Page 68 of The Bittersweet Bond

Compared to Bas, who always kept her at arm’s length, Sergej felt like a storm, shaking everything up.

It was exciting, sure.

But it wasdangerous too. Sergej was a current, dragging her into unknown, dark depths.

His confidence was almost unsettling, and the way he made no effort to hide his intentions—it threw her off balance.

Did she actually want to get to know him, or was she just reaching for something—anything—to shift her focus?

Maybe that was it. Or maybe not.

Either way, she thought bitterly, Bas deserved to see her happy—without him.

Kicking off her shoes, Evin barely had time to process her thoughts before her mom appeared in the hallway.

“Evin! Did you even study today?”

Evin rolled her eyes internally but kept her expression neutral. “Yes, Mom. I spent the whole afternoon working.”

“Really? Funny, I barely saw you at your desk,” her mom said, her tone sharp. “The next exams are coming up soon. Do you think you can just breeze through them?”

Evin shrugged, trying to sound casual. “I’ve got it under control, Mom.”

Her mom gave her a skeptical look. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re even taking this seriously. Sweetheart, with grades like yours, no university will accept you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don’t worry, I’m working on it,” Evin muttered, pulling out her phone to avoid getting dragged further into the conversation.

“I hope so,” her mom said softly before turning and walking down the hallway.

Quickly retreating to her room, Evin pulled out the note Sergej had given her, his handwriting messy but distinctive. She typed his number into her phone. Saved.

Now what?

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, phone in hand, she stared at the blank message screen. She had his number now, but that didn’t make it easier to find the right words. She didn’t want to seem like she was chasing him. But then again, why not give him a chance? He intrigued her, and he seemed genuinely interested in getting to know her.

What do you even text someone like Sergej? A simple “Hey, how are you?” felt too dull. She couldn’t imagine him being into small talk. He was someone who valued directness. Clear intentions. Her fingers lingered over the keyboard. Should she just ask if he wanted to meet up? Or was that too forward? Maybe something more casual?

She typed:

Hey, how’s it going?

Then she shook her head and deleted it. Too boring.

She typed again:

What are you doing tomorrow?

No, too vague. He could easily ignore that.

Evin bit her bottom lip, staring at the screen. Why was she overthinking this so much?

Normally, she wasn’t the type to agonize over things like this.

But Sergej had a way of throwing her off her game.

Finally, she typed:

Training ends at 8 PM tomorrow. Want to pick me up after?

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