CHAPTER 18 — "THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS"
Lena sat on Elias's couch, knees pulled to her chest, watching him move through the room with quiet intensity.
He wasn't frantic.
He wasn't panicking.
He was *focused* — the kind of still, dangerous focus she'd only seen once, the day they first kissed and he finally let his guard break.
But this was different.
This was fear wrapped around fury.
He closed the blinds, checked the back door a second time, then finally sat across from her.
"Lena," he began, voice low, "who could have followed you today?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "I didn't notice anyone."
"You wouldn't," he said. "Someone bold enough to send messages like that isn't going to be obvious."
She swallowed hard. "Do you think it's a student?"
"It might be."
He leaned forward.
"Or… someone else who saw us together."
Her breath caught.
"You mean Maya."
Elias closed his eyes briefly. "I don't want to believe she'd go this far."
"But you think it's possible," Lena said softly.
He didn't answer — and that silence was its own answer.
---
## **A Shocking Possibility**
A soft tap on the window made Lena flinch.
Elias stood instantly.
He moved to the blinds and peeled them back a fraction.
His breath hitched.
"What?" she whispered. "What do you see?"
He didn't speak for several seconds.
Then, quietly, "I think I know who it is."
Her heart pounded.
"Who?"
He stepped away from the window slowly, running a hand down his face.
"Lena… you remember Oliver Grant?"
She frowned. "The TA? From the seminar last semester?"
He nodded tightly.
"He's been trying to get close to Maya for months. She's been venting to him about the faculty… and about me."
"And you think he—"
"He asked about you," Elias cut in. "Three times. In ways that didn't make sense."
Lena's blood ran cold.
"He's obsessed with gossip. Obsessed with catching people doing something wrong. And he hates that I got the research grant he wanted." Elias swallowed hard. "He's the type to follow someone."
Lena stared at him in disbelief.
"That doesn't mean he's stalking us."
"No," Elias agreed. "But the timing lines up. And Oliver is petty enough to go anonymous."
She hugged herself, suddenly shaking.
"Elias… what if he reports you?"
He sat beside her — not too close, but close enough she felt the heat of him.
"If he reports me, I'll deal with it."
"And me?"
His jaw clenched.
"I will not let anyone drag you through this," he said. "I will take the blame. All of it."
Her eyes burned.
"Don't say that."
"It's the truth."
"It doesn't have to be."
"It does," he said. "I'm the one with power in this situation. You're the one who could get hurt."
Her voice broke. "Then let me walk away."
His head snapped toward her.
"No."
"Elias, listen—"
"No," he said again, firmer. "You don't get to sacrifice yourself for my sake."
She grabbed his hand, desperate.
"And you don't get to sacrifice yourself for mine."
---
## **The Fight They Couldn't Avoid**
Tension ignited between them — raw, emotional, impossible to suppress.
"You can't protect me from everything," Lena said, voice trembling.
"I can protect you from *this*."
"No, you can't. If someone wants to expose us—"
"They won't."
"How do you know?" she whispered.
He hesitated.
And she saw it — the truth.
"You don't," she said. "You're scared, too."
His guard cracked.
"Yes," he whispered. "I am."
"Then don't act like you can control the whole world."
He looked away, breathing hard.
"I have to control something," he said. "Or I'll lose my mind."
The honesty in his voice broke her heart.
"Elias…"
He shook his head, frustrated with himself.
"You don't understand. I've spent my entire life keeping everything contained. My work, my emotions, my relationships—"
"Me," she said softly.
He met her eyes.
"Yes. Especially you."
Her breath caught.
"When you walked into my life again," he continued, "everything I'd built just— fell apart. And I don't regret it."
His voice cracked slightly.
"But I don't know how to keep you safe."
She reached for him, gently touching his face.
"You don't have to keep me safe," she said. "You just have to stand with me."
He closed his eyes — and leaned into her touch like he'd been waiting for permission to break.
---
## **The Third Message**
Her phone buzzed again.
Both of them froze.
Lena unlocked it with shaking hands.
One new message:
*He's lying to you.*
She stared at the words, ice spreading in her chest.
"Elias…" she whispered, voice shaking. "It's him. He's watching us right now."
Elias took the phone, jaw tightening until he looked carved from stone.
He typed a reply — short, sharp, controlled.
**Elias:**
*Who are you?*
Three dots appeared immediately.
They hovered for a long, agonizing moment.
Then a reply:
*You already know.*
Lena gasped.
Elias's hands shook.
Not with fear.
With rage.
He stood abruptly.
"I'm calling Maya."
Her eyes widened. "Why—?"
"Because she knows Oliver," he said. "And if he's doing this— she needs to shut it down before he goes too far."
Lena grabbed his arm.
"What if she thinks this confirms we're—"
He turned to her, eyes blazing.
"I don't care what she thinks anymore. I'm not letting him stalk you. I'm not letting him threaten us."
She stared up at him, breath trembling.
"This is getting dangerous," she whispered.
He stepped closer, voice rough but steady.
"Lena," he said, "I don't care how dangerous it gets."
He took her shaking hands in his.
"I'm not letting you go. Not now."
Her heart stuttered painfully.
"And if he exposes us?" she asked.
Elias didn't blink.
"Then he exposes us."
Lena felt the ground drop beneath her.
"And what do we do?" she whispered.
He held her gaze.
"We face it," he said.
"Together."