Chapter 70 Terminated

Chapter 70 Terminated

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The next morning, Elowen woke up with Lucian’s question still echoing in her head.
What if my father ruined both our lives?
It lingered around her like smoke.. strong, heavy and impossible to clear.
She had barely slept.
Every time exhaustion finally dragged her under the blanket, her mind yanked her back awake with flashes of transfer dates, shell accounts, Dean Miller’s smug face, Lucian’s shattered expression in the gym, and the terrifying possibility that everything they had suffered had been orchestrated by hands far more powerful than either of them had realized.
So by the time sunlight crept through the thin curtains of her apartment, her chest already felt tight with dread and yet life  demanded she keep moving.
Her kinesiology lecture blurred past in a haze.
The professor’s voice suddenly turned into a meaningless noise, her notebook remained mostly blank except for a series of frantic half-written calculations scrawled in the margins.
Tuition.. Groceries.. Electricity.. Kieron’s medication.. Rent.
The numbers stared back at her like a threat but she didn’t complain instead she cancelled them and then recalculated hoping for a miracle that showed she had made a mistake so that the numbers she was seeing would reduce but nothing changed.
Even with Lucian’s increased training payments, things were still too tight.
One unexpected expense would be enough to send everything crashing down.
By afternoon, the weight of exhaustion sat heavy in her flesh and bones but she still forced herself toward her evening café shift because whatever emotional disaster was unfolding around her, she couldn’t afford to stop working and earning.
The café sat just off campus, tucked between a bookstore and a laundromat.
Usually, walking through its glass doors brought a strange kind of comfort.. The scent of espresso and cinnamon.. The low hum of conversation.. The familiar rhythm of steaming milk and clattering ceramic cups.
Tonight, though, something felt off the moment she stepped inside.
The atmosphere was strange and to make matters worse her coworkers avoided eye contact then one of the baristas gave her an awkward, pitying smile before quickly looking away.
A knot formed in Elowen’s stomach before she saw Marcus, the manager, he stood near the back office wringing his hands.
And for reasons best known to him, he  looked uncomfortable and that alone was enough to set every instinct on edge.
Marcus was many things.. Scatterbrained, chronically over-caffeinated, hopelessly passive-aggressive when inventory ran low but uncomfortable was new.
“Elowen,” he said when he spotted her and his smile looked painfully forced.
“Can I, uh… talk to you for a second?”
Slowly, she followed him into the cramped back office and the moment the door shut behind them, the air became suffocating.
Marcus avoided looking directly at her as he fussed with a stack of papers on his desk then cleared his throat.
“So.” The single word felt ominous.
Elowen crossed her arms. “What happened?”
Marcus grimaced. “Look, this isn’t personal okay.”
Her chest tightened as she knew that phrase never preceded anything good.
“We’ve received some concerns.”
“What kind of concerns?”
He hesitated then reached for a printed sheet and slid it across the desk.
Elowen’s eyes scanned the page.
It was an anonymous complaint and the words made her blood run cold.
Concerns regarding inappropriate campus conduct and behavior inconsistent with the café’s public image standards.
Her throat tightened.
No… No, no, no.
The complaint referenced social media posts.
Campus gossip.. Rumors of “compromising involvement” with a student-athlete under public disciplinary scrutiny.
Lucian.
The forum.
Her stomach dropped violently andMarcus rubbed the back of his neck.
“We’re located near university property. Our owner is… sensitive to anything that could damage business.”
Elowen stared at him. “You’re firing me because of rumors?”
“It’s not exactly..”
“It is exactly that.”
Her voice came out sharper than intended.
Marcus flinched. “Elowen, I argued for you.”
She laughed bitterly. “And?”
He looked away.
The silence was answer enough and something cold spread through her chest. It wasn't anger.. Not yet.
It was.. Panic.. Real, immediate panic because this job mattered.
Every shift, every paycheck, every tip tucked into the jar.. She needed this.
“Please,” she said, hating the crack in her voice.
Marcus’ face crumpled slightly and that told her everything.. The decision had already been made.
“I’m sorry.”
Two soft helpless and useless words.
For one strange second, everything around her seemed to sharpen unnaturally.. The hum of the refrigerator, the distant hiss of steaming milk, her own heartbeat hammering too loudly in her ears.
Then reality hit all at once… She was fired with no warning, no severance, no backup plan.
Just gone.
Her throat burned, her eyes itched but she refused to cry.
Not here and definitely not n front of Marcus.
Without another word, she grabbed her bag and walked out.
The cool evening air slapped her skin the moment she stepped onto the sidewalk.. Still, she kept walking.
One block.. Two.. Three.. Four..  Until the café disappeared behind her.
Only then did she stop and her hands trembled as she fumbled for her phone.
Calculator.
She opened it with shaking fingers and began calculating..
Current savings, remaining account balance, next utility bill, rent, Kieron’s prescription refill, food, transportation..
The numbers stacked quickly and mercilessly.
Her breathing turned shallow.
Even with what she had saved, even with Lucian’s payments  she was barely holding on.
And if anything else went wrong.. anything at all..  she was done.
The realization hit like a punch to the ribs. Her scholarship had already been sabotaged, now her job.
This wasn’t random it couldn’t be.
The rumors were escalating, the anonymous complaints, the coordinated whispers as well as the social media scrutiny.
Someone was tightening the noose ans. suddenly Reyes’ warning returned to her with brutal clarity.
You’re dealing with people who have money and influence.
Her stomach churned.
Someone was actively dismantling her life and just then her phone buzzed. It was a text from Kieron.
‘I’m home.. You bringing dinner?’
The knot in her chest tightened painfully. She stared at the message for a long moment then typed back.
‘Running late. Already ate. You should too.’
A lie but it was easier than explaining and way easier than admitting she had just lost one of the only things keeping them afloat.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and forced herself to keep moving and by the time she reached their apartment building, exhaustion pressed down so heavily it felt physical..
For a brief, irrational second, she imagined simply collapsing right there on the floor instead, she trudged toward her door.
Then stopped.. A white envelope had been taped neatly to the center of it.
Her pulse stuttered because for one terrifying moment, she thought of the photo slipped beneath her door.
The silent threats as well as the watching eyes.
Despite her trembling hands, she tore the envelope free and opened it and that’s when her stomach dropped more than it had earlier.
This wasn’t a threat, it was worse.. An official notice from building management.
Her eyes scanned the printed text once then again and again but the words refused to make sense.
‘Due to revised property valuation assessments, monthly rental rates will increase effective immediately.’
Below that sat the new amount.. It was nearly thirty percent higher.
A sick, dizzying wave of panic crashed over her. “No.. No.”
The whisper escaped before she could stop it.
No. This couldn’t be happening…Not now.. Not after losing her job at the café.
Not after everything else.. Her fingers tightened around the paper hard enough to crumple its edges.
Inside the apartment, she heard Kieron moving around.. Oblivious and trusting her to keep things together, to keep them afloat.
And for the first time in a very long time, Elowen had absolutely no idea how she was going to do that.
Standing there in the dim hallway, the notice trembling in her hands, one terrible truth settled heavily into her chest.. They were running out of time.