Back To His 18, I’m Not His Love

Chapter 4

Sylvia's POV:

The noisy classroom fell dead silent in an instant.

A chill crept up from the soles of my feet, shooting straight into my chest.

But Blair was still reading my diary out loud.

"Sometimes I really am sad. Sad that Adrian can never truly, genuinely like me..."

Her mocking tone and the laughter from our classmates ignited a fury in me. I lunged forward, reaching for the notebook. "Give it back!"

But Blair tossed the diary to Adrian before I could grab it.

Adrian flipped through a couple of pages, and his expression darkened terrifyingly.

When his gaze found mine without warning, the undisguised disgust in his eyes hit me like a blade. My heart hammered so loud I could hear it in my ears.

"What are you all looking at!"

Adrian swept his glare across the room, and every last smile vanished instantly.

Then he gripped the diary, walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened, and sat down.

I stood rooted to the spot, cold sweat dampening my palms.

What had he read?

Did he see the page where I wrote that I came from 20 years in the future? Would he think I was insane?

For the rest of the day, I didn't dare turn around to look at Adrian, and I didn't say a single word.

When the final bell rang, Adrian was the first one out the door.

I dragged my feet until the classroom was empty, then finally slung my bag over my shoulder and left.

But as I passed the bike shed, I found him standing there, as if he'd been waiting for me.

I glanced at the diary in his hand and forced myself to speak. "Adrian, that diary..."

"No wonder you're always trying to drive a wedge between me and Bianca. Turns out you have feelings for me." His voice dripped with contempt. "I treated you like my closest friend, and the whole time you wanted to marry me and make me your husband."

Adrian sneered, pulled out a lighter, and set the diary ablaze.

The orange flame seared my eyes and I screamed, "No!"

That notebook held 11 months of memories, every last bit of longing and every hard-won moment of letting go.

Adrian shoved me away, his jaw clenched with revulsion. "What's the point of keeping something this disgusting! From now on, stay away from me, Sylvia."

With that, he swung his long leg over his bike and rode off without looking back.

I didn't chase him. I dropped to my knees and stamped out the flames eating away at the diary.

I held the charred remains in both hands, and the feelings I'd once poured into those pages seemed to crumble into ash along with them.

In that moment I wanted nothing more than to go back, back to the timeline where Adrian and I had loved each other. Even if I was only a stand-in there, at least he had never disregarded my feelings or destroyed something I treasured.

I drifted home in a daze. My messaging app kept flashing with notifications.

They were all from Adrian.

Adrian: Bianca, I already made things clear with Sylvia. Don't overthink it. I really don't like her!

Adrian: Why aren't you replying? Are you mad?

My virtual pet seemed to sense my mood, slumped lifelessly in the corner of the screen.

My eyes burned as I forced my fingers across the keyboard: Not mad. I'm going to do my homework now.

The moment I hit enter, I closed messaging app and glanced at the calendar, then let my head drop onto the desk.

Only 20 days remained before I returned to my original world.

Perhaps I was destined to leave carrying nothing but regret.

For three straight days, Adrian didn't say a single word to me, not even calling me when he left for tutoring.

Yet on messaging app, still believing I was Bianca, he chatted with me as warmly as ever.

He had truly made up his mind to cut all ties.

Then one night, after tutoring ended, I walked home alone.

The single streetlamp in the alley flickered on and off, and the silence felt heavier than usual, stirring a nameless unease in my chest.

Too unsettled to wallow in the melancholy of recent days, I quickened my pace, only to walk straight into a rough-looking man blocking the path.

"Hey kid, you look like you've got money. Hand some over so I can buy a pack of smokes."

The reek of alcohol was so thick it turned my stomach. I shoved his arm away, my voice cold. "I don't have any."

"Oh? Quite the temper for someone your age." He cracked his knuckles. "Let me tell you something, brat. I'm not the kind of guy you want to mess with."

His fist came flying before he'd even finished speaking. I couldn't dodge in time, and pain exploded across the side of my face. I gathered every ounce of strength to shove the drunk away as he swung again.

Clutching my cheek, I screamed, "Help! Somebody, I'm being robbed!"

Then came a sharp c***k. The man let out a grunt and crumpled to the ground.

I looked up in shock to find Adrian standing in front of me.

The warm yellow glow of the streetlamp outlined his silhouette, and for a disorienting moment I saw the Adrian from another time, the one who had risked his life to protect me again and again.

"Sylvia, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Adrian dropped the stick he'd been holding and studied me, a flicker of barely concealed worry in his eyes.

Before I could answer, the man spat, hauled himself off the ground, and fixed us with a murderous glare. "You little punk, you think you can mess with me? I'll kill you!"

A flash of steel caught the dim light, and my heart leapt into my throat. "Watch out, he has a knife!"

Adrian's arm shot up instinctively to shield me, and the blade sliced across his forearm.

He let out a stifled groan.

My vision sharpened with cold fury. I scrambled to my feet and drove my foot squarely into the man's groin, then snatched the knife off the ground the instant it fell.

The kick sobered him up fast. Seeing the odds turn against him, he bolted.

Bright red blood trailed down Adrian's hand, and my chest tightened into an unbearable knot. "Adrian, your arm..."

Adrian's forehead was slick with cold sweat. "It's just a scratch."

I stared at the gash still streaming with blood and remembered the first time I'd ever noticed the scar on his arm.

Back then, he had told me, "I got this saving someone I really couldn't stand."

So I was that person. The one he couldn't stand.