Page 70 of The Bittersweet Bond

And maybe it didn’t.

But the way it felt—the way his chest tightened, the way the dull ache settled deeper into his bones—told him otherwise.

This was his fault and he didn’t know how to fix it.

And then she saw him.

Their eyes met, and he knew she had caught him. Evin narrowed her eyes, rolled them, and stood up. Without a word, she slung her bag over her shoulder and strode out of the cafeteria, as if he were nothing but air.

Bas remained frozen, his gaze still locked on Felix, though the words barely registered. There was no doubt about it—she had caught him.

Evin was gone, but her presence lingered, vivid and sharp, as though she were still standing there, giving him that look. The look that cut right through him yet dismissed him in the same breath.

What am I even doing here?

The thing with Evin wouldn’t leave him alone, and it infuriated him. He was angry at her for moving on so easily, without so much as a second glance. Angry at himself for not being able to do the same. He had tried to show her. Tried to prove... what exactly?

Damn it.

He was the one who had shut her out, ignored her. And yet, she was the one who seemed utterly unaffected.

He should forget her. God, easier said than done.

He had tried a thousand times, but the second he thought he’d finally buried her from his mind, she’d reappear. At school, at some party, or just randomly in his thoughts. She was always there, no matter how hard he tried to shake her.

“Bas, man, are you even listening?” Felix’s voice broke through his spiraling thoughts.

“Sorry, yeah. Totally,” Bas lied, straightening up. “Just got a little distracted for a second.”

Felix gave him a skeptical look but let it slide and kept talking. Bas nodded absently, though a storm raged inside him.

Part of him wanted to hate her. To wipe her from his life entirely, as if she had never mattered. But the other part? The other part wanted her so badly it hurt.

And the worst part? He couldn’t even make sense of it.

He had never had trouble with girls before. Relationships were something that came and went—fun, nothing more.

But with Evin?It felt different. More intense. And that terrified him.

Because he wasn’t the guy who worked for something like this. He wasn’t the guy who had to.

And even though she was gone now, his mind was still circling around her, around them, around everything that could’ve been.

Fuck, it wouldn’t stop. Not really.

Maybe it was time to stop fighting it.

Chapter 20

High Stakes

Evin

Evin stepped into the ballet studio, the familiar creak of the floorboards under her feet and the light streaming through the tall windows instantly soothing her.

Today, she felt lighter than usual.

After a long day filled with classes and endless exam prep, the studio felt like a sanctuary—a place where she could finally clear her mind. The knot in her stomach, which had accompanied her for months, was gone. She knew it was because all the gossip about her had finally died down, and she’d had a good day at school for a change.

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