Half an hour later, Mark returned with the food, only to be surprised when Alice barely ate before claiming she was full. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he rasped. “After all that running around, you barely touched your food?” “I’ve just lost my appetite,” she replied calmly. “Good night.” He watched her drift off to sleep. He wasn’t annoyed—in fact, he felt the opposite. She didn’t look as sad as before, and that alone made him feel at ease. Soon after, he slipped under the blankets beside her, and the two slept while cuddling like inseparables. ** Early the next morning, they woke up and headed to the bathroom. "I was thinking last night," Mark said, his fingers gently massaging shampoo into Alice’s hair. "You should spend the day in your restaurant office. Skip the fashion classes for now. Just until I get back fro

The students sat on the edges of their seats, waiting for the results.“Alright,” Instructor Malaika said. “I have the results. The student with the highest score… the winner of this exercise… is—Kimberly Richard.”The entire class gasped and turned toward Kimberly—a shy, socially awkward girl who sat in the first seat of the first row on the right.She stiffened, clearly just as shocked as everyone else. From the far left of the room, she caught sight of Tom, teeth clenched, his expression twisted like a rabid dog."The assignment was to paint your fears in a way that communicates with the viewer without the need for explanation," Malaika explained, addressing the stunned silence. "In that regard, Kimberly was unparalleled."She glanced down at her clipboard again. “Second place goes to… Mark Reynolds.”Another wave of whispers broke out among the fifteen students. Mark smirked at the mention of his name, though a bitter th