The bracelet never left Ava's wrist.
Not during breakfast.
Not during long afternoons in the library.
Not even when she slept.
She told herself it was because she liked it.
Because it was beautiful.
Because it matched everything.
The lie lasted exactly three seconds every time she thought it.
The truth was much simpler.
Noah had given it to her.
That was enough.
Unfortunately.
A week passed.
A dangerous week.
Not because anything happened.
Because nothing happened.
No confessions.
No mistakes.
No broken rules.
Yet every day seemed to pull them closer together.
Every laugh.
Every conversation.
Every shared glance.
The feelings continued growing quietly beneath the surface.
Like roots spreading underground.
Invisible.
Unstoppable.
Ava tried not to think about it.
