Rain's POV
It had been on my skin all morning.
Light. Almost weightless.But I felt it like it was a second heartbeat—That tiny gold chain he gave me.
I hadn't meant to wear it.
I really hadn't.
It sat on my bedside table for a week. I'd stared at it every night like it was a question I didn't know how to answer.
But this morning, my hands moved on their own.Slid the clasp behind my neck.Tugged my hair out from under the chain.Let it fall—long and heavy down my back again.
And for the first time in forever… I didn't feel invisible.
Until I walked into class.And his eyes found me.
Like they always did.
Sebastian Ashford was already sitting at the back, his legs stretched out like he owned the place.People said he was the top in his year. That he could've skipped a semester if he wanted to.
But he never looked like he cared.
Except when I walked in.
His gaze found the necklace in an instant.And then my dress.My hair.
And for the first time, I didn't look away.
I couldn't.
His eyes didn't soften.They didn't narrow either.
They just held me.
Like I was the only thing moving in the room.
I sat through the lecture like a ghost, not taking notes, barely breathing.And when class ended—when everyone filed out and the lights went off—
I stayed.
I knew he would too.
He always did.
The door clicked shut behind the last student.Silence.
And then—
"Rain."
His voice.
Lower than I remembered. Rough.
I turned. He was already standing.
The distance between us felt like miles.But he crossed it in seconds.
"I saw you wore it," he said.
I nodded. Couldn't speak.
He took another step, then stopped.His hands twitched like he didn't know what to do with them.
"It looked right on you," he said softly.
Silence again.
"Why did you give it to me?" I whispered.
He blinked.
I could see the war behind his eyes.The guilt. The fear. The ache.
"Because I needed you to have something that wasn't broken."
I swallowed.My throat burned.
He looked down at his shoes. "I didn't think you'd wear it."
"I didn't think I would either."
"Then why?"
I took a breath, then another.
"Because I didn't want to be scared of you anymore."
His eyes snapped up to mine.
And for the first time—the first time ever—Sebastian Ashford looked afraid.