Chapter 2

Should I text my friends for help?

[Help! I'm being held captive by a mad scientist.]

Who would believe that?

My friends would probably just reply, [Wake up, stop dreaming. You don't have a hot scientist boyfriend.]

I sank into the couch, feeling defeated, and started plotting my next move.

Confronting him head-on was out of the question. The way he flashed that scalpel earlier was all the warning I needed.

I'd have to play it smart.

I looked around the lounge. It wasn't big, but it had all the essentials.

There was a bed, a couch, and a private bathroom.

There was also a small bar with a coffee maker and some snacks.

The windows were bulletproof glass, welded shut.

'Classic Ethan, your security measures are always over the top,' I thought to myself.

Looks like there's no way I'm getting out of here physically.

So, my only option was to... leave a note, pretending I'd run away.

I might not be able to leave, but I could definitely let him know exactly how I feel.

I rummaged through the drawers until I finally found a notepad and a pen.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned over the coffee table and, wrote carefully in big, clear letters:

[It's over.]

After writing it, I realized it didn't sound final enough.

Maybe he'd think by "it's over", I meant we were done talking for today.

Knowing Ethan's quirky logic, that was totally something he'd do.

So, I tacked on another line:

[Ethan, let's break up. I'm tired, and I don't love you anymore.]

That should make it crystal clear.

I set the note right in the middle of the coffee table, where he couldn't miss it. Then I flopped onto the bed, pulled the covers over my head, and played dead.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but I was just drifting off to sleep when, finally, I heard the click of the keypad lock unlocking outside the door.

My heart shot straight into my throat.

The moment of truth had come.

His footsteps were barely audible as he drew nearer.

I could sense him standing at the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on me.

I stayed perfectly still, keeping up my act as if I was fast asleep.

I hope he couldn't see me.

He just stood there, silent and still, not saying a single word.

That quiet was even more unnerving than if he'd started scolding me.

After a full minute, I heard him turn and walk away, probably heading over to the coffee table.

He'd seen the note now.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might explode.

Guess the storm was about to hit.

Was he going to interrogate me? Give me that cold smirk? Or just come over and choke me out?

But instead, I just heard a quiet "Eh?"

It was a young guy's voice. Someone I'd never heard before.

"Professor Reed, why is there a note here... Wait, why is it all wet?"

Then Ethan replied calmly, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really," the guy said, with a hint of panic in his voice. "I accidentally spilled a drop of coffee, right on the last word. It's a bit messed up now..."

My heart gave a jolt.

Spilled?

Where did he spill it?

"Did Nora write this?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, probably. The handwriting's really pretty," the guy replied.

Then there was a long, heavy silence.

I clutched the blanket tightly, my back already soaked with sweat.

Did he understand what I meant or not?

Just when I thought I couldn't hold my breath any longer, the blanket was suddenly pulled off me.

My eyes flew open in fear, locking with those deep, unreadable eyes of Ethan.

He was holding the note in his hand.

The coffee stain had smudged the bottom of one character and the side of the other on my breakup note. Right on the last two characters.

Now those two words looked... kind of weird, almost unreadable.

He held the note up to my face, and instead of anger, there was this strange, heated look in his eyes. Something I just couldn't figure out.

"Nora."

His voice was rough around the edges, with a subtle, almost hidden quiver in it.

"I agree."

I was completely dumbfounded.

'He agreed? He actually agreed to break up? That easy? No drama?' I could barely believe it.

I was so thrilled. I was about to blurt out, "Thank you and your whole family!" when he suddenly spoke again.

"It's a bit sudden, but since you took the initiative..."

He leaned in, speaking right by my ear, enunciating each word so clearly it nearly made my mind go blank.

"I agree."

What the heck?

Ethan looked at my confused expression and pointed at the coffee-stained note.

"We're not single anymore."

"Ethan, let's get married."

"Isn't that what you wrote?"

My brain just froze for three seconds.

Get married?

I looked down at the cursed note.

[It's over.]

[Ethan, let's...] The rest was stained.

With Ethan's super-filtered logic and his mental gymnastics, he somehow managed to interpret those two smudged words as "married"?