NIKO.
When I walked away from Alex, my spine straight and my steps measured, I told myself it didn’t matter. I told myself it was nothing more than wounded pride, a bruise to an ego I had allowed to grow too comfortable with control. But the truth followed me down the corridor like a shadow I couldn’t shake.
It wasn’t just that she had rejected me. It was how she had done it: clear-eyed, steady, refusing to bend or soften just because attraction existed between us. I wasn’t used to that. Women usually leaned in when they felt the pull. Alex leaned away, and somehow that unsettled me far more than acceptance ever could.
“Nothing will ever happen between us.”
Her words echoed long after she disappeared behind the corner.
I clenched my jaw and exhaled slowly. Fine. If she wanted distance
