Nicholas had not been in school for a week.
At first, Ava didn't think much of it.
People came and went at university all the time—some skipped classes, some disappeared for days, some just… went quiet.
Nicholas Wolfe had always been inconsistent like that.
So she told herself it meant nothing.
At least, that's what she tried to believe.
But as the days passed, something felt different.
The noise around him didn't fade like it usually did when someone was absent.
Instead, it shifted.
People still talked about him.
Just not in the same way.
Not like he was present.
More like he was already gone.
And Ava noticed that.
Even when she didn't want to.
It started small.
Whispers in passing.
In the cafeteria.
Near the lecture halls.
At first, she ignored it.
Until she couldn't anymore.
"He's actually leaving, right?"
"Yeah, I heard it's final now."
"Exchange program or something."
Ava's hand tightened slightly around her tray when she heard it the second time.
But she didn't turn.
Didn't ask.
Didn't react.
She just kept walking.
Because if she didn't acknowledge it, maybe it wouldn't feel real.
But silence has a way of becoming louder when you don't address it.
And Nicholas' absence became impossible to ignore.
The library corner where he usually sat stayed empty.
The hallway he used to pass through felt too open.
Even the courtyard looked different without him standing there like he always did—calm, untouchable, distant from everyone but still somehow at the center of attention.
Now he wasn't anywhere.
Not physically.
Not visibly.
Just gone.
And Ava hated that her mind kept filling in the space where he used to be.
She told herself she didn't care.
Repeated it.
Over and over.
But it didn't change the fact that she kept noticing.
Kept remembering.
Kept wondering.
And that was the problem.
It was late afternoon when she went to the library.
She didn't plan anything.
Just needed somewhere quiet.
Somewhere without voices.
Without people.
Without thoughts that didn't stop circling back to the same person.
The library was half-empty.
She walked through the rows slowly, heading toward the back where fewer people usually sat.
And that was when she heard it.
Not intentionally.
Just voices.
Students talking behind her.
"I still can't believe Nicholas Wolfe is actually leaving."
Ava slowed slightly.
But didn't turn.
"I thought it was just a rumour," another voice said.
"No, it's real. My cousin saw his name on the final clearance list. He's already done everything. He's just finalizing things now."
A short pause.
"Honestly, it makes sense. After everything with that girl—"
Ava's steps stopped.
Completely.
The words didn't continue in her head.
They didn't need to.
Because one thing had already cut through everything else.
Nicholas Wolfe is leaving.
Not soon.
Not maybe.
Already in motion.
Finalizing.
Real.
Ava stood still between the bookshelves, her fingers slowly loosening from her bag strap without her realizing.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Didn't breathe properly.
Didn't think in full sentences.
Because her brain refused to connect it fully at first.
But it did.
Slowly.
Unavoidably.
He was leaving.
And she hadn't heard it from him.
Not once.
Not directly.
Not at all.
Ava walked out of the library later than she remembered planning to.
The air outside felt colder than before.
Or maybe it just felt emptier.
She stopped near the steps outside the building, staring at nothing in particular.
Her mind replayed everything in fragments.
His absence.
The whispers.
The change in him.
The distance.
The silence.
And now this.
He was leaving.
And she hadn't said anything yet.
Not properly.
Not anything that mattered.
Her grip tightened slightly around her phone.
Still no message.
Still nothing from him.
And for the first time—
that silence didn't feel neutral anymore.
It felt final.
Far across campus, Nicholas was not there.
Not in class.
Not in hallways.
Not anywhere anyone could casually see him anymore.
Because he was already in the process of leaving.
Final paperwork.
Final confirmations.
Final arrangements.
Everything he had delayed during the emotional chaos of the past weeks was now being completed quietly, privately.
Without noise.
Without attention.
Just movement toward an exit.
And for once—
Nicholas Wolfe wasn't the center of anything.
He was just… going.
Ava stood still long after she left the library.
Not crying.
Not speaking.
Just thinking.
For the first time clearly.
And what she realized scared her more than anything else:
He didn't disappear from her life because of anger.
He disappeared because she let too much time pass without saying anything at all.
And now…
there might not be enough time left to fix that.