Rumors didn't arrive all at once.
They slipped in softly.
A glance held too long.
A chair pulled out before Mira could reach it.
Blake walking beside her without caring who watched.
By midweek, it had a name.
Mira and Blake.
Mira heard it when she passed the restroom. She heard it when she lined up for lunch. She heard it when a classmate asked—too casually—if they were studying together.
"We're just classmates," Mira replied calmly.
But rumors rarely listened.
---
Blake didn't deny them.
He didn't confirm them either.
When someone asked him directly, he simply said, "Mira is impressive."
That only made things worse.
---
At home, Dominic noticed changes he didn't want to notice.
Mira came back later some evenings, carrying her bag and the faint scent of coffee and soap. She spoke less at dinner, focused more on her studies.
And when her phone lit up, she smiled.
Not often.
But enough.
Dominic told himself it didn't matter.
Yet his eyes followed her more than they should have.
---
Saturday evening, Mira returned from work tired but content.
She removed her shoes quietly—only to freeze when she saw Dominic in the living room, reviewing documents.
"You're late," he said without looking up.
"I was working," she replied.
"At a restaurant," he said. Not a question.
She nodded.
"Who drives you home?" he asked.
Mira paused. "Sometimes a coworker. Sometimes I take the bus."
His jaw tightened.
"That's unsafe."
She met his gaze steadily. "I've been doing it for years."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Dominic said coldly, "Be careful who you trust."
Mira lifted her bag onto her shoulder.
"I always am," she replied.
She walked away, leaving Dominic staring after her.
---
Meanwhile, Ariana sat in her room, scrolling through photos from the showcase.
Blake's eyes had been on Mira the entire time.
Something inside Ariana snapped.
If Mira wouldn't fall quietly…
Then Ariana would make sure she did.