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Attention! Chapter Three has been re-edited—more tension, more mystery, and surprises you won't see coming. Make sure you read it before diving into Chapter Four… you won't want to miss a single detail
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Alisha POV
Honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about last night.
Alex standing there. His clothes battered in blood.
Whose blood was that?
And Mandy—my roommate—turns out to be his sister. Of all people. I still couldn't wrap my head around it. Was it just coincidence?
Or was fate slowly pulling strings I couldn't see yet?
Mandy later called to say she'd be staying at home for a while. Temporary, she said.
But knowing her—knowing how fearless, loud, and carelessly confident she usually was—it didn't sit right with me.
Something felt… off. I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that trouble had quietly slipped into our lives.
I was worried about her.
I tried to push the thoughts aside and focus on class, but my mind refused to cooperate. My pen hovered uselessly over my notebook.
I scribbled something, erased it, scribbled again. Every thought kept coming back to Alex: the blood, the silence, the unreadable expression on his face.
Then—
Footsteps.
Slow. Measured.
Familiar.
I glanced up.
And my heart stopped.
I didn't expect to see him here. Not here. Not now. Not ever.
Andrew.
My first love.
What was he even doing in this university of all places?
Just looking at him hurt. The kind of pain that doesn't scream or shout—but quietly burns in your chest.
Memories I thought I had buried deep rushed back without warning: the first time he held my hand, the first time he smiled at me, the first time he left.
Daniel noticed immediately.
"Ali," he whispered, concern written across his face. "Are you okay?"
I wasn't. Not even close.
All I wanted was to go home. Curl up in bed. Cry until my chest stopped aching. This was supposed to be a new life.
A fresh start. Andrew wasn't supposed to be part of it.
And yet… there he was. Sitting only a few rows away.
His dark hair falling slightly into his eyes. That familiar crooked smile. My pulse was erratic. My chest felt tight, my hands trembling slightly on my notebook.
I tried to focus on the lecturer, on the words being spoken, but my ears only caught Andrew's quiet laugh at something no one else heard.
His voice… it was like a knife wrapped in silk. Soft, familiar, dangerous.
I felt Daniel nudge me gently. "Ali, you're not listening."
I blinked, forcing myself to nod. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine," I lied.
My mind, however, was elsewhere. On him.
On why he was here. On what he wanted.
And then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
I froze. My fingers shook as I reached for it.
Unknown Number: I will have you. No matter what.
A cold shiver ran down my spine. My eyes flicked to Andrew, and for a split second, our gazes met.
But he didn't notice. Not a twitch. Not a blink. He wasn't even aware.
The message felt heavier in his presence. Like the air had thickened.
Like something dangerous was pressing just beneath the surface of everything I thought I knew.
I quickly locked the phone and shoved it into my bag. My stomach churned.
Andrew leaned back in his seat, stretching casually.
His presence alone made the classroom feel smaller, tighter, like the walls were closing in.
Every glance he threw in my direction made my heart skip a beat, even if it was brief, even if he wasn't looking at me.
Every little motion—from the way he adjusted his sleeve to the way he leaned back—was enough to remind me of everything I'd buried.
I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. I wanted to scream. But I stayed. Frozen in place.
Because this wasn't just Andrew.
It was the past colliding with my present.
The unknown texts. The blood. Alex. Mandy. And me, stuck right in the middle of it all.
And one thing was certain: nothing in my life would ever feel normal again.