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He had no idea I was staying here.

Of course he didn’t. I wasn’t here last night.

Silence stretches between the three of us, so thick it suffocates the whole place.

I don’t trust myself to speak.

If I open my mouth now, I’ll say something I can’t take back.

Or worse.

Without looking at either of them again, I walk past them, every step rigid with restraint, forcing my legs to keep moving until I reach my room.

The bathroom is the first place I head, turning the shower as cold as it will go.

Minutes later, I’m dressed again and already walking out the door.

I need adrenaline, movement.

I need something—anything—to drown out the fury pounding inside me before it breaks loose.

I know what I promised.

But tonight…

Tonight I’m hanging by a thread.

And for the first time in a long time, I’m not sure that promise is strong enough to stop me.

EIGHTEEN

Selene

You know that feeling of something is definitely happening when something is definitely happening?

Yeah. I’ve had it ever since Zayn left my room last night, after his eyes confessed everything he refused to put into words, only for him to avoid looking at me even once before walking back to his own room.

A room he didn’t stay in for more than ten minutes.

I heard him leave the house. And I heard him come back too—when the first rays of sunlight were already creeping over the horizon.

No, I didn’t sleep. Not even for a second. I wouldn’t have slept anyway, but the news articles that kept flooding my phone made sure to steal whatever tiny shred of rest I might have found, replacing it with heartbreak instead.

Why deny it? Why keep hiding from the truth? Why keep lying to myself?

That’s exactly what this is.

I’m exhausted—utterly exhausted—by this constant push and pull between us, by the games, the challenges, or whatever this impossible thing is supposed to be.

He kissed me senseless last night. He touched me. He held me in his arms like I was the only place he wanted to be.

And then…

Zayn Thomas Caught at Illegal Street Races

What is Zayn Thomas—a name carrying so much influence and importance—doing among people who spend their nights participating in something illegal?

Well, sources close to him claim this wasn’t his first time. Quite the opposite.