HE LOVED ME LAST

Chapter 38

Alice’s POV

Monday morning came quickly, but the weight of Saturday’s dinner hadn’t faded.

I didn’t tell anyone. Not Noah. Not even Layla. Definitely not the class.

Because dinner at Lucas Stone’s house? That wasn’t something you casually mention at school—especially when you’ve spent months telling everyone how much you couldn’t stand him.

No one needed to know that our dads were *childhood friends.*

Or that his house was big enough to get lost in.

Or that, for the first time since I met Lucas, he hadn’t said a single rude thing to me.

It was easier to pretend it hadn’t happened.

So I dressed, packed my bag, and slipped into school like nothing was different. I smiled at Noah, laughed with Layla, and kept my eyes off Lucas entirely.

He did the same.

No nod. No smirk. No hint of recognition when we crossed paths in the hallway.

If someone saw us from afar, they’d think we were the same as ever—two students, barely tolerating each other’s existence.

But I noticed how he didn’t make any sarcastic remarks during class.

I noticed how he didn’t roll his eyes when I answered a question.

And I definitely noticed when, for a split second, his eyes met mine during lunch break. Just a glance. Barely even a moment.

But it said something.

We both knew.

And we both had agreed—silently—to keep it to ourselves.

I didn’t tell anyone.Not because it was wrong… but because it felt like a secret I wasn’t ready to share.

Dinner at Lucas’s house had changed something—not loudly, not obviously. Just… quietly.

He hadn’t mocked me. He hadn’t teased.

Instead, he held open the door. He served his father tea before anyone asked. He actually listened when I spoke.

I kept telling myself it was nothing.

Just manners.

Just a coincidence.

Just… not the Lucas I knew.

And maybe that’s why I didn’t say a word at school. Because if I said it out loud, it would make it real—and real was harder to ignore.

When I walked into English class that day, my steps faltered for half a second.

He was already there, seated by the window like he always was, head resting on his hand, eyes unfocused. But as I passed by, his gaze lifted—briefly, gently—and our eyes met.

It wasn’t a challenge like usual.

It was a pause.

Like… *we knew something no one else did.*

He didn’t smile, but there was a softness there, hidden just enough to make me question whether I imagined it.I slipped into my seat, heart oddly steady.The class droned on, but I couldn’t focus. Not really. Not with the ghost of his eyes still on my mind. Not with the memory of his voice, quieter than usual, saying “goodnight” when we left that night.

I remembered how he didn’t look smug. Or bored.

He looked… almost human.

And that scared me more than anything.

Because if Lucas Stone wasn’t just the arrogant rich boy I’d built up in my head—

Then who was he really?

And why did a part of me suddenly want to find out?