"Instead of offering me favors… be careful," he said, his tone flat yet unsettling. His eyes flicked, just for a heartbeat, toward the hall where Aidera's lecture room was.
"W'what do you mean?"
"Nope, Nevermind." he said quietly before brushing past her.
Clara stood frozen, the echo of his words lingering long after his footsteps faded. She didn't know why, but a shiver crawled up her spine, and a single thought took root in her mind:
Whatever Zeyn really was… he wasn't someone ordinary.
* * *
Aidera's fingers hovered over the keyboard one last time before she hit "save." The final document blinked back at her—a week's worth of reports, finished in just three grueling days. Her back ached. Her wrists throbbed. But for the first time in hours, she exhaled, leaning into the chair as if a weight had been pulled from her shoulders.
