The Future Texted Me the Truth, the Exam Bell Called Me to the Lies Chapter 08

The Future Texted Me the Truth, the Exam Bell Called Me to the Lies Chapter 08

My mom opened the door.

“Auntie! Where’s Lila? Is she sick and didn’t register?” Ethan was covered in sweat, eyes desperate.

My mom looked at the boy she once treated like a son with nothing but disappointment and disgust.

“Ethan, stop looking,” she said calmly. “Lila flew there three days ago. Today is the first day of classes.”

Ethan froze like he’d been struck by lightning. His mind went completely blank.

“That’s impossible… it can’t be…” he muttered. “She promised me. She clearly promised me…”

“Promised you what? To ruin her own future and stay behind while you messed around with another girl?”

My mom tore through his excuses without mercy. “Ethan Caldwell, don’t come to our house again. You’re not welcome here.”

The door slammed shut in his face.

Only then did Ethan finally understand. He had lost me for good.

He wandered the streets like a ghost. Soph ran after him and hugged him tightly. “Ethan, you still have me. I’ll always be here for you…”

Ethan looked down at the girl who once excited him. Now he only felt irritation and nausea.

—

Without the illicit thrill of being Lila Whitaker’s best friend, Soph’s shallow soul and petty schemes were exposed for what they really were.

He shoved her away, staring at her with complicated eyes.

*****

In Boston that September, the weather was crisp and clear.

The leaves on campus were starting to turn. I walked along the tree-lined path with books in my arms, breathing in the air of freedom and possibility.

Here, I was the talented favorite of my professors and the quiet, focused genius among my classmates.

“Lila Whitaker, this data model is excellent.”

A low, warm voice came from beside me.

I turned and met Ryan Brooks’s smiling eyes.

He was a junior, student council president, and a core member of our top research lab.

Mature, brilliant, and respectful, he always gave me the perfect guidance when I needed it.

“Thanks, Ryan. Your framework made it work.” I smiled back.

Ryan naturally took the heavy stack of documents from my hands. “Come on. To celebrate finishing this project phase, let me treat you to spicy stir-fry at the dining hall.”

—

We walked out of the building side by side.

A light rain suddenly started. Ryan opened a black umbrella, tilting most of it over me while his own shoulder got wet.

Just as we approached the campus gate, a soaking wet, disheveled figure rushed out and blocked our path.

It was Ethan.

He looked as though he’d spent a long time traveling—his face covered with stubble, his eyes bloodshot, standing in the rain like a beggar.

Seeing me walking under the umbrella with Ryan, Ethan’s eyes turned blood red. Jealousy and regret made him shake.

“Lila…” He dropped to his knees in a puddle, voice hoarse. “I was wrong. I know I was wrong.”

“I can’t live without you. I dropped out of that crappy school and came to Boston for you.”

“Lila, please forgive me. My heart has always belonged to you…”

Looking at the boy I once gave all my youth to, I felt nothing. It almost seemed ridiculous.

“Ethan Caldwell, do you not understand English?” I stood under Ryan’s umbrella, looking down at him. Your heart is just as filthy as your body. Both make me sick.”

“This student,” Ryan stepped forward, subtly shielding me, his gaze sharp. “Please stop harassing my junior. If you keep this up, I’ll call campus security.”

—

Ethan looked at Ryan’s calm, elite presence, then down at his own muddy mess. Overwhelming inferiority crushed him.

He finally understood that the Lila Whitaker who had once followed him everywhere with nothing but love in her eyes had already flown to a place he could never reach.

I didn’t look at him again. I turned and walked into the rain with Ryan.

Behind us, Ethan’s desperate, broken sobs echoed through the downpour.