.
Then she shook her head almost immediately, dismissing it before it could take root.
No.
He wouldn’t do that.
She knew him well enough to be certain of that. Even if she had not grown up with him, even if their bond was still new in some ways, she had seen enough of the man he was to understand where his limits lay. Ethan might be harsh with himself, might carry more than he should, but he would never lay a hand on Isabel in a way that would hurt her.
Not physically.
Still… something had happened.
Her gaze softened slightly as she leaned back in her seat, her thoughts turning quieter, more uncertain.
Isabel had gone to comfort him.
That much she knew.
And yet, somehow, it had ended with Isabel being the one who looked broken, the one who seemed to be carrying something too heavy for her. And Ethan… Ethan had looked like a man weighed down by something he could not fix, something he did not know how to undo.
Lisa’s fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
What are you both hiding?
Why won’t you say anything?
The questions lingered, unanswered, hanging in the quiet space between her thoughts.
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to let it go for now, even though the unease remained.
Focus.
But just as she forced her attention toward the professor again, her phone vibrated softly against the wooden surface of the desk.
The sound was small, but it felt louder than it should have.
Lisa’s hand moved almost instinctively, her fingers wrapping around the phone as her gaze dropped to the screen.
Isabel.
A small crease formed between her brows.
Something inside her tightened before she even opened the message.
She tapped the screen.
Lisa… I can’t do this anymore.
The words seemed to settle heavily in her chest.
Her fingers stilled.
Everything is too much. I’m so tired.
For a brief moment, Lisa simply stared at the message, her thoughts scrambling to catch up with what she was reading. It didn’t feel like a normal message. It didn’t feel like something Isabel would say lightly.
It felt… final.
A cold wave of unease moved through her.
Her fingers moved quickly.
What do you mean? What’s wrong? Where are you?
The reply came almost instantly.
I don’t think I can handle it anymore… please come.
Lisa’s heart began to pound.
Her chest tightened with a sharp, rising panic that she could not ignore.
This wasn’t just sadness.
This wasn’t just Isabel having a bad day.
Something was wrong.
Deeply wrong.
Lisa pushed her chair back quickly, the legs scraping lightly against the floor as she stood. A few heads turned in her direction, but she barely noticed.
“I’m sorry,” she said hurriedly, “I need to step out.”
She didn’t wait for permission.
Her feet were already moving, carrying her out of the classroom and into the hallway, her pulse racing as she typed again.
Where are you?
Her fingers trembled slightly this time.
A second passed.
Then another.
And then the reply appeared.
Girls locker room.
That was all.
Lisa didn’t hesitate.
She moved quickly down the corridor, her steps urgent, her mind racing faster than her body could keep up. The guard stationed near the classroom straightened immediately as he saw her approach.
“Princess…”
“I’ll be fine,” Lisa said quickly, not stopping. “I just need a moment.”
There was no time to explain.
No time to think.
All she could think about was Isabel.
The hallway seemed longer than usual, the sounds of the school fading behind her as she moved further away from the main areas. The air felt different here - quieter, heavier, as if the space itself was holding its breath.
By the time she reached the locker room, her chest was tight with urgency.
The door stood slightly open.
Lisa pushed it wider.
“Isabel?”
Her voice echoed faintly into the dim space.
No answer.
A flicker of unease moved through her.
She stepped inside.
The room was darker than the hallway, the overhead lights casting uneven shadows across the rows of lockers. The stillness felt unnatural, pressing in around her in a way that made her instincts stir.
“Isabel?” she called again, moving further in.
Still nothing.
Her gaze swept across the room, searching, her heart pounding louder with every second that passed.
Something wasn’t right.
Her steps slowed.
“Isabel, it’s me…”
The impact came without warning.
A sharp force struck the back of her head, sending a burst of pain through her skull as her vision fractured instantly. The world tilted, the ground rushing up too fast as her body lost balance.
She gasped, the sound barely escaping her lips as she fell.
The floor hit hard.
Her thoughts scattered, slipping through her grasp as darkness crept in at the edges of her vision.
She tried to move.
Tried to turn.
But her body wouldn’t respond.
Through the haze, she became aware of movement behind her.
A presence.
Close.
Reaching.
Her breathing grew shallow as her eyes struggled to focus, catching only a shadow, a shape bending toward her.
Then.
Light.
It flared suddenly from her chest, the necklace around her neck igniting with a radiant glow that spread outward in a soft but powerful wave. The light wrapped around her, forming a barrier that shimmered faintly in the dim room.
The presence recoiled instantly.
There was a sharp reaction, almost like pain, as the reaching hand jerked back.
A pause followed.
Then the hand moved again, slower this time, testing the edge of the light.
The moment it touched the glow, it recoiled again, more violently this time.
Again.
And again.
Each attempt met the same resistance.
The light held.
Unyielding.
Protective.
A low, frustrated sound echoed faintly before the presence withdrew completely.
Footsteps followed.
Quick.
Retreating.
Lisa’s vision blurred further as the light around her began to fade, its intensity softening as her strength gave way. The sounds of the footsteps grew distant, echoing faintly against the walls as they moved further away.
She tried to hold on.
Tried to stay awake.
But the darkness pressed in, heavier now, pulling her under.
The last thing she heard was the fading echo of footsteps disappearing into the distance.
And then….
Everything went still.
Her eyes closed.
And the world slipped into darkness.