9. The Unexpected Disaster

In the days that followed, Lyla felt an incredible sense of relief. On the academic front, having broken through her psychological barriers, she suddenly found herself brimming with inspiration. Her progress with the research group’s project advanced smoothly, and everything seemed to fall into place.

On the personal side, she hadn’t seen or heard from the Shadow Master at all. It was as though he had taken her rejection to heart and finally left her alone.

Strangely, Jessica had also been ignoring her. Other than briefly seeing her during department meetings, Jessica seemed to go out of her way to avoid Lyla, acting as if they had never been friends.

Lyla couldn’t shake the thought that maybe Jessica had started dating the Shadow Master. Maybe, under his influence, Jessica had decided to distance herself from Lyla as some kind of punishment.

Every time this thought crept into her mind, Lyla felt a confusing wave of emotion rise up inside her. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what i