Nia’s POV

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Leo’s voice turned to ice as we rounded the corner. It bounced off the narrow hallway walls, loud and unforgiving. I flinched—but only slightly. I was too raw, too wound up to act shocked. He stood a few feet away now, eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring as if I had crossed some sacred boundary.

My heart was still pounding from everything—Carl, the kiss, the noise, the chaos. But now that the adrenaline had bled out, I could feel my chest tighten, not in panic, but in realization. I had kissed a complete stranger. To prove a point. To reclaim something that wasn’t even mine anymore.

I stood still, my fists clenched at my sides, grounding myself. I didn’t shrink from Leo’s glare, though guilt pressed behind my ribs like a bruise. Yeah—I did that. And no, I wasn’t proud of it.

Leo’s stare was like frostbite. Distant. Disgusted.

“Why the hell did you touch me?” he snapped. His voice dropped, sharp enough to cut glass. “Who gave you the right to do that? You don’t just grab someone and kiss them. Are you insane? Do you think that’s okay?”

“I’m not saying it was okay,” I said, my voice quiet but steady. “It wasn’t.” I looked him in the eyes now, refusing to cower. “But I’m not insane. Just… pushed too far.”

He let out a bitter laugh, harsh and without humor. “Pushed too far? That’s your excuse?”

“I’m not making excuses,” I replied, squaring my shoulders. “I’m owning up to what I did. But don’t talk to me like I’m some girl playing a stupid game. You don’t know me.”

“Oh, I know your type,” he sneered, stepping closer. “You girls think everything revolves around your feelings. That throwing yourself at someone will make them look at you. You think it’s flattering, but it’s pathetic. You used me to get back at your boyfriend—”

“Ex,” I cut in, voice cool now. “He’s my ex.”

“Whatever,” Leo spat. “You dragged me into your drama like I’m some tool to make your ex jealous. You think I’m a prop in your little heartbreak story?”

I stiffened, jaw clenching. “You’re not a prop. And I never said I was right. But you don’t get to stand there and spit venom like I’m beneath you. I didn’t mean for things to go that way. I just reacted.”

“Reacted?” he echoed, eyes narrowing. “You crossed a line.”

“Maybe I did,” I said, voice low but calm. “And I’m not proud of it. But don’t pretend you’ve never done something impulsive when you felt cornered.”

That struck something. He blinked, but his jaw remained tight.

“I don’t care what your excuse is,” he said flatly. “Whatever that was, don’t let it happen again. If you ever try something like that again—my security will handle it.”

And just like that, he turned and walked away, his footsteps sharp, echoing through the hall as if they wanted to leave dents in the floor.

He didn’t give me a chance to say anything else. No space for clarity. Just a cold shutdown.

Fine.

I stood there in the hallway, the silence thick around me. I wasn’t crying. My eyes burned, sure—but not with tears. With frustration. Embarrassment. A hollow kind of anger.

I had kissed Leo Kent to reclaim power, to feel like I was in control of something—anything. But I just ended up feeling worse. Stupid. Not because he rejected me, but because I expected that kiss to fix something in me. To fill the hole Carl had left behind.

I didn’t feel strong. I felt scraped thin.

Still, I refused to fall apart.

I wrapped my arms around myself—not to shield, but to contain. The ache in my chest pulsed, but I stayed upright. I started walking, head high despite the sting in my throat. I didn’t even know where I was headed. I just needed out. Away from the echo of Leo’s voice. Away from the chlorine-slicked lies Carl had fed me. Away from everything.

The air outside was cooler. Gray clouds had gathered, but I hadn’t noticed until the first soft raindrops hit my skin. Gentle, almost apologetic. I didn’t run from it. I kept walking, the sky opening up gradually until the rain soaked through my dress, sticking it to my skin like a second layer of disappointment.

I stopped in the middle of an empty street, standing in the rain like it could wash away everything.

I tilted my face up, eyes closed. I didn’t feel free. Or poetic. I just felt done. The ache in my heart was bone-deep. I had loved Carl. Truly. Stupidly. Completely. And he reduced me to a footnote in his story, a “nobody” he didn’t want the world to see.

I scoffed softly, water dripping from my chin. My lips trembled—not from weakness, but from the effort it took to hold myself together.

I’d given that man every part of me. Changed parts of who I was just to fit into his world. Silenced myself, dulled my shine so he could glow brighter. And all I got was a cold slap of reality.

My hands shook. Not with fear. With exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion.

Then, without warning, the sobs came. Not small, controlled ones. Real, guttural sobs that broke free like a dam. My body shook with it, but I stayed standing. I didn’t collapse—I just let it out.

Every tear I’d swallowed over the months. Every fight I let slide. Every cruel comment I pretended not to hear. Every moment I tried to make myself smaller for him. It all poured out in the rain.

My phone buzzed. I fumbled it out of my pocket, the screen smeared with water as I swiped blindly.

“Nia!” Cleo’s voice burst through, bright and excited. “Oh my God, finally! I’ve been dying to know how it went! Did he love the watch? Was he surprised? Did he kiss you? The dress… I bet he tore it off you! Tell me everything!”

I couldn’t answer. My sobs were too loud, too raw. I clutched the phone tighter like it was an anchor in a sea of everything crashing around me.

“Nia?” Her tone shifted fast, alarmed. “Are you crying? What happened? Where are you?”

“H-he said I was a nobody,” I gasped between sobs, the truth slicing my throat. “He didn’t want to be seen with me. Said I don’t belong in his world. That I’m just with him because he’s going places. Cleo—I—”

I didn’t see the truck.

I stepped into the street, dazed and drenched, my vision warped by rain and tears. Headlights. A horn. Tires screeching against wet pavement.

I gasped. There was no time.

The last thing I heard was Cleo screaming my name.

Then—nothing.

Just black.