Chapter 50 The rumor mill
The next morning felt heavier than usual.
Lila woke up to a strange stillness, the kind that came before a storm.
Her phone buzzed over and over again on the nightstand. She reached for it lazily, still half-asleep until she saw the notifications.
Her name was everywhere.
Someone had posted a photo online of Damian leaning close to her at the café the previous day. His head tilted toward hers, his smile easy, familiar.
The caption read “Guess who’s got a type?”
And below that, the comments poured in like venom.
“Another redhead, huh?”
“Didn’t he learn from the last one?”
“Isn’t that the girl whose roommate died?”
“Some people just crave attention.”
Lila’s chest tightened. Her throat felt dry as dust. She scrolled through the feed, every word stabbing at her. It wasn’t just the picture. It was what it meant.
They didn’t see a harmless photo.
They saw a pattern, a tragedy repeating itself.
And she was at the center again.
When she walked into class, the whispers began before she even sat down.
Soft giggles. The hush of gossip traveling row to row.
“Red hair,” someone murmured behind her.
“Just like the last one.”
She gripped her pen tightly, pretending to write, her hand trembling slightly.
Her mind screamed for her to speak, to defend herself but she didn’t. What was the point? She’d learned silence sometimes protected her better than words.
Professor Beckett began the lecture, but Lila didn’t hear a thing. The words blurred into static. Her heart thudded in her chest, uneven, like a warning she couldn’t turn off.
After class, she tried to slip out quietly. But Asher was waiting near the doorway, jaw clenched.
He didn’t even say hello.
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” he asked, holding up his phone. The same photo. The same caption.
Lila’s stomach twisted. “Yeah,” she murmured.
“You think being around him will help you stay out of trouble?” His voice rose slightly, enough for a few heads to turn.
She blinked, hurt flickering across her face. “He’s been kind,” she said softly. “That’s all.”
Asher shook his head. “Lila, this isn’t about kindness. People are talking again. They’re”
“I know what they’re saying.” Her voice was sharper this time, cutting through his. “You think I don’t hear them? You think I don’t see how they look at me?”
Asher’s face fell. The anger in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something softer, concern, worry, maybe, regret.
He sighed. “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
She stared down at her shoes. “I already am.”
There was a silence between them. It felt heavy and awkward.
Asher ran a hand through his hair, his expression tightening. “Just be careful,” he said finally.
Then he walked off, leaving her standing alone in the hallway, the sound of her heartbeat echoing in her ears.
Lila didn’t move for a long time. She felt like the air around her had thickened and it was too heavy to breathe.
By the time she made it to the café, her phone had buzzed fifteen more times.
More notifications. More cruel comments.
She wanted to throw it into the nearest trash can.
But when she looked up, Damian was already there leaning against the wall outside, waiting.
He looked angry. Not the careless, playful kind of angry she’d seen from others but the quiet kind that lived in his eyes, burning steady.
“I saw the post,” he said before she could speak. “Whoever started it I’m handling it.”
Lila blinked. “Damian, you don’t have to”
“Yes, I do,” he interrupted, voice firm. “No one gets to use your name for clicks.”
His tone startled her. It wasn’t defensive, it was protective. Like he was defending something that was his.
“You shouldn’t make it worse,” she said gently. “Fighting them just gives them attention.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t just gossip, Lila. They’re twisting things. Making you look like..”
He stopped himself before finishing the sentence, jaw tightening.
Lila’s heart thudded. “Like what?”
He looked away, exhaling. “Like a ghost story.”
Her chest tightened again. The mention of ghosts, of before, made her feel suddenly cold.
Damian seemed to notice. He softened his tone. “I just don’t want you to carry this alone.”
She wanted to thank him, to tell him his words mattered but instead, she just nodded.
They walked across the field together, the late afternoon sun warm against their skin. The grass shimmered gold beneath their feet. For a moment, everything felt almost normal.
Damian changed the topic and spoke about the upcoming game, how much he hated his nutrition plan.
“You actually count your almonds?” Lila teased, a small smile tugging at her lips.
He grinned. “Coach says protein balance matters.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sounds exhausting.”
“It is,” he said, laughing. “You should come to the game though. You might enjoy watching me suffer.”
Lila laughed then. The sound surprised even her. It felt like something she hadn’t used in months.
He looked pleased. “There it is,” he said softly. “That’s better.”
“What is?”
“That laugh.”
Lila felt her cheeks warm. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” he said, smiling. “But you’re finally smiling back.”
For a few moments, they walked in comfortable silence.
She caught herself watching the way the sunlight touched his hair, how easy his movements seemed. He was confident without being arrogant, the kind of calmness that made people feel safe just standing next to him.
And for the first time in a long while, she almost forgot what fear felt like.
That evening, Lila stayed late in the library. She thought studying might help keep her mind busy. But even as she flipped through her notes, the whispers from the day followed her.
The looks. The laughter. The comments about red hair.
She stared at her reflection in the glass window, at the streak of red catching the light and wondered if she’d ever be able to be just Lila again.
Not Serena’s sister.Not the girl whose roommate died. Not the one who looked like the last one.
Just Lila.
She closed her notebook, suddenly too tired to keep pretending she didn’t care.
When she finally walked back to her dorm, the campus was almost silent. The streetlights flickered weakly, casting long shadows on the pavement. Her shoes clicked softly against the floor as she climbed the stairs.
Her hands trembled slightly when she reached her door. She unlocked it, stepped inside and stopped.
Something was different.
Her desk light was still on, even though she was sure she’d turned it off before leaving. And there, right in the center of the desk, lay a rose.
A single red rose.
Lila’s heart skipped a beat.
It wasn’t from Nora she knew that. Nora had gone to her friend's dorm the previous week. And Ruby was gone.
So who?
She took a step closer. The faint scent of the flower drifted up, soft and sweet.
Next to the rose was a folded piece of paper. Clean and white, with a message typed and printed neatly.
Her breath hitched as she reached for it, her fingers shaking slightly.
She unfolded it slowly.
“You looked happy today.”
The words blurred for a second as she stared at them.
Her stomach twisted. The air in the room felt heavy and thick enough to choke her.
Someone had been watching her. Someone had seen her with Damian.
She turned toward the window, her heart hammering against her ribs. The curtains swayed slightly from the evening breeze. Outside, the night was still and dark.
Lila swallowed hard. Her pulse was pounding in her ears. She looked back down at the rose, it looked so perfect.
There was no signature. No name and no clue as usual.
Only the scent of something familiar, roses and unease.
Her fingers tightened around the note.
She didn't know if it was a compliment, or a warning.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps at her door.
Lila froze. Her breathing quickened.
She heard a knock on the door.
She stood perfectly still, her hand still gripping the note. Lila’s heart thudded painfully against her chest.
She didn’t move. She held her breath.
Then, another knock
And then, there was silence.
Her hand shook so badly she almost dropped the note.
Whoever it was had probably gone now.Or maybe they were still standing there, waiting.
Her pulse raced, but she didn’t move closer to the door.
Instead, she turned back to the desk to the rose and felt her stomach drop all over again.