Chapter 38: Something is Off

Damian stared at the screen in front of him.

Another article about Nexora.

Another piece of information that somehow led nowhere.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

Nexora had become a frustrating puzzle.

The company itself wasn’t difficult to understand anymore. Their product was strong, their customer base was growing, and their institutional connections gave them an advantage Westbridge couldn’t simply copy.

But the ownership situation still bothered him.

Every trail seemed to end just before reaching the person who actually mattered.

Even the system analysis didn’t bring up anything about thier origins.

Damian opened another tab.

Northvale Holdings.

Still nothing useful.

He sighed.

His phone buzzed.

For a moment, he expected to see Emily’s name.

It wasn’t.

Just another notification.

Damian turned the phone over and returned to his laptop.

He had noticed something over the last couple of days, though.

Emily had been quiet.

Not completely.

She’d sent a few short messages, but nothing like usual.

Normally, she would send something random during the day.

A complaint about a lecturer.

A picture of food.

A stupid comment about Ethan.

Sometimes just:

Babe, I’m bored.

But lately?

Almost nothing.

Damian had assumed she was busy.

Everyone had bad days.

And with the Nexora situation developing, he had been busy too.

Still, something felt off.

He checked his phone again.

No new messages.

Damian frowned.

He opened their conversation.

The last message was from yesterday.

Emily:Goodnight, love.

He had replied.

Nothing since.

He stared at the screen for a few seconds before putting the phone down.

She’s probably fine.

He turned back to the laptop.

Five minutes passed.

He couldn’t concentrate.

Damian closed the Nexora tab.

"Okay."

He picked up his phone and called her.

It rang.

And rang.

No answer.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Damian lowered the phone.

That wasn’t exactly unusual.

People missed calls.

But Emily usually called back.

Eventually.

He looked at the time.

Maybe she was in class.

That explanation made sense.

So he left it alone.

The next morning, Ethan noticed it before Damian even said anything.

"You’ve checked your phone like twelve times."

Damian glanced at him.

"It’s not up to twelve times moron."

"It’s called exaggeration you idiot."

"I was checking the time."

"You’ve checked the time an awful number of times"

Damian slipped the phone into his pocket.

"Maybe I like knowing what time it is."

Ethan stared at him.

"Yeah. You’re definitely acting weird."

"I’m fine."

"That’s exactly what weird people say."

Damian shook his head.

They continued walking toward their lecture hall.

For a few minutes, they talked about their assignment, the upcoming quiz, and a football match Ethan had apparently spent half the night watching.

Normal stuff.

But Damian’s attention kept drifting.

Eventually, he asked casually,

"You heard from Emily?"

Ethan looked at him.

"No."

Damian’s expression tightened slightly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"She’s been quiet."

Ethan shrugged.

"Maybe she’s busy."

"That’s what I thought."

"And?"

"Nothing."

Ethan watched him for a moment.

"You want me to ask her?"

Damian considered it.

Then shook his head.

"No. I’ll check on her later."

Ethan nodded.

But when they reached the classroom, Damian’s phone remained in his hand.

No message.

By lunchtime, Damian had received nothing.

He tried calling again.

This time, it went straight to voicemail.

That bothered him.

He stared at his phone.

Okay. There’s something definitely off.

He had spent so much time worrying about Nexora that he’d barely considered anything else.

Now the two things were competing for space in his head.

He couldn’t exactly abandon Westbridge’s situation.

But Emily was different.

She wasn’t a business problem.

She was his girlfriend.

And something was clearly wrong.

Damian looked at Ethan across the table.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Ethan swallowed his food.

"That depends."

"Can you check on Emily?"

Ethan paused.

"Like, go see her?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where she lives?"

Damian opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"You don’t know?"

"I know the area."

"That is not the same thing."

"I’ll figure it out."

Ethan laughed.

"You’re unbelievable."

"I’ll owe you."

"You already owe me."

"For what?"

Ethan thought about it.

"I don’t remember. But I’m sure you owe me something."

Damian smiled despite himself.

"Just check on her."

"Alright."

