It was heartbreak in slow motion.
After Aiden James shut off his phone, his mind felt like a battlefield - quiet, but scorched.
This time, he was done being soft.
A man's gotta learn when to walk away, even when his heart begs him not to.
Sometimes refusing isn't cruelty - it's self-defense.
Still, a dull emptiness gnawed at him.
Aiden wandered into a small diner off campus, the kind that smelled like coffee and lost dreams.
He ordered half the menu - ribs, burgers, fries, everything greasy enough to drown the ache.
He washed it down with two bottles of cheap whiskey, the kind that burned but didn't heal.
For a moment, fullness numbed the loneliness.
Sometimes, a heavy meal fills more than just your stomach.
By the time he stumbled back to his dorm, he was buzzed - but not gone. His body had changed since that strange night of awakening; he could handle more than he used to.
Still, exhaustion hit him like a wave.
He collapsed onto his bed and drifted into a restless sleep, indifferent to the chaos swirling outside.
What he didn't realize was that he'd already stood up two girls that night.
First, Ivy Mae, who had invited him over to cook dinner together - just a quiet night she'd been secretly looking forward to.
And second, Zoe Quinn, who had a massive sponsored livestream lined up that night - one that depended on the support of the mysterious digital tycoon known only as "OneOfAll."
But Aiden's phone was off.
No calls, no texts, no hope.
By 8 PM, Zoe Quinn was live.
By 10 PM, the stream looked like a ghost town.
"Zoe, have you heard from Aiden?" asked Mia Osborn, pacing behind the camera. "It's been two hours. Where the hell is he?"
Because Aiden hadn't shown up, there were no major donations - no flashy gifts, no big momentum.
Her viewer count hovered around 2,000 - a fraction of what she'd pulled last week when OneOfAll was backing her.
"I told him this morning," Zoe said, trying to smile for the camera. "He promised he'd be here. I have no idea why he ghosted me."
Her tone cracked halfway through the sentence.
She was used to being the one people bent over backwards for - the kind of girl who could get anything with a smile.
And tonight's stream wasn't just another gig; it was a brand deal with a major sponsor.
The numbers mattered - sales, engagement, reputation.
That morning, she'd even gone out of her way to bring Aiden breakfast - and gifted him an iPhone 16 as a token of "thanks."
And he just… didn't show.
"Maybe he had something urgent," Zoe muttered, defending him even when she shouldn't. "His phone's off, he hasn't replied on Insta. Something must've come up."
Mia crossed her arms. "Zoe, come on. You know what's trending right now?"
She pulled out her own phone, scrolled through Twitter, and turned the screen toward Zoe.
"Look - OneOfAll is back on the leaderboard. And guess who he dropped $25 million worth of gifts on this morning?"
Zoe's stomach tightened.
Mia continued, voice dripping with disbelief. "Twelve thousand digital rockets. To Beatrice. Her stream broke four billion views in a single day. He had time for her, but not you. Doesn't that tell you everything?"
Zoe's hand trembled as she snatched up her phone and opened Twitter herself.
Trending:
#NumberOneTycoon
#OneOfAll
At the top - a screenshot of Beatrice's live chat exploding, rockets filling the screen like fireworks.
Zoe's jaw clenched.
"Unbelievable…" she muttered under her breath, teeth gritted.
For someone like her - someone who'd always been admired, pursued, adored - being ignored cut deeper than any insult.
She thought she'd had Aiden under control.
That he was already tangled in her charm, already hers to play.
But maybe… he was playing a different game entirely.