Chapter 203

Evelyn Langley jolted awake to urgent knocking.

She sat bolt upright, straining to locate the sound.

"Who is it?" Clutching her robe, she stood guard behind the door.

Adrian Klein was pulling an all-nighter at the lab. The security in this aging walk-up apartment was practically nonexistent.

The knocking paused, then resumed with stubborn persistence.

"I won't open without a name."

"...It's me." Nathan Evans' voice seeped through the wood.

Her fingernails dug into her palms.

"What do you want?"

"Let me in. I won't touch you." His voice rasped with exhaustion. "You can keep the door open."

"Not necessary." Her refusal was absolute.

The knocking morphed into rhythmic taps—some obstinate code.

Evelyn shoved noise-canceling headphones over her ears, cranking the volume.

Even after her shower, the infuriating sound continued.

She dialed 911 with icy precision. "There's a harasser at my door."

Thirty minutes later, silence finally reclaimed the hallway.

At dawn, Evelyn left early.

She wheeled a suitcase stuffed with clothes, planning to camp at the lab.

The moment she stepped outside, a shadow intercepted her.

"Happy now?" Nathan blocked her path, dark circles bruising his eyes.

His wrinkled shirt hung like a rag. Stubble shadowed his jaw.

Bloodshot eyes locked onto hers—a wounded predator.

"The officers lectured me till 3 AM." His voice scraped raw. "Can we talk now?"

Evelyn stepped back. "You deserved it."

"Why call the cops?"

"The best response to harassment is legal consequences."

Nathan suddenly grabbed her suitcase handle. "Since when are we reduced to 'harassment'?"

"Let go."

"What does six years mean to you?" His knuckles whitened. "Nothing?"

She yanked the suitcase free. "Exes should know their place."

"You hate me." Not a question.

"Wrong." She met his gaze squarely. "Hate requires feeling. And you—"

A deliberate pause. Her lips curled. "I've reset you to zero."

Every sleepless night post-breakup, she'd replayed their memories like a film.

From sweetness to betrayal. From heartbreak to numbness.

Now the reel had burned to ash.

"Bullshit!" Nathan's voice cracked. "You definitely—"

"Definitely what?" Evelyn cut in. "Cried over you? Got drunk?"

A hollow laugh. "So what?"

The suitcase wheels screeched against concrete.

"Stop lying to yourself, Nathan Evans."