Page 39 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

But she did no such thing. Her jaw clamped shut while her hands clenched into tight fists in her lap, nails digging into her palms. She glared at her lunatic of a best friend, whom she’d trusted like a brother.

A brother who hadn’t even flinched before betraying her, as if her trust meant nothing to him.

Ryan stared at her quietly, his face impassive. “This is exactly why,” he said, his flat tone irritating her even more.

“What?” she spat out when he didn’t continue.

“I’m not a child,” he replied. “I grew up. And so did you. But you still refuse to see me as anything more.”

“What are you talking about? ”

“I want you to look at me, Nori!” Ryan yelled, dragging a hand through his hair.

“As a man, not as a little boy. When I told you how I felt about you earlier, you said you couldn’t see me that way.

Because you were never going to see anyone that way.

But then you met that asshole, and you did .

I saw how you looked at him. And it fucking hurt! ”

Nori’s fists unclenched as she stared at him.

“You never even gave me a chance.” His voice was barely more than a whisper when he spoke again. “From the day you first sat next to me in school, Nor, I’ve only ever seen you. And I’ve been waiting for you to see me.”

“Ryan…”

“How much longer do you want me to wait?” His voice cracked.

Nori breathed through her nose, trying hard not to let the dam she’d built around herself crack. She couldn’t afford to let go just yet.

“Don’t wait,” she whispered. Her eyes stung. “Don’t waste your time.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not worth it.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m not—”

“Shut up!”

“No, you shut up!” she snapped. “I’m so sick of hurting people I love. You’ve been hurting because of me. And Vir—” The moment his name touched her lips, her breath hitched, and the dam cracked.

For a brief moment, Ryan looked confused as he watched tears stream down her face. Then slowly, as if decoding things Nori hadn’t even spoken out loud, his eyes widened.

“Did something happen?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t respond.

“Did he touch you? Nori, did he hurt you?”

“It was all m—my fault,” she managed between sobs.

“I was horrible to him. Oh Ryan… I hurt him so much.” Words poured out of her, some coherent and others a jumbled mess, as she told Ryan how she’d practically tortured the man she loved.

Tortured him, and broken his heart repeatedly.

Till finally, she’d hurt him one last time and stripped herself from him for good .

While he listened to her speak, Ryan became so eerily still, Nori wasn’t sure if he was even breathing by the time she was done. She glanced at him, wiping the dampness off her face with her sleeve, and flinched.

“So, you told him everything,” he said, a tick working in his jaw, “and he still went ahead and touched you.”

She should’ve just kept her mouth shut. “It wasn’t like that. He—I asked him to. It was my fault.”

“I’m going to kill that sick bastard.”

“No, wait!” Nori reached for his hand as he sprung from his seat, but he smacked it away. “It was my fault!”

“I don’t care whose fault it was! How dare he?” Ryan turned on his heels and stormed out of the apartment.

“Ryan, listen to me—wait!” She ran after him, but the elevator door closed right before she could get in.

Rushing back into her apartment, she reached for her phone.

Vir answered on the first ring. “Nori?”

His voice, a mixture of relieved and alarmed, instantly turned her legs into noodles.

“Vir—oh—” She grabbed the couch for support.

“You’re not at the library, are you? If you see Ryan, could you—if you see him, just avoid him, okay?

He has a bit of a temper right now. Just don’t—don’t engage.

And don’t listen to him. Please.” She was blabbering and likely not making much sense to him.

But she didn’t know what else to do. She had to do something .

Tanya had lent her an old admin car for the week. She grabbed the keys and hurried out of the apartment. As long as she could catch up with Ryan before he found Vir, she’d be able to talk some sense into him and everything would be fine.

“Why?” Vir asked. “What’s going on?”

“Just do as I say. I’ll explain later.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. Explain it to me now.”

“I can’t right now. Not over phone— ”

“Meet me, then. And explain.”

“I can’t—”

“I’m at the café near your apartment.” His voice turned strained. “Please… Nori.”

“Fine,” she managed before a fresh sob hacked its way up her throat. “Fine.”

It was still pouring and a lot darker when Nori reached the intersection near the café. Slowing the car down, she glanced towards the brightly lit window in the distance, and found him standing right outside with a large black umbrella, waiting for her.

He must’ve seen her, too, because his posture immediately went from slouched to meerkat-straight.

She would’ve found it comical in any other scenario than the one she was in.

But now, as their eyes met and his face broke into a familiar smile, the contents of her ribcage turned into goo, making her instantly regret her choices. All of them.

Who was she trying to fool? She couldn’t meet him. Not if she wanted to keep her facade intact. If she let herself go anywhere near him now, she was just going to cling on to him and beg him to take her back. She couldn’t risk that.

There were no other vehicles on the intersection besides hers. With a brief look in the rear-view mirror, she began backing out of there. A few things happened in quick succession then.

As if realizing what she intended to do, Vir started towards her, his umbrella forgotten on the sidewalk behind him. On her right, a single car appeared, speeding towards the intersection.

It was a strange moment for her brain to recall her old arguments with Ryan about his reckless driving whenever he was pissed. It did so anyway.

Considering Vir’s trajectory towards her, she knew it was going to be an almost blind turn for Ryan. He’d never see Vir in time. And even if he did, the roads were too slick for him to brake before it was too late.

It all clicked then. “Oh…” The choice Nori had to make. The sacrifice Anita had warned her about.

But it wasn’t really a choice, was it? After everything she’d done to let Vir have a healthy, long life, how could she just sit there and watch it be taken away from him? If she had to take his place, it wasn’t exactly a choice she could make. It was already made for her.

The events all transpired within seconds—her noticing everything, anticipating both men’s trajectories, deducing the possible outcomes, and choosing the only one that worked for her.

Ryan’s car was a heavy-duty SUV that would easily survive the impact, possibly even without a scratch. She couldn’t say the same about her borrowed old vehicle.

With a deep exhale, Nori stepped on the accelerator.

Vir’s eyes widened, first in recognition, then in horror, as he realized what she was doing. And the speeding black car as it came within his range of sight, a split second before it connected with hers.

She was right. Her rundown, old hatchback didn’t stand a chance. She heard the impact first, before she felt it rattle through her bones.

Then a high-pitched ringing.

And screaming.

And darkness.