Page 35 of The Bittersweet Bond

His gaze was cold, his stance rigid as he stared at the two of them.

Evin had never seen him before.

“Evin, leave us,” he said, his voice sharp and cutting, as if Evin was nothing more than an annoying inconvenience.

Confused and nervous, Evin glanced at Bas, but he only gave her a fleeting, almost apologetic nod.

She had to go.

Without another word, she slipped past the man and out of the classroom, shutting the door behind her. She didn’t go far, curiosity and unease compelled her to wait nearby, where she could hear everything.

The silence was heavy until the sharp, cutting tone of Bas’s father broke through.

“What do you think you’re doing, Sebastian? First pathetic performance on stage—you embarrassed us—and now this girl?”

Evin held her breath.

The tension in his voice made her pulse race.

She couldn’t make out Bas’s reply, but before she could dwell on it…

A sharp slap rang through the air. Her heart stopped.

Instinctively, she darted into an adjacent room.

“Now pull yourself together, damn it!” The words rang out as the door slammed open.

Her eyes were still wide with shock.

She covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her breathing. Her breaths came shallow, and she didn’t daremove.

__________

The memory pounded in her head as vividly as if she had just stepped out of that silent classroom where Bas’s father had broken him—who knew how many times before?

It was the first time she had seen the truth—not the confident boy everyone thought they knew, but the hurt, exhausted Bas who hid behind walls of sarcasm and coldness. It was this glimpse behind the facade that had captivated her.

This boy, far from perfect, who constantly lost himself but tried to reveal his true self to her. In the fleeting moments when they were alone, and that was the Bas who had stolen her heart.

The Bas who, in the end, had shattered it just as easily.

“Evin, hey?” Milka’s voice abruptly pierced the darkness of her thoughts, pulling her mercilessly back to the present. Milka gave her a questioning look, as if she could see the silence hanging between them.

Evin forced a faint smile, her throat tight. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going over the presentation,” she said softly, the words echoing faintly as though they still reverberated from the depths of her memories.

“Don’t overthink it, everything will be fine,” Milka said, gripping Evin’s shoulders gently and giving her a reassuring shake.

Chapter 9

Unforgiven

Evin

History had always been one of Evin’s favorite subjects. The structure, the clarity—it offered her a retreat from the chaos of her social life. But today, on this Monday morning, everything felt different. The room seemed smaller, the air stifling, and the stares that met her were sharp, cutting into her like daggers.

She stood in front of the class, clutching her notes on nationalism in California tightly, yet her thoughts were spinning elsewhere. The news about the video had spread faster than she could have stopped it. No matter how hard she tried to focus, she couldn’t block out the intrusive whispers and judgmental glances. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to steady her breathing.

"Focus," she whispered to herself, flipping through her cue cards. But it was as if the room was charged with tension, and the words stuck to the roof of her mouth. Of all days, it had to be today that she gave this damn presentation. Everything was spiraling. Her stomach clenched tightly.

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