I did not want to," she said quickly. "But he kept saying you would never talk to me if I didn't. That he was the only reason I even had a chance with you."
She closed her eyes.
"And I was stupid enough to believe him."
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then suddenly—
Stephen remembered.
That day outside Joshua's room.
He had been walking down the corridor, about to knock, when he saw them.
Joshua had Nadia pressed gently against the wall, kissing her while she stood there stiff and uncertain in his arms.
Stephen had frozen.
At the time, he already liked Tiana. He already knew Joshua was with her.
Seeing another girl there had made something inside him snap.
Later, he had secretly recorded them and shown the video to Tiana.
That was the first time either of them had really seen Nadia's face.
And after that, every time he saw her around Joshua, every time she came to the barracks, every time she looked at him and then quickly looked away, he thought the same thing.
She is the reason Tiana is hurting.
Oh my God.
It had all been a misunderstanding.
"Nadia," he said quietly.
She looked up immediately.
"I owe you an apology."
Her brows pulled together. "For what?"
Stephen let out a slow breath.
"That day… when Joshua kissed you. I saw you."
Her face went pale.
"I was coming to his room," he continued. "I saw him kissing you, and after that, I kept seeing you around him. I already knew he was with Tiana, and I thought…" He looked away briefly, ashamed of himself. "I thought you knew about her. I thought you were part of it."
Nadia stared at him in silence.
"That is why I was cold to you at first," he said softly. "That is why I kept avoiding you. I remembered your face, and every time I saw you, I thought you were the reason Tiana was hurting."
Her eyes filled slowly.
"But now…" Stephen stepped closer. "Now I know the truth."
Nadia looked down quickly, like she did not know what to do with that.
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I misunderstood everything."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The wind moved softly around them.
Then Nadia looked up at him, her voice small.
"You do not hate me?"
Stephen's chest tightened at the question.
He shook his head immediately.
"No," he said gently. "I do not hate you."
She stared at him.
All this time, she had been carrying the weight of his silence. The distance. The way he looked through her as if she had done something terrible.
And now he was standing in front of her, telling her he had been wrong.
Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.
"Nadia—"
"I tried so hard," she whispered. "I know it sounds stupid, but I tried so hard just to be close to you."
Stephen's heart ached.
"It does not sound stupid."
"It does," she said with a sad laugh. "Imagine liking somebody that much."
Stephen looked at her for a long moment.
Then, carefully, gently—
he reached for her hand.
"You should never have had to beg someone to see you," he said quietly. "Especially not me."
Nadia looked down at their hands.
Then back at him.
And for the first time since she met him—
she finally believed that maybe she had not been loving him alone.