Chapter 71

Ruby’s decision doesn’t arrive with fireworks.No confrontation. No tears. No dramatic exit.It comes quietly—on a Monday morning when she pauses outside the classroom door and chooses a different seat.Not the one near the window where Kai usually leans back with his chair tilted too far.Not the row where their knees once brushed, where his presence felt unavoidable.She takes a seat closer to the front. Alone.It’s small. Invisible. Devastating.Kai notices immediately.He always notices when something shifts in a room—when attention bends away from him, when a rhythm changes. He glances up, already expecting to catch Ruby’s eyes the way he always does.He doesn’t.She’s looking at the board. Focused. Calm. As if he isn’t there at all.His mouth curves into a lazy smile anyway. A reflex. A mask.Doesn’t matter, he tells himself. She’s just in a mood.The class starts. The air hums.Ruby doesn’t look back once.She changes her routes that week.Not dramatically—just enough.She leav

Chapter 72

Kai turns the volume up.It’s instinct—muscle memory from years of being watched, admired, followed. If something slips from his grip, he tightens the show. Makes it brighter. Louder. Impossible to ignore.His laugh carries down the hallway before he does.He shows up late to first period, door swinging open like an entrance cue. Someone snickers. Someone else straightens. A few heads turn automatically, trained to react.Kai grins, unapologetic, flashing that effortless charm that used to bend rooms around him.“Sorry,” he says lightly, not sorry at all. “Traffic.”There’s no traffic on campus.The teacher sighs but lets it go. They always do.Kai slides into his seat—leans back, sprawls a little wider than necessary. His gaze flicks, just once, toward Ruby.She doesn’t look up.Not even a glance.The grin stays on his face. It cracks on the inside.By lunchtime, the performance escalates.Kai drops into a chair too hard. Tosses his jacket across the table like a flag. Tells a story

All Chapters of The Guy Who Lives Next Door : Chapter 71 - Chapter 72

Chapter 71

Chapter 72