CHAPTER — LAURA

He saw something that wasn’t real.

I didn’t even notice Jacob at first.

I had just stepped out of the Fine Arts building, exhausted, sleep-deprived, and honestly trying not to cry again. My chest still felt tight from everything—Mom’s confession, the house of lies collapsing, the guilt that kept chewing through my ribs.

I just wanted a quiet walk.

Five minutes alone.

Five minutes where no one needed anything from me.

But then Jacob appeared in front of me, blocking my path like he’d been waiting.

“Faye… can we talk?”

His voice was soft, but his eyes—God, his eyes looked wrecked. Red. Tired. A little swollen. Like...