Chapter 3

(Darv’s POV)

They say people are loud in their silences.

If that’s true, then Aeliana Laziel is deafening.

From where I sit, two rows behind her, I can see everything—how her back never slouches, how her pen glides across the page like she’s afraid to let the ink stutter, how the sunlight practically crowns her in a glow every morning.

She’s perfect. The kind of perfect that feels rehearsed, almost too heavy to carry. And yet she wears it so flawlessly that you’d never know how much weight it must take.

Not that she ever looks at me. Not for more than half a second, anyway.

I leaned back in my chair, letting my pen drum lazily against the desk. The teacher’s voice blurred into the background, words about equations I wasn’t going to use in life. Around me, classmates either scribbled notes frantically or zoned out completely. I fell into the second category—except my eyes kept drifting forward, to her.

Aeliana.

The name alone felt sharp in my chest.

Everyone else saw her as this untouchable angel—the honor student, the model class president, the one teachers smiled at with pride and other girls whispered about with envy. And me? I was the opposite. A perpetual disappointment wrapped in a uniform I never wore properly, tie loose, shirt sleeves rolled high enough to make teachers sigh in disapproval.

People thought I didn’t care. That I floated through school life without a single thought about the future. But the truth?

I cared too much.

And it was eating me alive.

My phone buzzed quietly against my leg. My chest tightened at the reminder, though I didn’t dare look at it during class. The notification was from an account that didn’t even have a face, didn’t even have a name. Just a handle.

Love, Anonymous.

I should’ve never messaged them.

Last night, I must’ve stared at the blank text box for an hour. Typing. Deleting. Re-typing. My thumb hovered, sweating, over the “send” button. A thousand thoughts racing: What if someone found out? What if the admin posted it publicly? What if the person I wrote about ever saw it?

But the more I tried to swallow it down, the worse it got.

Because there’s something cruel about wanting someone you shouldn’t. Something heavier when the people around you—your friends—start circling that same person too.

So I gave up. I bled into that empty white box and hit send.

> What do you do if you like someone you’re not supposed to like?

And worse… what if your best friend likes them too?

The moment the message went out, I felt both sick and relieved, like I’d confessed to a stranger on a train I’d never see again. But the weight didn’t leave me. If anything, it got worse.

And now? Still nothing. No reply.

Love, Anonymous usually had answers in hours, sometimes minutes. Advice that was sharp, sometimes brutal, sometimes warm enough to make you believe in things again. Everyone at school was addicted to them, waiting to see what they’d say next, like their words were gospel.

But me? I was still waiting.

I let my eyes flicker back to Aeliana. She was bent over her notebook, neat handwriting flowing in a straight line, the very picture of composure. She’d never understand someone like me. She’d never get what it felt like to want something forbidden, something fragile, something that could ruin everything if I even reached out.

And maybe that’s why it hurt more.

Because every time I looked at her, I didn’t just see the angel everyone else worshipped.

I saw the one person I wanted most.

And the one person I could never have.

The bell rang, a sharp, metallic screech that jolted half the class awake. Chairs scraped back, papers shuffled, and the steady buzz of hallway noise spilled into the room.

I stayed slouched in my seat, twirling my pen between my fingers as everyone rushed for the door. Aeliana moved with her usual grace, sliding her books neatly into her bag before standing. She didn’t look around, didn’t rush, didn’t stumble. She never did.

And just like that, she was gone.

“Yo, Darv!”

I looked up to see Kai striding over, his grin as cocky as always. Kai was the closest thing I had to a best friend—a whirlwind of energy, trouble, and shameless flirting. Where I kept people at arm’s length, he collected them like trophies.

“You spacing out again?” he asked, slamming a hand against my desk. “Or are you finally dreaming about someone worth your time?”

I rolled my eyes and stuffed my pen into my pocket. “Dreaming about not failing math.”

Kai laughed. “Please. We both know you don’t lose sleep over school.” He leaned in, lowering his voice just enough. “So who was it? Don’t tell me it’s Lyra. Half the guys in this school would kill for a chance with her.”

I tensed before I could stop myself. Lyra. Of course. The girl was magnetic—bubbly, beautiful, fearless in a way that made people notice. And yeah, Kai wasn’t wrong. Most guys here wouldn’t hesitate.

But not me.

“Not interested,” I muttered, brushing past him toward the hallway.

Kai followed, unfazed. “Then who? Don’t tell me you’re hung up on Aeliana Laziel.” He smirked. “The school’s very own ice queen.”

My steps faltered for half a second. Just half. Enough for Kai’s grin to sharpen.

“No way,” he drawled, bumping my shoulder. “You? Crushing on someone who probably color-codes her socks?”

“Shut up,” I muttered, but my ears burned.

The thing about Kai was—he always said things as a joke. Loud, ridiculous, meant to stir people up. But sometimes his jokes cut too close to the truth.

We stepped out into the afternoon air, the courtyard buzzing with students heading for the gates. And that’s when I saw them.

Aeliana. And Lyra.

Walking side by side, their heads bent close in conversation. Aeliana’s expression calm, like always, but Lyra’s eyes lit with excitement as she said something, her smile bright enough to make people glance twice.

I didn’t have to hear the words to know who she was talking about.

Darv Aeris. Me.

A bitter taste rose in my mouth.

Kai followed my gaze and let out a low whistle. “See? Lyra’s way more your speed. Don’t even pretend you’re not into it.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets and turned away. “Drop it.”

But even as I walked off, trying to shake him, my chest felt heavier. Lyra’s laugh echoed behind me, sharp and careless, while Aeliana’s silence stretched like a shadow.

Two girls. One louder than the sun. The other quieter than a storm you didn’t see coming.

And me—stuck somewhere in between, choking on a secret I couldn’t tell anyone.

That night, I collapsed onto my bed, phone in hand, the glow of the screen painting my ceiling in pale blue. Notifications stacked one after another, messages piling into the Love, Anonymous account I followed like everyone else.

Confessions scrolled past my eyes: silly ones, desperate ones, ugly ones. And still, no reply to mine.

I opened it again, staring at the words like they might change if I read them enough times.

> What do you do if you like someone you’re not supposed to like?

And worse… what if your best friend likes them too?

The screen blurred for a second. I dragged a hand over my face.

Why did I even care? Why was I waiting for some faceless stranger’s approval, some digital ghost to tell me what I already knew? That I was screwed. That there was no winning in this. That either way, I’d break something—my friendship, my pride, maybe even myself.

I set the phone down, but it didn’t help. The silence of my room made the words louder.

And through it all, one image kept flashing in my mind: Aeliana Laziel, her sunlight hair catching the window’s glow, her pen steady, her mask flawless.

Untouchable.

Unreachable.

Unforgettable.

The kind of person I had no business wanting.

And yet… the only one I did.

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