Enchanted University of Magemenos

Chapter 108:The Hallway Went Silent

 My back hit the wall lightly as he pulled me into the darker corner beside the backstage curtains. For a second, neither of us spoke. We just stood there—too close, hands still locked together, breathing unevenly from the sudden movement.

Then reality hit.

We both awkwardly pulled our hands away at the same time, as if touching each other had burned.

"What?" I snapped first, glaring at him to cover up the weird tension crawling under my skin.

Nathan ignored my tone completely. His eyes were sharp, intense, almost unsettled.

"How did you do that?" he asked quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"The night," he said, stepping a little closer. "How were you awake?"

The question made my stomach drop.

"I am also in the same dilemma. Once I get the answer, I'll let you know," I replied, rubbing my forehead in frustration.

Nathan's eyes stayed locked on me, sharp and unreadable.

"This isn't the first time you've done such things," he said slowly.

"What? I don't get it," I frowned.

"One thing I hate the most in this world," Nathan said, voice turning colder with every word, "are cheaters. People who would cheat... just to kill someone else and stay alive."

His words hit harder than they should have.

The hallway suddenly felt quieter.

"Wait..." My chest tightened. "Are you saying I'm cheating?"

Nathan let out a bitter laugh, stepping back from me like my existence suddenly disgusted him.

"I thought you were different," he said coldly. "But no. You're just like every other person here."

The accusation hit harder than it should have.

Before I could even process it, he continued--

"Your parents would be ashamed of you... unless they were involved in your cheating too."

My breath stopped.

For a second, the world around me went silent.

And then he walked away.

Just like that.

Leaving those words behind like knives buried straight into my chest.

Tears came pouring out of my eyes like rain bursting from storm clouds, uncontrollable and painful. My breathing turned uneven as the images flashed again--

Blood.

Screams.

My parents.

Their deaths replayed in front of me like some cursed horror movie I could never pause. Every detail burned into my skull. Every second haunting me all over again.

How dare he talk about them?

How dare anyone bring them up like they were just another conversation?

"Babe, what happened? What's wrong with you?" Kate rushed toward me immediately, pulling me tightly into her arms. Her hand gently dabbed my head over and over, trying to calm me down like I was about to shatter completely.

I clutched onto her sleeve without realising it, my fingers trembling violently.

"I--I..." My voice cracked midway.

The hallway around me blurred. The lights. The walls. The people. Everything felt distant except that memory clawing its way through me again.

Kate held me tighter. "Hey, hey... breathe, Lysa. Look at me. You're okay. You're here."

But I wasn't okay.

Not when their faces still haunted me every single night.

Suddenly, Kate's hands grab my shoulders.

"Breathe, girl! What is happening to you?" she shouts, her voice sounding far away and too loud at the same time.

My lungs burn.

I gasp for air desperately, each breath sharp and broken like an asthmatic patient fighting for oxygen. My chest tightens painfully, vision blurring at the edges as I collapse onto the floor with a harsh thud.

The cold marble presses against my skin.

For a terrifying second, it feels like my own body is rejecting me.

Voices echo around me. Hands trying to steady me. Panic everywhere.

I squeeze my eyes shut and force myself to focus.

Breathe, Alyssa.
In... out... in... out...

Slowly, painfully slowly, the dizziness eases. My breathing steadies enough for me to finally regain control over myself.

But the fear lingering in everyone's faces?

That doesn't disappear.

"Nathan Victor Ainsley!" I shout, my voice cracking through the hall so sharply that even the silence seems to freeze.

"No one gave you the right to speak about my parents!" My chest heaves violently as the words spill out faster than I can control them. "When you don't know what someone's gone through, you can never put yourself in their shoes!"

By now, my knees have completely given out, my body half-collapsing against Kate as she hurriedly catches me, trying to keep me upright.

"And you—get a life!" I scream, though my voice breaks halfway through, tears flooding uncontrollably down my face.

The room goes dead silent.

Not even Keith jokes.

I'm trembling so hard it hurts, fists clenched against Kate's shoulder while years of anger, grief, exhaustion, and helplessness pour out at once. My breathing becomes uneven, ugly sobs escaping before I can stop them.