Ethan grabbed his phone.

"I’ll see what I can find."

It took Ethan much longer than expected.

He had an area.

That was about it.

And apparently, "somewhere around here" was not enough information to locate one specific house.

After asking two different people, walking down the wrong street, and nearly knocking on the door of a house that definitely wasn’t Emily’s, Ethan finally found the right place.

He stood outside for a moment.

The house wasn’t particularly large.

Nothing about it looked unusual.

Ethan knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

Emily stood there.

Ethan’s usual smile disappeared.

She looked exhausted.

Not tired from studying.

Not tired from staying up late.

Exhausted.

Her eyes were slightly swollen, and she looked like she hadn’t properly slept.

"Emily?"

She stared at him.

"Ethan?"

"Yeah."

Her expression changed immediately.

"What are you doing here?"

"Damian asked me to check on you."

Emily froze.

Ethan noticed.

"He’s worried."

She looked away.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then Emily stepped aside.

"Come in."

Ethan entered.

The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

He looked around.

"Are you the only one home? Where’s your mom?"

Emily didn’t answer immediately.

She closed the door behind him.

"My mom..."

Her voice cracked slightly.

Ethan turned toward her.

"She was in an accident."

His face went blank.

"What?"

"She was driving home a few days ago."

Emily swallowed.

"There was an accident."

Ethan didn’t know what to say.

"Is she..."

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

"She survived."

Ethan exhaled.

"But she’s still in the hospital."

Emily nodded.

"They said she’ll need time."

Ethan stared at the floor.

For once, he had no joke.

No sarcastic comment.

Nothing.

"Damn."

It was the only word that came out.

Emily wiped at the corner of her eye.

"Yeah."

Ethan looked at her.

"Does Damian know?"

Emily immediately shook her head.

"No."

"Why?"

"I haven’t told him."

"Emily..."

"Please."

Ethan stopped.

She looked at him seriously.

"Don’t tell him."

Ethan frowned.

"He’s your boyfriend."

"I know."

"Then why—"

"He already has so much going on."

Ethan crossed his arms.

"Westbridge?"

"Nexora. School. Everything."

"That’s not a reason."

"It is to me."

Emily looked down.

"I don’t want him worrying about this too."

Ethan sighed.

"You know he’s going to worry more if he finds out you kept something this serious from him."

"I’ll tell him."

"When?"

Emily didn’t answer.

"When I’m ready."

Ethan studied her face.

He wanted to argue.

Part of him knew Damian deserved to know.

But another part understood that this wasn’t his decision to make.

Finally, he nodded.

"Fine."

Emily looked relieved.

"But," Ethan added, "you have to tell him eventually."

"I will."

"Promise?"

She nodded.

"I promise."

Ethan exhaled.

"Alright."

The room fell silent again.

Then Emily looked toward a pile of boxes near the hallway.

"I actually need help with something."

Ethan followed her gaze.

"With what?"

"Packing."

"Packing what?"

"Some things."

Ethan frowned.

"Why?"

Emily walked toward the boxes.

"Because I’m trying to raise some money."

Ethan’s expression changed.

"For the hospital?"

She nodded.

"Some bills have already started coming in."

She picked up a small box.

"I’ve been trying to figure out what I can sell."

Ethan stared at her.

"You’re selling stuff from the house?"

"Things we don’t need."

"Emily..."

"I’ll figure it out."

Ethan looked at the boxes.

Then at her.

He knew exactly what he wanted to say.

But he also knew she wasn’t ready to hear it.

So instead, he picked up another box.

"Alright."

Emily looked at him.

"You’re helping?"

"Obviously."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Thanks."

Ethan shrugged.

"Don’t make it weird."

She laughed quietly.

It wasn’t much.

But it was the first real laugh he’d heard from her.

They started packing.

Neither of them noticed the old black gift box sitting further inside the room.

Not yet.

For now, Ethan simply stayed beside his best friend’s girlfriend, helping her carry boxes while keeping the promise he’d just made.

Even though he already knew one thing.

Damian was going to find out eventually.

The only question was how long Emily could keep it from him.