Prologue The beginning of college life feels like the first page of a brand-new story—filled with unspoken promises, unexplored paths, and the illusion that anything is possible. For Marilyn, it was all of that—and more. She came to the small town from a bustling city, carrying dreams larger than the suitcases she packed. The only daughter of doting, middle-class parents, Marilyn had never known what it felt like to be unloved. Her world had always been secure. Supported. Cherished. She believed in the goodness of people, in love, in the idea that effort was always rewarded. She wasn’t prepared for Xavier. He was everything she thought she wanted. Charming. Confident. Beautiful in the way that made you forget how to breathe. From the first day of college, Marilyn was captivated. And when he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world, she believed it. She gave him everything. Her time. Her trust. Her heart. But what she thought was love… was a lie wrapped in perfect words. Behind Xavier’s crooked smile was a cruel game. A bet. A challenge with his friends—to see how quickly he could win her over. How fast he could get what he wanted. And Marilyn? She was just the prize. When the truth unraveled, it wasn't loud or dramatic. It was quiet. Hollow. A single sentence that shattered her: "Did I ever ask you to do all this?" He left her broken. Not just with a bruised heart, but with shame, loneliness, and a reputation he destroyed as carelessly as he had loved her. She had mistaken manipulation for meaning. False affection for forever. Because when fake love arrives, it never looks fake. It feels like answered prayers, like destiny written in stars. And by the time you realize the truth, you've already handed over every piece of yourself—hoping to be enough. But this is not where her story ends. Xavier was the beginning of her heartbreak. But he would not be the end of her journey. What Marilyn didn’t know then was that healing would come—not from Xavier, but from within. And from someone unexpected. Someone who knew pain. Who carried his own scars. Someone who would teach her what real love could be. His name was Lucas. And he would be nothing like his brother.

Guilt of Two is the story of a man who survives love—and a girl who believes in it too much. After a devastating relationship, he learns to wear charm like armor. He talks to women, keeps things casual, never lets anyone stay long enough to hurt him. Feelings are risks. Attachment is weakness. That’s the rule he lives by. Until he meets her. She is different—untouched by games, honest in her silences, brave in her vulnerability. She doesn’t hide her fears or her past. She doesn’t pretend. Slowly, without realizing it, she shows him the person he used to be before pain taught him to run. And that terrifies him. Seeing himself in her feels like reopening an old wound. So he does what he has always done—he pulls away. He stops answering her calls. He leaves her messages unread. He chooses distance over courage. And when fear isn’t enough, he chooses cruelty—repeating the very betrayal that once broke him. For her, the silence is louder than any argument. Already fragile, already struggling, she tries therapy, tries patience, tries understanding—but the one person she needs most keeps disappearing. When she finally sees him with someone else, something inside her doesn’t break… it goes numb. She stops calling. Stops explaining. Stops fighting. Everyone thinks she’s just getting over him. She isn’t. By the time he realizes what his absence has done, it’s too late. All that remains is a quiet room, unanswered questions, and a note that doesn’t accuse—only confesses how tired her heart had become of begging to be heard. Left alone with the truth, he understands the cruelest part: He didn’t just run from his past. He became it. Guilt of Two is not a love story. It’s a story about fear, silence, and how hurting people can turn into the very monsters they once survived.

Diary Entry Today... everything shattered. "It's forbidden-from the beginning!" he yelled. His voice still rings in my ears-sharp, fiery, final. His eyes burned with fury. I've never seen him like that before. But me? I was cold. Ice cold. Like water trying to tame fire. He was rage. I was silence. We were different-always have been. Still, I tried to belong to him. Tried to mold myself into someone who fit. Because I was in love with him. Madly. Blindly. Drowning in thoughts of him. I asked him with every ounce of control I had, "Then why did you begin it? You were the mature one. Why did you start this?" He looked at me like I'd betrayed him, like I'd flipped the story. His jaw clenched. His hands were trembling, the veins stark and angry. His eyes-red. With anger, yes. But also... regret. Maybe even love. Though he hid that part like it was a crime. He tried to justify it. "It was foolishness... fun in the beginning. I made it clear before it went too far." But it had gone far. I told him, "It wasn't the beginning when it happened. We were already deep in it. Too deep to pretend otherwise." And then... He straightened his shoulders. Declared it was over. "I have the power here. I'm ending it. The boundaries will be reestablished." He clapped his hands, like closing a deal. Like we were a meeting agenda. My heart broke a little more. I asked him, "What about the moments we shared? The ones with no boundaries? What about all of that? You call it forbidden, but wasn't it real? Isn't it real? Be brave, Christopher. Take a stand for us. Don't be a coward." I knew I was pushing him, and it only made it worse. "Cowardice?! It's WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!" He stomped. Slammed his desk. Threw his files everywhere like they were made of our memories. And then... I just walked away. Didn't turn back. Didn't answer when he called. Every step out of his office felt heavier than the last. My chest was tight. My eyes blurred. Tears didn't fall right away, but I could feel the flood building. They came as I walked through the corridor-his shouts echoing behind me. My classmates stared. They must've known. They must've heard. I didn't care. I just wanted to vanish. Disappear. Erase every moment I ever shared with him. Got in my car. No messages. No calls. Not even a "goodbye." I drove out of campus. The memories came like waves. Soft ones. Sharp ones. Crippling ones. Why, God? Why can't we be one? Why does love have to be forbidden? Why is he so distant? Why is everything so wrong? When I finally reached home, I was empty. But then I saw a letter on the table. Ambrosiana Library. Milan. They selected me-for the authors' team. A new door. A new place. Maybe a new version of me. One that doesn't love someone who can't love back freely. One that lets go. Leaving him behind suddenly feels like the only thing I can do. Maybe it's time. Maybe Milan is my new beginning.....

The first time my eyes locked with his, I felt something pull at me—a strange magnetic tug that I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t just attraction, not the kind that flickers for a second and dies away. No, this was something else, a current humming between us, something that whispered of purpose, of inevitability.I didn’t say it out loud then, not to him, not even to Maria. But that moment carved itself into my memory like a scar: his gaze, steady and unreadable, meeting mine across the schoolyard. His eyes—God, those eyes—held something so mesmerizing that I felt exposed, as if he could read every thought I’d ever buried.I should have turned away. I should have told myself he was a teacher, nothing more, nothing less. But instead, that day became the beginning of a story I never expected to write.