Ep5 :The Test Has Been Canceled
1244 Words
Part 1
EMMANUEL
I watched the livestream replay again, even though I’d already memorized every second of it. The way she smiled, the way her head tilted slightly to the left when she laughed, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear—everything about her screamed Sunny.
But she wasn’t. Not officially. Not yet.
I’d lost her twice—once in life, and once to death. Now, fate had tossed her in front of me again, in a different body, a different time… but that soul, that presence—it was hers.
And she was here.
Alive.
And standing beside James.
Jealousy gnawed at me like a wild animal. It didn’t make sense, not logically. James was her brother in her past life. He loved her deeply, but in a way I could never match. That was the bond of blood, history. I was her mate. Our souls were bound. Yet when she looked at him—when she smiled at him like he was the only person in the world—I felt… replaced.
She should have recognized me.
I clenched my fist and looked away from the screen, just in time for James’ voice to break through my thoughts.
"Emma… Emma… Emma!"
I blinked, pulled back to the present.
"Emmanuel, are you okay? You’ve been zoned out for like five minutes," he said. He looked concerned, but not suspicious. At least not yet.
"Yeah… just thinking." I tried to force a smile. "Nothing big."
"Sunny," Desmond murmured beside us, like he wasn’t even speaking to anyone.
Both James and I turned sharply to look at him.
"What?" I asked.
Desmond’s eyes were wide, almost glowing with recognition. "Don’t you think she looks exactly like Sunny? Her eyes… her lips… her voice, even the way she walks—it’s her."
I stiffened.
James's face darkened immediately.
"It’s not her," James said, cutting Desmond off before the boy could spiral further.
"But how can you be sure?" Desmond pressed.
James glanced at me briefly before turning back to him. "Because I’d know."
Desmond blinked. "Know what?"
"Sunny was Emmanuel’s mate," James said quietly. "And my sister."
Desmond looked between us, his mouth still open. "But—"
James took a deep breath. "She passed away five years ago. Don’t give Emmanuel false hope."
The silence that followed was heavy.
James was right—false hope was dangerous. But this… this didn’t feel false. It felt real.
And if she truly didn’t remember…
Then I would make her remember.
Even if it meant going through James to do it.
---
NNEOMA
I ran through the hallway, clutching my bag tightly against my chest, not even looking at where I was going. My heart pounded, but not from running. I just needed to get away—from the classroom, from the test I hadn’t taken, from him.
And then—bam!
I slammed into someone.
"Sorry! I’m so sorry!" I stuttered, stepping back and bowing my head.
"Aawww, are you blind or something?" the girl snapped.
"I didn’t see you—I wasn’t looking—I mean, I didn’t mean to run into you—"
"Nneoma!"
I froze. That voice could only belong to one person.
Bella.
I turned slowly, already bracing for her scolding.
"What are you doing, running around like a child?" she said, arms folded, eyebrows raised. She scanned the area, like she was looking for something—or someone.
"I could ask you the same," I said, trying to shift the attention away.
"I’m looking for you, obviously," she replied. "Vicente and I have been searching the whole school. Where have you been?"
I shifted nervously. "The library… and the music room."
"Library and music room?" she repeated. "You were supposed to be in class. You do know we had a test today, right? Or is the test already over?"
"I… I don’t know."
Bella blinked. "You don’t know?"
I swallowed. "I wasn’t in class when the test started."
"How are you a student in our class and don’t know if the test was canceled?" she snapped.
"The test was canceled," I said quietly.
"But why? What happened?" Bella pressed.
I stayed silent. She stared at me harder.
"And where were you yesterday? And the day before? And the day before that?"
"I—"
"You’re always disappearing! Running around like a school kid!"
"But I am a student," I said with a weak smile.
Her eyes narrowed. "Don’t play with me, Nneoma Williams. Answer the question."
"I already told you. I was in the library. Then the music room."
"You said that already," she muttered.
"And after school?" she asked, suddenly calmer.
"I go straight home. You and Vicente are always busy with rehearsal. I didn’t want to disturb you. And things at home have been… a lot."
Bella looked at me carefully.
"You're still hurting, huh? About what lover boy did to you?" she said, almost gently this time.
I looked away.
"Aaammm… I’m really hungry," I said, desperate to change the subject.
"No need to go looking for food," she replied. "I already got it for you. And it’s your favorite."
I blinked. "Really? But how did you know what I like?"
"Because I’m Bella. The Bella. Nothing gets past my eyes and ears in this school—unless I choose not to care." She flipped her hair dramatically, hands on her hips.
"Come quickly before it gets cold."
She started walking, still glancing around like she was on the lookout.
"You’ve been looking around since you got here. What are you searching for?" I asked.
"Ooo, nothing. Let’s just go. Your food’s waiting."
---
Part 2
EMMANUEL
I stood alone for a while after James and Desmond walked away. I needed the silence.
Everything about her presence was throwing me off-balance. This version of her—Nneoma—she didn’t know me. Not yet.
But I knew her.
She was the only one I ever let into my heart, and when she died… I promised myself I would never love again. But now here she was, reborn, and I couldn’t stop the emotions that surged every time I saw her smile, even if it wasn’t directed at me.
Especially when it was directed at James.
I hated that he got to speak to her first. That his voice was the one that stirred something in her memory. Maybe the bond of blood was stronger than the bond of souls.
That thought alone nearly crushed me.
I needed to see her. Speak to her. Just once—without James hovering nearby, without the confusion clouding her eyes.
Maybe… maybe I could make her remember.
---
NNEOMA
Bella chatted as we walked back toward the cafeteria, but I wasn’t really listening. My thoughts were elsewhere.
The classroom, the canceled test, the way my skin prickled when I passed certain people in the hallway.
Like I’d met them before.
There was one guy—Emmanuel, I think. His eyes were strange. Not in a bad way, but when he looked at me, it felt like… heat. Like pressure.
Like he knew me.
Too well.
I didn’t understand it. I’d only seen him twice, maybe three times, but every time our eyes met, I felt something thud deep in my chest. Not excitement. Not fear. Something else.
Recognition.
But that couldn’t be.
Could it?
I stopped walking.
"Nneoma?" Bella turned. "What is it?.
I shock my head it's nothing...
- Writer
