Chapter 23: Thin Ice
The hallways of the university buzzed with the usual energy—students rushing to class, laughter echoing from open lounges, papers shuffling, phones chiming. But Maxine walked through it like she was underwater. Her steps were quiet, deliberate, as though the floor might collapse beneath her if she stepped too hard. She hadn't seen Noah all day. Not since that morning. Not since Angel's sugar-coated threat, spoken with that haunting smile. "You must be the one screwing my husband." The words rang like a bell in her ears. Pretty, venom-laced words. Angel had delivered them with a tilt of the head and a soft voice, the kind that sounded like comfort but felt like a knife sliding between ribs. "Stay away from him, or I'll make sure the entire school knows what kind of woman you really ar
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