Chapter Six #3
We exchanged a few more words about upcoming lectures and the usual department chaos that came with a new administration settling into place. The conversation was easy, normal in a way that felt strangely comforting after the storm inside Hayden’s office.
But halfway through Daniel’s sentence, a strange sensation crept along the back of my neck.
A chill. The unmistakable feeling that someone was watching me. The air behind me felt suddenly heavier. My attention drifted past Daniel’s shoulder toward the far end of the hallway. For a second I thought I saw movement near the corner.
A tall figure standing partially in shadow. My breath caught.
Hayden.
Or at least the unmistakable silhouette of him. By the time my eyes focused properly, the space was empty again. Daniel followed my gaze.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly, shaking my head.
But the uneasy feeling lingered.
Because even though I could no longer see him, something told me with unsettling certainty that Hayden Stone had not gone far.
And somehow I suspected he had seen everything. Daniel followed my gaze for a moment before looking back at me, his brow faintly furrowed as if trying to understand what had briefly distracted me.
“Everything okay?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I said quickly, forcing my attention back to him. “I thought I saw someone I knew.”
“Well,” he replied with an easy shrug, “this building is full of people we know.”
I managed a faint smile.
Daniel had always been easy to talk to. When I started working here two years ago, he and Giselle were among the first people in the department to help me settle in. What began as simple kindness became a friendship that made long teaching days easier.He studied me again for a second.
“So,” he said, changing the subject, “how’s Helena?”
The question softened something in my chest.
“She’s good,” I said. “Full of energy, as always.”
Daniel chuckled.
“That kid has more energy than the entire department.”
For a moment, the tension from Hayden’s office eased.
Then Daniel suddenly seemed to remember something.
“Oh, by the way,” he said, snapping his fingers, “are you coming to Lena and Marcus’s wedding this Saturday?”
“Of course,” I said. “Giselle would never forgive me if I missed it.”
Daniel laughed. “True. She’s already organizing half the department like she’s running an army.”
“That sounds exactly like Giselle.”
He nodded. “She also confirmed she’ll be there with her husband.”
I paused. “Really?”
Daniel looked at me. “That surprises you?”
“A little,” I admitted. “We’ve had several department events, and she always came alone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them together.”
“And apparently,” he continued, amused, “Lena decided everyone should come with a partner.”
I raised an eyebrow. “A partner?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Seating arrangements. Symmetry. Something very Lena.”
“That is absolutely something Lena would care about.”
“Right?” He hesitated before continuing. “So, since Giselle will be there with her husband, and you and I are both single at the moment…” I already knew where this was going. “Would you maybe want to go together?” he asked.
The question came out casually, more friendly than awkward. I didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
Daniel blinked.
“Really?”
“Yes,” I said with a small smile. “Like you said, neither of us has a partner.”
“That’s true.”
“And it will make Lena happy,” I added.
“That’s probably the main goal.”
We both laughed softly.
It was a simple conversation, light and easy, the sort of exchange that belonged to the life I had built here in London.
Yet as Daniel kept talking, the chill came again, sliding over the back of my neck with the strange certainty of being watched.
My attention drifted toward the end of the corridor, and for the briefest moment, I thought I saw a tall figure standing near the corner where the hallway turned toward the administrative wing.
By the time I focused properly, the space was empty.
Daniel noticed the shift in my attention.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly.
Daniel checked the time on his watch.
“I should probably get back to my office,” he said. “I still have a mountain of papers waiting for me.”
“Same here,” I replied.
He gave me a friendly nod.
“I’ll message you later about Saturday, then. Just to figure out the details.”
“Sounds good.”
With that he disappeared down the corridor, leaving me alone in the hallway. The moment his footsteps faded, the silence returned. And with it came the unsettling awareness that I was no longer entirely sure I had imagined that shadow at the end of the corridor.
Slowly, I turned my head again. The corner of the hallway and the corridor stood empty, the polished floor stretching toward a row of closed office doors, with nothing there to prove anyone had been watching.
I exhaled slowly, pushing the thought away as I started walking toward my office. It didn’t matter. Even if Hayden had seen us talking, even if he had heard the conversation about the wedding, it changed nothing.
My life was not his concern anymore. Whatever unfinished history existed between us did not give him the right to interfere with the present I had built here.
I repeated that thought firmly as I reached my office door.