Chapter <b>99 </b>
ughed quietly to mysell, shaking my head at my own stupidity at walked down the stairs. Another morning, another lonely bej Mom had leh without waking me up. She probably thought I needed the sleep and she wasn’t wrong. But it hated the silence that grei
The kitchen was dimly lit with the <b>so </b>orange hor of morning light leaking through the blinds Treached for the coffee machine, stretching slightly att tapped the switch on.
But then I paused.
My fingers hovered mid–air. I looked down at mysell, hand settling alisently on the lower curves of my belly Still fat. Still nothing to show. But my thoughts swirled anyway.
Does coffee harm a fetus<b>? </b>
The question came unbidden. A quiet mumur from the part of me that hadn’t quite epted this yet.
I frowned, letting my hand drop.
Why do even care? I <b>was </b>getting an abortion. I had made that decision
Hadn’t 17
I shrugged to myself, lips pressed into a thin line. But just in case–or maybe because my conscience needed an illusion of control–1 turned the machine
Topened the fridge instead and pulled out a cold bottle of water. Then grabbed a banana from <b>the </b>ceramic fruit bowl. It was slightly bruised, the peel mottled brown in ces, but I didn’t care.
Bag slung over my shoulder, water tucked inside, I peeled the banana <b>and </b>stepped outside, locking the door behind me.
The air outside was crisp with the bite of early morning. I tucked my jacket tighter around me as I <b>made </b>my way toward the bus stop
I took <b>a </b>slow bite of the banana, chewing without tasting. One hand pushed the headphone buds into my <b>ears</b><b>, </b>and the calm, melodic voice of my audiobook <b>narrator </b>filled the void.
The bus was already there when I arrived. I boarded, tapping my pass, and settled into a window seat near the middle. The city y rolled past in <b>a </b><b>blur </b>of
color and motion
It was somewhere around the second chapter <b>that </b>I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Iturned, blinking, and found a familiar face.
“Oh my God, Priya?”
She beamed. “Hey! I was wondering if it was you! You’ve changed your look a bit–the cap threw me off.”
She did. She <b>wore </b>a beautiful dark green dress, embroidered at the edges with gold thread. Her makeup <b>was </b>subtle but wless, her hair styled into loose curls. She smelled <b>faintly </b>of rose water <b>and </b>cardamom
“Well,” she said with a smile, smoothing her dress as she sat beside me, “my brother’s getting married. It’s an Indian wedding, so you know–festivities for <b>days</b>. Mehendi’s tonight”
“Oh wow,” I <b>said</b>, genuinely surprised. “Congrattions! You must be so excited.”
She nodded kapotty Every much My <b>sister </b>hw in my childhed best fiend take we’ve drained about the ch?a là ?ài
Tamiled, warnth Blooming in my chest for her. “That sounds like a dream.”
His shewald. Tjut couldn’t leave the house looking homeless. My mom would’ve killed me)
We bothughed.
But the joy in her voice stirred something inside me. Something bitter and aching. A sharp little jah of longing I wan’s prepared for
Fiona
Thadn’t seen her in werks
She’d been so busy with school and work and dorm life, and ‘been wrapped up in the hellstorm that was my life, we hadn’t really connected in s while.
It wasn’t that we’d grown apart. I will loved her. We still shared times and randomte night texts. But that closeness we used to have?
Conn<b>. </b>
We were neighbors once. She was the first friend I ever made after Mom Back when everything was new and scary and different
I missed her.
<b>God</b>, I missed being with her all the time
The bus ride ended sooner than I expected. We hugged quickly before parting ways, and I promised to text her soon,
University grounds were buzzing with students. I blended into the crowd, my cap low over my brow, hoodie zipped all the way up. I looked like a student. Normal Invisible.
The first exam was automotive engineering. It passed in a hace of diagrams, torque equations, andponentbeling. I wasn’t even sure I remembered everything I wrote..
yter.
Then <b>came </b>project management, a day
ing those two <b>days</b>, I lived in the library.
During
Nose buried in textbooks. Fingers cramping from notes. Eye sockets burning from too much screen time.
I stayed away from
y from the drama. From Dmitri. From Lazar
But even as I tried to avoid them, I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering.
Her
The girl from the janitor’s closet.
I still didn’t know her name. Still couldn’t erase the haunted look in her eyes from my memory. I mean I could probably be overthinking this. <b>It </b><b>was </b>a strange sixth sense that made me want to make sure she was okay.
I searched faces, scanned groups, kept my ears open.
<b>But </b>she never appeared
Three days. Nothing
Maybe if I remembered her name, this would be easier.
Chapter <b>99 </b>
I <b>sighed</b><b>, </b>rubbing my temples as tried to focus sgrin, Lony had ene mora Viborg avin
Just a linte lonter.
I was walking out of the university gates, headphones back in, audiobook resumed, when i noticed something <b>of </b>
Teammen in uniformi.
They stood near the gate, eyes scanning the crowd. Not security, Cops.
My brows furrowed.
One of them took a step forward, eyes locking on mine. I stopped in my tracks,
He said something, but I couldn’t hear over the audio,
I pulled out my earbuds, “Serry. What?”
“Are you Elena Kovalyova?
The use of my full name made me stillen. “<b>Yes</b><b>?</b>”
The taller officer nodded politely, but his eyes were serious. “We need to ask you a few questions. It would be best if you came with us to the station to <b>give </b><b>a </b>formal statement”
My stomach dropped.
“Wait. Statement? About what?”
I looked around. Students <b>had </b><b>stopped</b><b>. </b>Some were watching<b>, </b>I spotted green eyes in the crowd. Familiar. <b>Sharp</b>.
Lazar.
He was watching too, brows drawn low.
The officer’s voice lowered slightly. “It’s regarding Priya Chopra.”
My pulse spiked. “Priya?”
The officer gave a grave nod. “Please, Ms. Kovalyova. If <b>you </b>coulde with us, <b>we’ll </b>exin everything in the vehicle.”
A sick dread coiled in my <b>gut</b>.
“Is she okay?” I asked, breath <b>catching </b>
<b>A </b><b>pause</b>. A shared nce between the two officers. Then, gently. “I’m sorry to inform you that Ms. Chopra was found deceased early in the morning two days prior. The circumstances appear suspicious. We believe you may have information that could assist in our investigation.”