This was it.
No turning back now.
Her chest tightened again.
Not with doubt.
But with something else.
Grief.
Because even as she stood there—
Even as she told herself she had made the right choice—
The bond inside her pulsed.
Soft.
Painful.
Constant.
And somewhere, deep inside—
A part of her still whispered his name.
--
Iva didn’t allow herself to linger outside for too long.
Because she knew.
The moment she stopped moving…
The moment she allowed silence to fully settle around her—
Everything she was holding back would come crashing down.
So she moved.
Quickly.
Purposefully.
Her fingers curled around the academy ID as if it was something solid she could anchor herself to, her steps steady even if her chest still felt too tight, too full.
“Room 102… west wing…” she m
