Page 69 of The Bittersweet Bond

Before she could second-guess herself, she hit send. Her heart raced as she stared at the screen, waiting. It didn’t even take a minute before the three little dots appeared, showing that Sergej wastyping.She unconsciously held her breath.

I get to pick you up?

What an honor.

Sure.

Send me your address.

A smile spread across her lips. She liked this. No fuss, no games. It was refreshing.

Chapter 19

Admitting The Inevitable

Sebastian

The cafeteria door slammed shut behind him, but the sound barely registered. The usual noise of the room—laughter, trays clattering, the low hum of conversations—faded into the background, insignificant compared to the way his thoughts spiraled in on themselves. His gaze flicked to his table, where Stephan was laughing too loudly and Chris was predictably glued to his phone, but Bas barely acknowledged them. His focus had already been drawn elsewhere.

His eyes found her.Evin.

She was sitting with Milka, her laughter ringing through the cafeteria like nothing had changed, like the world still spun exactly the way it was supposed to. It was effortless, that ease in her posture, the way she leaned into the conversation like there was nothing clawing at the edges of her thoughts, nothing weighing her down.

He wished he could say the same.

Sliding into his seat, he grabbed his water bottle, took a sip, and tried to force himself to feel present. It didn’t work.

Lately, nothing did.

He had spent weeks trying to shut everything out, bury himself in training, in school, in anything that might keep his mind from circling back to the same place. But even when his body moved, his mind dragged behind, heavy with thoughts he refused to name.

It was obvious in everything he did. His shots were off. His reactions a second too slow. His footwork lacked precision, and his coach had called him out for it more than once. The teachers were starting to notice too.

And he couldn’t even argue.I feel it too.

That weight pressing down on him, throwing him out of sync, making it impossible to concentrate the way he used to. He had always been good at compartmentalizing, pushing through, keeping his emotions in check. But now? Now, it was different.

She was no more than five meters away, yet it felt like an entire ocean stretched between them, impossible to cross.

He knew how ridiculous he must look, the way his eyes kept drifting in her direction, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He needed an excuse—anything to move, to shift this restless energy into action before it suffocated him.

“I’m gonna head over to talk to Felix,” he muttered, already rising to his feet.

None of his friends questioned it. Why would they? Felix was standing right next to Evin’s table, a convenient coincidence he wasn’t willing to acknowledge.

As he crossed the room, he kept his steps measured, his posture loose, forcing himself to look like he belonged exactly where he was going. But the second he was close enough, his mind betrayed him. His focus was no longer on Felix, not even for a second.

It was on her.

And she looked good. Too good.Annoyingly good.

He tried to feign interest in whatever Felix was saying, nodding at the rightmoments, keeping up the illusion that this was just another casual conversation. But every word felt distant, muffled beneath the static in his head. His thoughts weren’t on Felix at all.

And then, for the briefest second, she looked up.

Their eyes met—just long enough for him to wonder if she felt it too.

But then she turned away, like it meant nothing.

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