Aurelia jolted back to reality, panic flooding her system as she quickly averted her gaze from Isaac’s intense stare.
“Thanks for the Zuccotto, Isaac. I should really get going.”
She frantically grabbed napkins to wipe her hands, desperate to escape before this conversation went somewhere she couldn’t handle.
Isaac’s soft chuckle made her freeze. “Hey, breathe. I’m not some creep who’s gonna corner you or anything. I told you before-no pressure, ever. Sorry if I freaked you out just now.”
His understanding tone somehow made everything worse. Aurelia felt completely exposed, like he could see right through every wall she’d built.
She’d first caught onto Isaac’s feelings during senior year-the way he’d bring her favorite snacks, spend hours helping her debug impossible equations, pull all-nighters just to make sure her research was perfect.
But when your heart gets demolished once, the thought of risking it again feels impossible.
Growing up in her toxic family, she’d never learned what healthy love looked like. She had no fucking clue how to navigate these feelings.
Every time Isaac looked at her with those soft, caring eyes, every instinct screamed at her to run.
saac bent down to catch her gaze, his expression playfully concerned. “Come on, you’re not actually mad at me, are you?”
He made such a ridiculous face that despite everything, Aurelia burst out laughing.
saac’s whole face lit up at the sound, his relief obvious.
Isaac, I just…” Aurelia started, then stopped, the words stuck in her throat.
saac’s expression grew serious as he gently touched her shoulder. “This is on me. You don’t owe me any explanations. I just… seeing that asshole upse you today made me lose my shit a little.”
The protective edge in his voice made Aurelia’s chest tighten.
saac had immediately recognized the toxic energy between her and Luigi, and it had triggered every protective instinct he had.
The truth was, Isaac was terrified. For four years, he’d watched other guys try to ask Aurelia out, only to get politely but firmly shot down every single
ime.
He’d convinced himself that if he just stayed patient, stayed supportive, maybe eventually she’d let him in. But now this ghost from her past had ppeared, and Isaac was genuinely afraid of losing her to whatever destructive history they shared.
Aurelia could read the fear in his eyes. She looked down, her voice barely above a whisper. “Luigi and I… that’s never happening again. Ever.”
Their relationship had been like two lines that intersected once and then diverged forever-there was no going back.
As for what she felt about Isaac… honestly, she was too scared to even think about it.
‘If that’s everything, I really need to go.”
Aurelia couldn’t handle diving into emotional territory tonight. She turned to leave.
Isaac watched her retreat, his heart aching. He knew better than to push.
Aurelia was like a wounded animal-the more you tried to get close, the more she’d lash out or disappear. He’d learned to read her signals over the
years.
But it killed him to think about what kind of trauma had made her this way.
He’d always respected her privacy before, never digging into her past.
Chapter 19
But now that Luigi was here, clearly intent on causing more damage, Isaac decided it was time to find out exactly what he was dealing with
Aurelia mechanically went through her evening routine-grabbed dinner at the cafeteria, spent hours in the lab organizing data until the building was practically empty.
When she finally dragged herself back to the dorm, she spotted a dark figure lurking by the entrance.
Of course. Luigi.
She tried to walk past him without acknowledgment, but he stepped directly into her path.
“Aurelia, please. Can we just fucking talk for five minutes?”
Luigi’s voice was raw with desperation. He was convinced this was all some massive misunderstanding-she wasn’t with anyone else, he hadn’t technically cheated, so whatever had gone wrong could be fixed.
“Get out of my way.” Aurelia’s voice was arctic.
The complete emptiness in her eyes sent ice through Luigi’s veins. His composure cracked completely.
“Whatever I did, whatever happened-just tell me so I can fix it! You loved me. Aurelia. I know you did. We can figure this out.”
Aurelia slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and for a moment Luigi saw a flash of the pain he’d caused her.
“The night after SATs ends, while you were showering, I saw your phone. Your group chat with the hockey team.”
Luigi felt his world tilt sideways, his heart stopping completely.
Before he could form any excuse, any explanation. Aurelia delivered the words that would haunt him forever.
‘I was Rosalia’s substitute. Your practice dummy. That’s all I ever was
