Chapter 27
Derek’s POV
The afternoon sun warmed the campus quad as Lena and Mark finally cornered me near the library steps.
I had been dodging them for days, but today there was no escape. Lena planted herself directly in front of me, arms crossed, her sharp eyes locked on my face with that familiar mix of concern and suspicion.
“Okay, spill it, Derek,” she said without any warm-up. “You’ve been acting strange for weeks now.
You barely respond in the group chat, you look exhausted every single time I see you, and you practically jump out of your skin whenever anyone mentions the wedding or Marcus.
What’s really going on? Don’t give us the ‘it’s just stress’ line again.”
Mark stood beside her, nodding seriously. “We’re your friends, man. If the family situation with the wedding a
