Page 59 of The Bittersweet Bond

"Hey, Evin, everything okay here?"

Ben. Of course. Always with his perfect timing.

His face was open, his gaze calm. But when his eyes landed on Bas, he immediately sensed the tension.

"Ben… good thing you're here!" Evin forced herself to look at him and managed a small smile, though it took everything she had.

Bas didn’t turn around. His stare stayed fixed on the ground.

"About the tutoring… I think I’ll take you up on your offer."

Ben raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. He flicked a glance at Bas before a grin spread across his face.

"Yeah, sure, no problem. Just let me know when."

Bas remained silent, his shoulders visibly tense beside her. The moment felt fragile, like a ticking bomb ready to detonate. "Okay, see you then," Ben said, taking a step back. But before he left, his gaze lingered on Bas. "If you need anything else, Evin... just let me know."

A flicker of something crossed Bas’s face—so faint it was almost imperceptible.

But still, he stayed silent.

Ben nodded at Evin one last time before walking away.

The silence that followed was deafening, but Evin wasn’t about to let it crush her.

She shot up, brushing off her clothes as if shaking off his presence.

"I get it now, Bas," she began, her voice sharp, each word slicing through the tension. "You always need an audience to feel big. But you know what? You’re so fucking small."

Her lips moved into a cold smile as his brows furrowed in response.

"And me? I’m done being the fool in your little shit show."

Enjoy your empty stage.

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Each step she took felt like liberation, like she was shedding the weight of his disdain.

This time, there would be no comeback. No reaction from him that could pull her back. She was done with him.

Some mistakes don’t leave bruises, but they linger.

And now, he’d have to live with that.

Chapter 16

Off Balance

Sebastian

Leaning against the bench in the locker room, his thoughts were still partially on Evin. The taste of last night still clung to him—bitter and sweet, all at once.

But his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Vinc addressed him directly.

“Well, Loverboy? How was it with Evin? Did she show you how flexible she is from all that ballet?” He grinned widely, his eyes glinting with amusement.

Vinc wasn’t a friend. Just a teammate. Before this, they’d barely exchanged more than a few words.

Bas rolled his eyes, pretending to ignore him, but that only seemed to encourage this dude more. “Come on, man, we all know something happened. You can’t deny it. Everyone saw you two last night. No way you’re getting out of this one."

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