Chapter 87: A blast from the past

Ashley’s POV

Kennedy Walters.

The name echoed in my mind like an old song I couldn’t quite place. Annabel looped her arm through mine as we walked back towards the campus, her voice chirping with excitement about some new project she was planning. I nodded along, trying to seem interested, but the conversation barely registered. My thoughts were elsewhere.

Andreas walked beside Annabel, the two of them engaged in conversation. She hung on his every word, laughing at something he said, while Andreas offered his usual half-smiles. His attention seemed distant, and I knew where that distance came from. That coldness I could never seem to penetrate.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Kennedy, about the way he’d looked at me outside the restaurant. The polite smile, the casual ease—like we were just old friends catching up. But there was something else behind it, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

There was something I was forgetting.

It shouldn’t have mattered. He was just some kid