The next day at Hell University felt deceptively normal, but for Zein Shoin, nothing was the same anymore, because no matter how much she tried to return to her usual routine, her thoughts kept circling back to the night before, to the words she couldn't take back, and to the presence she couldn't ignore.
Avoiding him had seemed like the easiest solution—until she realized it wasn't possible, not when she was standing once again inside his office, facing the one person who made everything feel uncertain.
"You're late," Ace said, his tone calm but pointed.
"I had work," Zein replied evenly.
"You are my work," Ace Craige said.
"I know," she said.
"Then why weren't you here yesterday?" he asked.
Zein hesitated for a moment.
"…I didn't want to be," she admitted.
Ace studied her carefully.
"Why?" he asked.
Zein exhaled slowly.
"…because of you," she said.
A pause settled between them.
"Say that again," he said.
"No," she replied.
"Say it," he insisted.
"…because of you," she repeated.
Ace didn't look away.
"Good," he said quietly.
Zein frowned slightly.
"Don't do that," she said.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Make me say things I don't want to say," she replied.
"Then stop feeling things you don't want to feel," he said.
Zein looked at him, frustration flickering in her eyes.
"…that's not how it works," she said.
"It is now," he replied.