Lena's heart pounded as she bolted from her seat, her bag swinging wildly at her side. She didn't even spare a glance at the professor or the few remaining students as she rushed for the door. The lecture hall felt suffocating. The last thing she needed was to deal with drama. Or attention. Or anything that would make her feel even more trapped in her own life.
But just as she reached the door, a voice called out, sharp and unmistakable.
"Lena."
Her heart skipped a beat. Ethan's voice. The one person she didn't want to face right now. She was already exhausted from the emotional chaos of the past few days, and Ethan always seemed to have a way of making her feel even more conflicted.
She tried to dodge past him, but before she could slip out into the hall, he was already standing in front of her, his calm demeanor betraying the concern in his eyes.
"Lena," he said softly, his gaze searching hers. "How are you holding up? I hope you're feeling better after everything."
Lena forced a smile, but it felt more like a mask. "Thanks for checking on me at the hospital," she muttered, her voice flat. She couldn't look him in the eyes—not because she was angry, but because there was too much confusion swirling inside her.
There was a pause, thick with unspoken words. Ethan tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Why have you been avoiding me all week?"
Lena's chest tightened. She crossed her arms, instinctively trying to shield herself from the vulnerability he was pressing on. "I have personal stuff to deal with. I don't need distractions right now."
Ethan's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of frustration breaking through his usual calm. "Am I a distraction?"
She exhaled sharply, the weight of her emotions building. "Ethan, we're just friends," she said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. "I'm engaged. I love my fiancé. You need to stop interfering in my life."
His eyes darkened for a moment, but his voice remained steady, his words cutting deeper than she expected. "You're the only one who loves him, Lena. He doesn't love you."
The statement hit her like a punch to the gut. She blinked, stunned. "There you go again, Ethan," she snapped, a mix of anger and hurt flooding her chest. "Why don't you focus on your own life? Go find someone who actually cares about you instead of judging mine."
Ethan opened his mouth, then hesitated, as if weighing his next words. Finally, he said quietly, "Maybe I already have… Maybe I've fallen for someone who loves someone else."
Lena froze. The weight of his words crushed her. Someone who loves someone else? It felt like a bomb had gone off inside her chest. She stared at him, her thoughts scrambling, her heart thudding wildly. But before she could react, the silence between them became unbearable.
"I… I have to go," she muttered, her voice shaky as she turned on her heel. Her mind raced as she rushed out the door, the truth Ethan just dropped on her shaking her to the core.
Transition to the Car Scene
Lena's steps faltered as she approached the parking lot. And there he was. James. Standing by the car, eyes fixed on her with a gaze that made her stomach churn. She could feel his anger even before he spoke.
"What was that about?" His voice was low, but there was a razor edge to it. "Were you keeping me in the car just so you could talk to that college boy?"
Lena's pulse spiked. She couldn't think straight. Her hands trembled as she fumbled with her keys. "It was nothing," she said quickly, but the lie felt hollow even to her.
James' sharp eyes didn't miss a thing. He didn't respond, only opened the car door for her with a tense silence hanging between them. Lena hesitated, unsure if she should explain or just get in. She chose the latter, sliding into the car with a forced calm.
"Get in, Lena," James said, his voice cool now, but the simmering anger underneath was impossible to ignore.
She did as he asked, buckling up without another word. She didn't want to talk about Ethan. She didn't want to talk about anything. But as they drove in silence, she couldn't shake the feeling that her world was starting to crack apart.
Shift to the Restaurant Scene
At Casa Blancos, the city's most extravagant restaurant, the weight of the moment grew heavier. James reached across the table, his fingers warm against her skin as he held her hand. The opulence of the place, the gold accents, the crystal chandeliers—none of it mattered to Lena. It was all just surface. And nothing ever felt more hollow than when she was surrounded by wealth and grandeur.
James rambled on about some investment opportunity, but Lena barely heard him. Her mind was elsewhere—tangled in the words Ethan had spoken, in the confusion that churned inside her. And then, just like that, James stopped talking.
His eyes locked with hers, his expression serious.
"Lena," he said quietly, the words heavy in the air. "We should get married."
It felt like the ground beneath her feet was ripped away. Her stomach dropped, and she couldn't breathe. She stared at him, her mind frozen in disbelief. Was he serious?
Her hands clenched into fists on the table. She couldn't breathe. The pressure inside her chest made her feel like she was suffocating.
"I need to go to the restroom," she whispered, standing abruptly, the words barely leaving her lips before she fled.
Restroom Reflection
Inside the restroom, Lena leaned against the cool marble sink, staring at her reflection. Who was she? What had she become? She didn't recognize the woman in the mirror. The woman who had everything but nothing at all.
James wanted her to marry him. But what would that mean? It meant giving up everything—her independence, her dreams, her escape. It meant becoming a prisoner in his world, suffocating under the weight of his expectations.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to want.
Returning to the Table
When Lena returned, James was already talking again as if nothing had happened, his voice light and casual. He didn't understand the storm raging inside her. He didn't even see it.
"I know how women are," he chuckled. "You like to think things over. But it's clear to me that we love each other. You have everything a woman could want. So, what's stopping us?"
Lena felt the pressure building in her chest again, the suffocating weight of his certainty. He was so sure. So certain that this was what she wanted too. But she didn't. She didn't know what she wanted anymore.
She nodded, her voice a mere whisper. "Sure, I'll think about it."
But even as the words left her lips, she knew. She wasn't thinking about it. She wasn't thinking about anything but how lost she felt.