Chapter 2

Leaving the group wasn’t easy. The professor said he was too busy at the moment and asked if I could stay a bit longer.

I reluctantly agreed.

I tried to go in only on days when Danny wasn’t there. But part of me still wondered, would he notice and come find me?

After all, years of habits aren’t easily broken.

One evening, after finishing an experiment, I was walking back to the dorms when a tall figure appeared in the middle of the path.

I turned to leave, but Danny caught up with me.

“Ellie!”

He grabbed my hand, “Why have you been avoiding me?”

I tried to pull away, but he firmly placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me around to face him.

His gaze softened, “Are you angry with me?”

I turned my head, refusing to look at him.

He chuckled, “Ellie, are you jealous? I didn’t mean to side with Bella. It’s just… her dad’s our biggest investor. I can’t afford to upset her. How about this? From now on, I’ll let you have breakfast in the meeting room too?”

I looked at him seriously for the first time, “Danny, this isn’t about breakfast.”

He knew perfectly well that I’d been struggling with some personal issues. There were nights when I couldn’t sleep at all, leaving me mentally exhausted, but I wasn’t the “mental case” he made me out to be.

Did he ever stop to think about that?

His eyes flickered. He knew exactly what I was getting at.

Then, he pulled something out of his pocket and slipped it onto my wrist. Under the streetlight, I saw what it was—a finely polished silver bracelet.

“Ellie, you’ve always wanted one of those silver bracelets that girls get from their parents. I saved up to get you one, but silver seemed too cheap for you. So, I bought a gold one and had it coated in silver.”

People are often bound by the things they desired but could never have in their youth.

At that moment, when I saw the bracelet, my heart softened.

From childhood to now, Danny had always been by my side. He was like a friend, a brother, and, admittedly, I’d started to have feelings for him that I probably shouldn’t have.

Besides him, there was no one else I could rely on.

Maybe… maybe I should forgive him.

Later, back in my dorm, I thought it over for a long time before finally sending him a cheeky emoji.

He responded in kind, sending one back, along with a swimming ticket, asking if I wanted to go swimming tomorrow.

But my smile faded.

Had he forgotten?

Tomorrow was the first day of my period.