Red Strings of Destiny

Chapter 4

Kaizer had been acting weird lately.

So was Lily.

At first, Ysabel didn’t think much of it. She was too busy keeping up her act with her fake boyfriend, too busy trying to ignore the memory of that night.

But something was definitely off.

Kaizer stopped teasing her like he used to. He no longer threw playful insults her way or ruffled her hair in annoyance. Instead, he avoided her.

Lily, on the other hand, had stopped being clingy. She wasn’t gushing about Kaizer anymore, and whenever they passed each other in the hallways, she barely acknowledged Ysabel at all.

It wasn’t until she was texting her fake boyfriend one afternoon that she found out the truth.

Zachary: So Kaizer really dumped Lily, huh?

Ysabel blinked at the screen.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Ysabel: …What?

Zachary: You didn’t know? It was a whole thing. Happened like a week ago. Lily was crying in the bathroom, and some of the girls had to comfort her. Word is, he didn’t even give her a real reason.

Ysabel felt a strange weight settle in her chest.

Kaizer broke up with Lily?

And he never told her?

She should’ve been relieved. Or happy, even. Instead, all she felt was confusion.

Why?

And why was her heart beating faster than it should?

Monday morning came, and with it—

The end of the fake lover agreement.

Ysabel and her so-called boyfriend had mutually agreed to drop the act. No dramatic breakup, no awkward farewell—just an understanding that whatever they were pretending to be was over.

It should’ve felt like a relief.

But for some reason, Kaizer also started avoiding her.

It was different from before.

No teasing. No irritated remarks. Not even the usual grumbling when she ignored him.

He didn’t even look at her.

And somehow, that hurt more than anything.

—

That afternoon, Ysabel trudged home, tossing her bag onto the couch before heading straight to her room.

She barely had time to process anything when—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

She hesitated.

A weird feeling twisted in her stomach as she made her way to the front door, unlocking it.

The moment it swung open—

Kaizer stood there.

His hands were shoved into his pockets, his usual confident smirk nowhere to be seen. Instead, he looked... frustrated. Tense.

As if he had spent the entire day fighting himself.

Ysabel crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Kaizer exhaled sharply, then met her eyes.

"...We need to talk."

Kaizer didn’t wait for an invitation.