Rain continued pouring over the city long after midnight.
The streets below glistened beneath blurred neon lights while thunder rolled softly across the skyline, distant enough to sound almost unreal.
Inside the old academy library, the atmosphere felt heavier than the storm outside.
The silence between Ivy Morgan and Ethan Cross stretched dangerously thin.
Neither moved.
Neither looked away.
The tension in the room was no longer subtle.
It had become something sharp.
Something alive.
Ethan stood near the library entrance, one hand still resting loosely against the partially opened door.
His gaze remained fixed on Ivy with quiet intensity.
Not casual curiosity anymore.
Not suspicion alone.
Something deeper.
More dangerous.
Because every instinct he had kept pulling him back
