THE VOID BETWEEN US

The Confession Echoes (Campus Courtyard)

The silence after Emma's confession was deafening.

Her words still hung in the heavy air:

"I love you."

Jake stood still, stunned, staring at her like she'd stepped out of a dream he never meant to have.

All around them — professors, students, Dean Walter, and even Rhea Carson, arms folded smugly — watched.

But Jake didn't see them. He only saw Emma.

And the name that thundered in his mind.

Valeria.

It poisoned everything.

His lips parted, but it wasn't affection that came. Only armor. Rage. History.

"You don't mean that," he said, his voice quiet — almost pleading. "You think you do. But you don't know me."

Emma's breath caught. "Jake…"

"No," he snapped, taking a single step back. "You're one of them. Don't you get it? You're a Valeria. That's all you'll ever be to me."

It wasn't true.

Not fully.

But the words came before he could stop them.

Emma's entire body seemed to flinch. The look in her eyes wasn't just pain — it was like watching a star collapse.

The crowd murmured, uncomfortable. Lila, standing at the edge, looked like she might cry. Rhea looked delighted.

But Emma? She didn't say another word. She just stood there, the wind catching her hair, as Jake turned and walked away.

She had never felt so abandoned.

The Drag Home

Emma barely remembered being grabbed. Verona's nails dug into her arm as they pulled her from the crowd.

"Disgraceful," Alistair hissed, dragging her into the car. "He humiliated you."

"And you embarrassed us," Verona snapped. "In front of the university. The staff. Everyone."

"I thought he cared," Emma whispered, too numb to defend herself.

"Well, he didn't," her father said coldly. "He spat in your face. In front of everyone. And you—throwing yourself at him like some foolish girl—"

Emma closed her eyes. Her heartbeat was slow and heavy.

"He didn't even blink before walking away," Verona continued, twisting the knife. "That's the boy you love?"

They locked her in. One week. No university. No visitors. No phone.

"You'll rest," her mother ordered. "You'll think. And you'll understand what a mistake you made."

Emma didn't argue.

She sat quietly in her room, day after day. On the outside, she played the role perfectly — the obedient daughter, the girl who had learned her lesson.

But inside? Her soul was catching fire.

Emma's Mask

"I'm done with him," she told her parents over breakfast.

Alistair nodded with satisfaction. "Good. There's still hope for you."

Verona reached over and smoothed her hair. "You'll forget him in time."

Emma smiled.

But behind her eyes, she whispered:

"I'll never forget. I'll never stop."

Because the rejection hurt — yes. It cut her open. But something Jake had said — something strange, something aching — had stuck with her.

"You don't know me."

That wasn't just heartbreak. That was a cry for something deeper.

And now that she had time, forced into this silence, she began thinking. Remembering.

Not about the lab accident.

But about the way Jake had screamed when Rhea brought up his parents. The way Alistair's face twitched — not with shock, but with recognition.

So she began looking.

The Truth Beneath the Marble

The Valeria estate was full of locked drawers and hidden corners. But Emma had grown up in it. She knew its veins like her own.

Late at night, with the lights low and the house asleep, she slipped into her father's study.

The desk. Always locked.

She found the key under the old bust of Da Vinci.

The drawer creaked open. Files. Letters. Contracts.

And one old, crumpled envelope.

Inside were photographs. Black-and-white, old security stills. A young woman—Lillian Rolister. A man, Caleb, with eyes so much like Jake's.

And a third figure. Standing with them. Not in the background.

Her father.

Emma's breath caught.

The back of the photo was dated: Two days before the fire.

She dug deeper. Old reports. A sealed memo labeled "Project N-14: Terminated" with Valeria Holdings listed as the primary investor.

A termination date that matched the day of Jake's parents' deaths.

Her blood ran cold.

"What did you do, Father…?"

Meanwhile, Jake

Jake sat beneath the old university tower, watching the empty courtyard.

No Emma.

Not since that day.

He'd told himself it was good. That she was gone. That she'd moved on, like he pushed her to.

But every night, he heard her voice.

"I love you."

He saw the way she'd stepped in front of him. How her voice broke trying to protect him. How she didn't even flinch when her parents screamed.

He'd never had anyone do that for him.

And now?

Now she was just… gone.

Lila had passed him on campus yesterday. Her eyes were red. She didn't speak.

Jake closed his eyes and whispered, "Did I make a mistake?"

He didn't know it yet — not fully — but something in him had shifted.

And Emma Valeria, the girl he thought he hated… was the only person in the world who made him feel seen.

End of Part 6!