Ch. Ch 15 Don’t come back Ch 15

Axel’s phone slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor. 

On the screen, the call duration continued to tick upward. 

The bedroom fell into a silence so complete you could hear a pin drop. 

He felt like he had misheard something. 

What did the professor mean–how could Ember possibly come back? 

His breathing quickened, his heartbeat thunderous in his ears. 

It was as if a string in his mind had suddenly been stretched to its limit, about to snap at any moment. 

Axel’s mind went blank. After a long moment, he picked up the phone. 

“I don’t think I understood you. What did you just… say?” 

The voice on the other end grew increasingly distant in his ears. 

That mental string finally snapped. 

“Others might not understand, but you, Axel? How could you not understand?” 

“If you hadn’t withdrawn at the last minute, Ember wouldn’t have gotten that position. 

“Ember told me you withdrew for that girl… Willow, right?” 

Axel’s face drained of all color. 

Despite the winter chill, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. 

Never before had he felt such overwhelming fear. 

Like someone desperate to drop a scalding hot potato, he fumbled frantically to end the call. 

But his fingers had no strength. 

The words he’d heard replayed in his mind like a curse. 

“How could you not understand…” 

“Wasn’t it your last–minute withdrawal that created the vacancy…” 

“For Willow’s sake…” 

No, no, that wasn’t right.