Chapter 35 What Breaks First
I didn’t go back inside.
I couldn’t.
The air outside was cold, but it didn’t help. Nothing helped.
Not the silence.
Not the distance.
Not the way I kept replaying that moment in my head.
The screen.
The whispers.
The looks.
Disgusting.
Step sister’s boyfriend.
She knew what she was doing.
My chest tightened again.
I wrapped my arms around myself, pacing once, then stopping like I didn’t even know what to do with my body anymore.
“Lenora.”
I froze.
Kylen.
Of course he came.
I didn’t turn around immediately.
Didn’t trust my face.
My voice.
Anything.
“Go away,” I said quietly.
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Closer.
“I’m not leaving you like this.”
I let out a sharp breath.
“You already did.”
That hit.
I felt it.
“Lenora…”
I turned then. Fast.
“Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t say my name like that like you didn’t just stand there while all of that happened.”
His expression hardened instantly.
“I didn’t stand there.”
“You didn’t stop it either!”
The words came out louder than I expected.
Shaking.
Raw.
His jaw tightened.
“I shut it down.”
“After,” I fired back. “After everyone saw it. After everyone judged me. After she humiliated me in front of the entire school.”
Silence.
Heavy.
“You think that’s enough?” I asked, quieter now.
He didn’t answer.
And that was the problem.
“I didn’t know she was going to do that,” he said finally.
I laughed bitterly.
“You never know anything when it comes to her, do you?”
That hit deeper than I meant it to.
But I didn’t take it back.
His eyes darkened.
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” I repeated. “You want to talk about fair?”
I stepped closer.
Not soft.
Not hesitant.
“Was it fair when you let her cling to you like I didn’t exist?”
“Was it fair when you ignored me?”
“Was it fair when you decided I didn’t deserve the truth?”
Each word landed harder than the last.
Kylen didn’t move.
Didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t defend himself.
Because he couldn’t.
“I’m tired,” I said, my voice breaking just slightly.
That was the first crack.
“I’m tired of fighting for something I don’t even understand anymore.”
His expression shifted then.
Not defensive.
Not angry.
Guilty.
“I was trying to protect you,” he said again.
I shook my head.
“No,” I whispered. “You were protecting her.”
That did it.
His entire posture snapped.
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not?” I challenged. “It’s true.”
“It’s not.”
“Then prove it.”
Silence.
Again.
Always silence when it mattered most.
My chest ached.
“That’s what I thought,” I said softly.
I turned, ready to walk away again.
But this time…
He grabbed my wrist.
Not rough.
But firm.
Enough to stop me.
“Don’t walk away from me,” he said.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Slowly…
I turned back.
“You don’t get to stop me anymore,” I said.
His grip loosened slightly.
But he didn’t let go.
“Lenora…” his voice dropped, softer now, almost desperate.
That scared me more than his anger.
“I messed up,” he admitted.
I froze.
That…
That was new.
“I thought I could handle it,” he continued. “I thought I could keep everything under control until I figured out how to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
There it was again.
The truth.
So close.
His grip tightened just slightly.
Then loosened again.
“I can’t,” he said.
Something inside me broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just…
Gone.
I pulled my hand away this time.
He didn’t stop me.
“Then stop acting like you care,” I said quietly.
His eyes widened.
“Because you don’t get to do both.”
That landed.
Hard.
I stepped back.
Distance.
Space.
Breathing room.
“If you really cared,” I continued, voice steady now, stronger, “you would’ve told me the truth already.”
Silence.
He didn’t argue.
Didn’t deny it.
Didn’t fix it.
And that was my answer.
I turned again.
Walked away.
This time…
He didn’t follow.
And that hurt more than anything.
Inside the school, the whispers hadn’t stopped.
If anything, they were worse.
Eyes followed me.
Judgment.
Curiosity.
Cruel amusement.
But I didn’t look down.
Didn’t slow.
Didn’t break.
Because I wouldn’t give them that.
“Lenora.”
I stopped.
Adrian.
Again.
Of course.
He leaned against the wall, watching me like he had been waiting.
“You’re becoming popular,” he said lightly.
I rolled my eyes.
“Not in a good way.”
He shrugged.
“Attention is attention.”
I stepped closer.
“And what do you want from it?”
His gaze held mine.
Longer this time.
Deeper.
“You,” he said simply.
My breath caught.
That wasn’t a joke.
Wasn’t teasing.
It was real.
Dangerously real.
“This isn’t a game,” I said.
“I know,” he replied.
“Then stop acting like it is.”
He pushed off the wall slowly.
Stepping closer.
“I’m not playing,” he said quietly.
My heart started racing again.
Different this time.
Not pain.
Not anger.
Something else.
And that terrified me.
Because everything was already falling apart.
And now…
Something new was starting.
Something I wasn’t ready for.
Something that could change everything.