Chapter 1
"Zack, let's break up," I said.
My voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp enough to make the whole lecture hall freeze. For a moment, one could hear a pin drop.
At the podium, Zack Sherman, widely regarded as the youngest genius of the century, paused mid-speech.
He wore a plain white shirt, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, his demeanor aloof and ascetic.
But now, the eyes behind those lenses looked like they'd been forged in ice.
He still held a test tube filled with blue liquid.
The next second, there was a sharp crack. The glass shattered, and blood mixed with the blue liquid, dripping down his pale, slender fingers.
But Zack seemed completely unfazed by the blood. He stepped off the podium to me, each step deliberate.
His shadow loomed over me, swallowing me whole.
He leaned in, his voice soft and hoarse, edged with madness. He demanded, "Who gave you the guts? Say it again."
Come on. I was just playing my part.
As the disposable ex-girlfriend in this contemporary romance novel, my mission was to publicly dump Zack today, then get tossed aside without a second glance.
After today, he'd kick off a power couple romance with the original heroine, Nina Sterling, and take his life to the next level.
As for me, I'd pocket my 330 thousand breakup fee and disappear from all this drama, living carefree somewhere far away.
That was exactly how the script went. Wasn't Zack supposed to say "fine" all cold and not even spare me a second glance?
Why was he crushing the test tube and dripping blood like some psycho? What happened to the cool, indifferent act?
Everyone around us looked terrified, frozen in shock.
Whispers filled the air, buzzing like mosquitoes.
"Oh my god, is Sophia out of her mind? She actually dumped Zack in front of everyone?"
"Zack's hand... It's bleeding so much."
"Did you see his eyes? He looks like he could kill someone."
My legs were shaking, but I had to grit my teeth and keep playing the part, even if it meant digging my own grave.
I lifted my chin, forcing a disdainful look. I sneered, "Zack, I've had enough of you. All you ever do is study and research. What else can you even do? Being with you is duller than dishwater. You can't give me what I want."
That was the classic line for the cannon fodder version of me in the original story.
After I said that, Zack was supposed to be completely disgusted with me and tell me to get lost.
But in reality, Zack fixed his eyes on me, his stare intense and almost suffocating.
With blood still dripping from his hand, he suddenly grabbed my wrist in a crushing grip.
His hold was so tight that it felt like he could break my bones right then and there.
I couldn't understand why he was acting so out of character. I just wanted to finish my NPC routine and despawn.
"Dull?" Zack echoed quietly, his eyes behind those glasses so dark they sent chills down my spine. He asked, "So, what is it you want?"
His gaze slid past me, locking onto a guy standing not far behind.
The guy was from the neighboring sports department and had asked me for directions earlier.
A dangerous smirk tugged at Zack's lips.
He asked, "Is that your type? Someone like him? Big muscles, small brain?"
Before I could even process what was happening, Zack grabbed me and stormed out of the room, hauling me along.
He was moving so fast and aggressively that I was dragged behind him.
"Zack! Let go of me! What are you doing?" I yelled.
I screamed in my mind, "Help! This is kidnapping! The plot's gone completely off the rails."
Zack ignored me completely, giving off a vibe so intense it warned everyone to keep their distance, or else.
Students in the hallway parted like the Red Sea, terrified as they scrambled to make way for us.
Zack shoved me into his car, parked right outside the classroom building.
The door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Now, it was just the two of us alone in the cramped space.
The sharp smell of blood mixed with cold cedar clung to Zack, making the air feel thick with unspoken tension.
He leaned in, planting his hands on either side of me, locking me in his shadow.
He said, "Sophia, don't joke like this with me."
His voice trembled with barely suppressed rage. He added, "This isn't funny at all."
His uninjured hand gently caressed my cheek, his fingertips cold as ice.
He asked, "Tell me, who taught you to say that?
"Or do you think I've been too busy lately, ignoring you, huh?"
I had to hand it to him; he'd really worked himself up over nothing.
I stared at his hand, blood still dripping. My heart was racing. I quickly dug through my bag for wet wipes and a bandage.
"You need to take care of that wound first," I said.
But Zack refused to let go. He grabbed my hand and showed me his injured one, his voice cracking.
He demanded, "You're the one who wanted to break up, and now you care? Sophia, what do you want me to do?"
His eyes were ablaze with a mix of madness and hurt I couldn't even begin to understand.
Hurt? I had to do a double-take.
But sure enough, this off-the-charts genius right in front of me was looking like an abandoned puppy.
This world was straight-up Twilight Zone material.