Chapter 39

Chapter 39


Sera POV

“Hey, Seth… did you see that?” Luca’s voice cut through the chatter of the cafeteria, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his presence.

I looked up from my tray, forcing a neutral smile. “Uh… what?”

He leaned casually on the edge of the table, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Nothing. Just– wondering why Kael keeps glaring at us.”

I froze mid-bite. My heart thudded painfully against my ribs. Kael glaring… at us? At me? I swallowed hard and shook my head, trying to focus on my lunch. “I… don’t know.”

I knew why he kept glaring at us. After what happened last night,I bet he was still furious about my actions.

Luca smirked, clearly not buying it, but he didn’t press further. Still, his presence was impossible to ignore. He always had this way of closing in without making it feel like he was, until suddenly you were painfully aware of him being near.

I looked down, trying to concentrate on my fork, but my mind was elsewhere. Kael’s absence. The way he hadn’t spoken to me since last night. The way he avoided looking at me. The sting of his blue eyes clouded with anger when I had pushed him away…

I’d been replaying it over and over in my head, each repetition twisting my chest tighter.

I shouldn’t have— I shouldn’t have pushed him. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I just— I was scared.

And now he was avoiding me.

I chewed slowly, forcing myself to swallow. The food had no taste. The cafeteria around me seemed to blur into nothing. All I could see were flashes of his face, the intensity of his gaze, the fire I had never seen before…

A sudden nudge jolted me out of my thoughts. Luca, of course, leaning just a little too close, grinning like he owned the table.

“You okay?” he asked, teasing, but there was a subtle undertone, almost too quick for me to notice.

I nodded, swallowing a lump in my throat. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t.

Because Kael… he had left me alone, and every glance I stole in his direction made my chest ache. He walked by without a word, barely sparing me a glance, and I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach.

I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to steady my rapid heartbeat. He was angry. Furious, even. And I… I had caused it.

By the end of lunch, my hands were shaking slightly. My notebook did little to calm me, my pen trembling as I tried to take notes. Every now and then, I caught sight of Kael across the hall, leaning against a wall, his expression unreadable but tense, and my stomach twisted painfully.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Luca found little excuses to sit near me, to brush against my arm lightly, to make small jokes that made me laugh and simultaneously flustered me. I didn’t understand why my chest tightened every time he leaned just a little closer.

But I didn’t have time to think about that.

Juliette.

Her threat still made me uneasy . I couldn’t stop thinking about the pads and tampons she had held in her hands in my room earlier.

Alexander had warned her, yes, but I didn’t trust it completely. Not really. The idea that she could expose me in front of the whole school made my stomach twist in fear.

I shook my head slightly, trying to shove the thought away. I needed to focus on something else, anything else. But my thoughts kept returning to Kael, to Luca, to Juliette… and the impossible mess of everything.

Later, between classes, Theo appeared beside me, leaning casually against the lockers. His expression was softer than usual, almost conspiratorial.

“Seth… I think you need to know,” he said quietly, lowering his voice so no one nearby could hear.

I looked up at him, wary. “Know what?”

Theo glanced around nervously before continuing. “Luca—he’s serious. He likes you, Seth. Not joking around this time. Not like flirty games. I think… I think he’s… in love with you.”

I blinked at him, my heart skipping painfully. “What?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You don’t have to say anything. Just… I thought you should know.”

I shook my head quickly, a flush creeping up my cheeks. “No… that can’t be true. He’s just… he’s always like that. He… I mean, he’s… fun. He flirts with everyone. That’s all.”

Theo’s gaze lingered on me, knowing, gentle, but there was something in it I couldn’t ignore. “Just… be careful, okay? I’m telling you because… he’s serious this time.”

I nodded absently, though my mind was already elsewhere. I couldn’t think about Luca right now—Not when the other pieces were moving around me like a dangerous puzzle I couldn’t control.

By evening, I was alone in the library, the study room, trying desperately to lose myself in the pages of a book. The inked words blurred before my eyes as I struggled to calm my racing thoughts.

I needed focus, something tangible. Anything to distract me from the storm inside me.

A soft cough drew my attention, and I looked up to see Alexander leaning against the doorway, his posture calm, unreadable as always.

“Alexander,” I whispered, voice tight. “I… I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bother you.”

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him with the faint click. “You’re not bothering me,” he said simply. Then, his eyes softened slightly as he took in my trembling hands and the way my shoulders hunched over the table.

“You need to be careful, Seth,” he said, voice low, deliberate. “You’re juggling a lot right now. Kael… Luca… Juliette… all of it.”

I swallowed hard, tears threatening at the edges of my eyes. “I… I don’t know what to do. I don’t—”

Alexander walked closer, placing his hands on the edge of the table near mine. His steady gaze met mine, “Eventually, you’re going to have to make a choice.”

I frowned, my heart pounding. “A choice?”

“Yes.” He leaned slightly, eyes piercing. “Between staying in the dark… or telling the truth.”

I shook my head, fear tightening around my chest. “I… I can’t. I… it’s too dangerous. Kael… everyone… it will—”

Alexander’s cold voice cut through my panic. “Do you understand what is at stake, Seth? When the truth comes out— the person who will be the most devastated isn’t me. It isn’t Luca. It’s Kael. He will lose everything, if he even feels betrayed.”

I froze. His words landed like stones in my chest. Kael… devastated? What would that even mean? My hands clutched the edge of the table, nails digging into the wood as panic, guilt, and fear swirled together.

“You…” I whispered, barely audible, “you’re saying… he’ll hate me?”

Alexander’s gaze didn’t waver. “Not hate. But he will be hurt in ways you can’t even imagine. You need to be prepared for that, Seth.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “I… I don’t know if I can… I can’t… I—”

He placed a hand lightly on my shoulder. “That’s why you need to decide. Before someone else decides for you.”

I nodded mutely, feeling the weight of his words settle over me. I wanted to ask questions, to demand explanations, to beg him for reassurance.but my voice caught in my throat, choked by fear and anxiety.

Alexander straightened, pulling back slightly. “Think about it carefully. And… do not make your decision based on fear alone.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the door. The soft click of it closing echoed in the silent study room, leaving me completely alone.

I pressed my face into my hands, shaking slightly, whispering to no one, “I… I don’t know what to do… I can’t… I can’t lose him… I can’t…”

And there I stayed, alone, my heart racing, mind spinning with impossible choices, and the unbearable knowledge that every step I took could hurt Kael, Luca… or worse, ruin everything.

I didn’t sleep. My eyelids eventually drooped, exhaustion pulling me into a restless, uneasy doze, filled with dreams of blue eyes clouded with fury, and the dark, lurking threat of Juliette waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

And even as my body rested, my mind could not escape the chaos inside.

Because soon, I would have to decide.

And whichever path I chose… Kael would be the one to pay the deepest price.