Chapter Ten: The war begins
1772 Words
The vacation eventually came to an end.
After spending several weeks away from the noise of school, Nila and Kimberley finally returned.
Nila stepped onto campus with a strange feeling in her chest. She had missed the familiar surroundings, but she had also enjoyed being away from all the drama.
She felt different.
Lighter.
Happier.
Kimberley walked beside her, carrying one of their bags while they talked and laughed about something that had happened during their vacation.
Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes following them from a distance.
Remire stood near the school building, completely frozen.
The moment he saw Nila, everything else disappeared.
Students walked past him, voices filled the air, and cars moved around the campus, but he heard none of it.
His eyes remained fixed on her.
Nila.
She looked happy.
And somehow, that hurt him even more.
He had spent the entire vacation thinking about her. He had replayed their memories in his head countless times, searching for the exact moment he had lost her.
He had tried to convince himself that he could move on.
He couldn't.
He wanted Nila back.
Desperately.
"I'll do anything," he whispered.
His best friend, Alex, stood beside him and watched him carefully.
"Remire..."
Remire didn't answer.
He watched Kimberley say something to Nila, making her laugh.
His jaw tightened.
That boy had taken the place he believed belonged to him.
Remire clenched his fists.
If he wanted Nila back, he knew he couldn't keep standing around doing nothing.
And he had already made his first decision.
He would face Kimberley.
Man to man.
No friends.
No teachers.
No one to interfere.
He wanted to prove that he wasn't afraid of him.
Later that afternoon, Remire finally found Kimberley alone.
"Kimberley Dims."
Kimberley turned around.
His expression immediately changed when he saw Remire standing several feet away.
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk."
Kimberley folded his arms.
"Then talk."
Remire stepped closer.
"It's about Nila."
Kimberley's expression hardened.
"I figured."
"You need to stay away from her."
Kimberley gave a short laugh.
"That's your opening line?"
Remire's eyes narrowed.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
For a few seconds, they stared at each other.
Then Remire made the mistake of stepping forward aggressively.
Kimberley reacted instantly.
Before Remire could land a punch, Kimberley blocked him and pushed him backward.
Remire regained his balance and attacked again.
This time, Kimberley moved faster.
He grabbed Remire, twisted his arm, and sent him crashing to the ground.
Remire struggled to get up.
Kimberley stood over him.
"You're not strong enough to threaten me."
Remire's breathing became heavy.
He tried once more.
Kimberley defeated him again.
Within minutes, Remire lay on the ground, exhausted and humiliated.
Kimberley looked down at him.
"You are the one that is supposed to stay away from Nila."
Then he walked away.
Remire remained there.
Helpless.
His pride had taken another blow, but the pain in his chest hurt far more than anything Kimberley had done to him.
He didn't care about losing the fight.
He cared about losing Nila.
---
A few days later, Kelsie finally found Nila alone.
She had been waiting for the opportunity.
Nila stood near one of the school corridors when Kelsie approached her.
"So you really think you've won?"
Nila turned.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Kelsie scoffed.
"You ruined my relationship with Remire."
"I didn't ask him to break up with you."
"Don't lie to me!"
Kelsie stepped closer.
Nila remained calm.
"You should talk to Remire about your relationship."
Kelsie raised her hand.
But before she could do anything, another voice stopped her.
"Don't you dare."
Kelsie froze.
Nila looked behind her.
Remire stood there.
His expression was nothing like the one Kelsie knew.
He looked furious.
"Remire..."
"What exactly were you about to do?"
Kelsie lowered her hand.
"She deserves it."
Remire's eyes darkened.
"You were about to hit her?"
Kelsie stared at him in disbelief.
"You are defending her?"
"I'm telling you to leave her alone."
Kelsie's face changed.
She had expected Remire to take her side.
He always had.
But this time, he stood between her and Nila.
"You've changed," she whispered.
"No," Remire replied coldly. "I finally realized what I should have done a long time ago."
Kelsie became furious.
She stepped toward Nila again and grabbed her shirt.
Remire lost his patience.
His hand moved before he could even think twice.
A sharp slap landed across Kelsie's cheek.
Silence.
Kelsie stood completely still.
Her eyes widened.
Her cheek burned.
She slowly touched it with trembling fingers.
Remire stared at her.
"I told you to leave her alone."
Kelsie looked at him with pure disbelief.
"You slapped me?"
Remire said nothing.
Tears threatened to form in Kelsie's eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
She turned around and walked away.
Every step carried humiliation.
She had never imagined that Remire would be the person to disgrace her like that.
But as she walked away, her sadness slowly turned into anger.
She would make him regret it.
---
Remire turned around immediately.
He wanted to see Nila.
He wanted to explain everything.
But Nila wasn't there.
His eyes searched the corridor.
Then he saw her.
Someone was already taking her away.
Remire's heart stopped.
He turned properly.
Kimberley.
"Nila!"
Remire ran after them.
"Nilaaa!"
Nila turned her head slightly.
But Kimberley had already pulled her farther away.
Remire stopped.
His veins burned.
He knew he couldn't catch Kimberley.
He had already experienced his strength.
Still, he wanted to try.
He took another step.
Then another.
But his body suddenly felt weak.
"Nila..."
His voice broke.
Kimberley disappeared around the corner with her.
Remire stood alone.
The tears came before he could stop them.
He lowered himself slowly to the ground and knelt there.
Hot tears streamed down his face.
He covered his face with both hands.
He had fought for Nila.
He had apologized.
He had tried to change.
He had even stood against Kelsie for her.
Yet somehow, he still couldn't reach her.
"Why?"
His voice trembled.
"Why can't I have her back?"
Alex and a few other students eventually found him.
Alex immediately rushed toward him.
"Remire!"
Remire didn't respond.
His entire body shook.
"Get up. Let's go to the clinic."
"I can't."
"You can. Come on."
Alex and another student helped him to his feet.
Only then did they realize how hot his body felt.
Remire had developed a fever.
His condition deteriorated quickly, and they rushed him to the school clinic.
The nurse examined him and immediately became concerned.
"He's under severe stress," she said.
Alex looked worried.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He needs rest. His body is reacting to the emotional and physical strain."
After further examination, the doctor noted severe emotional distress and stress-related symptoms.
Remire eventually returned home.
But even inside his room, he couldn't escape Nila.
Her face remained in his mind.
Her voice.
Her smile.
Everything.
---
Nila had heard about what happened.
She felt something twist inside her chest.
She had never expected Remire to defend her.
Especially not against Kelsie.
For the first time, she began to question her own feelings.
Maybe she still cared about him.
Maybe some part of her had never completely stopped loving the boy she had grown up with.
But she couldn't act on those feelings.
She already had Kimberley.
And Kimberley had been there for her.
He had protected her.
He had treated her with kindness.
She couldn't simply throw everything away because Remire had finally realized what he had lost.
Nila sighed.
"I wish you would just move on, Remire."
She didn't know that somewhere across the city, Remire was lying weakly on his bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing for exactly the opposite.
---
Kelsie eventually accepted the truth.
Remire didn't love her anymore.
At first, the realization hurt her pride more than her heart.
Then she understood something else.
Maybe she had never genuinely loved Remire either.
She loved the attention.
The popularity.
The fame.
The money.
Being known as Remire's girlfriend had made her feel important.
Now that relationship was gone.
But the humiliation remained.
Especially the slap.
Kelsie looked at herself in the mirror and touched the fading mark on her cheek.
Her eyes hardened.
"You're going to pay for that."
She didn't care how long it took.
She would make Remire regret humiliating her in front of Nila.
---
Meanwhile, Xavier, Remire's elder brother, had been watching everything from the sidelines.
He knew his brother.
He knew Remire would keep hurting himself if he continued trying to confront Kimberley alone.
Xavier finally decided that enough was enough.
One evening, he walked into Remire's room.
Remire lay on his bed, looking exhausted.
"You're going to leave this matter to me."
Remire slowly looked at him.
"Xavier..."
"I mean it."
Remire sighed.
"I can handle it."
"No, you can't."
Xavier sat beside him.
"You already tried."
Remire looked away.
Xavier continued.
"That boy is stronger than you. If you keep confronting him, you're only going to get yourself hurt."
Remire remained silent.
"I'll deal with him."
Remire finally looked at his brother.
"What are you going to do?"
Xavier's expression became serious.
"I'm going to talk to him."
But Xavier knew it wouldn't simply be a conversation.
He wanted Kimberley to understand that Remire wasn't alone anymore.
---
Several days later, Kimberley sat beside the swimming pool at his house.
The evening breeze moved gently across the water.
He leaned back comfortably, completely unaware of what was coming.
His phone suddenly buzzed.
He picked it up.
An unknown number had sent him a message.
“Get ready to face someone who is your equal now".
Kimberley frowned.
"Who is this?"
Before he could think about it for long, another message arrived.
“You should let the girl go. She doesn't belong to you."
Kimberley stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
“You are just an option."
His expression changed.
He slowly sat upright.
This wasn't a random message.
Someone wanted him to know that a confrontation was coming.
Kimberley looked around the quiet compound.
For the first time, his relaxed expression disappeared.
He knew exactly what this meant.
A war was coming.
And this time, the person coming for him might actually be strong enough to make him take it seriously.
Kimberley locked his phone.
He wasn't going to face whoever it was immediately.
He would wait.
He would watch.
And when the right moment came, he would be ready.
The game had just changed.
To be continued...
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