The next day, she waited at the agreed-upon location, her nervousness nonetheless undeterred. She had planned everything and knew she had to stay in control. When Tim arrived, she portrayed herself as the concerned friend who only wanted the best for Lukas.
"I'm so glad you came," she said, hugging him, which surprised him. "Let's talk."
As she spoke, she set the stage for her manipulation. Tim was supposed to feel like he was part of her solution. And the more she captivated him, the closer she came to her goal—to separate Lukas and Tim.
Tim looked at Lina with a mixture of skepticism and concern. "Lina, I don't understand why you're so insistent that I stay away from Lukas. It doesn't feel right," he said, crossing his arms. His voice was firm, and there was a spark in his eyes, as if he wasn't easily fooled.
Lina felt her plan falter. "I'm just worried about him! He hasn't been the same since you came into his life," she insisted, trying to convey her concern credibly.
"But I'm not the reason for his problems, Lina. You know that yourself. I know Lukas, and I know how he thinks. If you really want him to be okay, you have to accept him as he is," Tim replied. He didn't take his eyes off her, as if studying her every feature.
Lina felt uncomfortable. "I understand that you care about him, but I feel like I can support him better without you around," she tried again to regain control of the conversation.
"That doesn't sound like a good plan, Lina," he replied, and it dawned on her that her manipulation wasn't working the way she'd hoped. Tim wasn't as gullible as she'd hoped. He saw through her mask, and that infuriated her.
"What are you going to do, Lina? I know you better than that," Tim said, and there was a determination in his tone that she couldn't ignore.
"I... I'm just worried," she stammered, mentally searching for a new plan. Tim seemed stronger than she had expected at that moment.
"It's not just about Lukas, is it? There's something you're not telling me," Tim pressed, poking at her vulnerability.
Lina bit her lip to hide her anger. He didn't need to know. He couldn't know that she saw him as a threat and that her entire thoughts revolved around controlling Lukas.
"Okay, maybe it's not just Lukas," she finally admitted, feeling the balance of power shift. "But I'm only doing all this for the two of you. I want us all to be happy."
"Lina, I think you're so caught up in your own thoughts that you're not seeing what's really happening. It's not good for you to think like that," he replied, shaking his head.
Suddenly, a new anger grew within her. Why couldn't he see that she simply wanted the best for everyone? She clenched her fists. "You don't understand! You don't see how much Lukas is suffering, and if you stay here, things will only get worse for him."
"I can't just walk away and turn my back on him, Lina! You don't understand how important our friendship is," Tim said, taking a step closer.
Lina knew she had to act now. She couldn't allow Tim to have this control over Lukas. "What if I tell you Lukas is scared? Afraid of you? What if I tell you I heard he dreams about you and wakes up drenched in sweat?" she said quickly, her voice firm.
Tim seemed momentarily unsettled, and Lina recognized the moment. "If you really want to help Lukas, you should leave him alone. He needs space from you to find himself," she concluded with a look that conveyed so much hope.
"That's not fair, Lina. You manipulated the situation to your advantage," Tim said, his eyes narrowing.
"And what about you? You're the one not giving him the freedom he needs to become who he once was," Lina replied, pulling back to rebuild her defenses.
Tim shook his head. "I won't abandon Lukas just because you want me to," he said, turning away.
At that moment, Lina knew she might lose the upper hand. "Wait! Let's just try to find a way together," she said hastily, searching for a new strategy. "I'll talk to Lukas. Maybe I can get him to back off a bit, and then we can support him."
"I don't know, Lina. That sounds like another plan that won't work," Tim replied, but he paused, seemingly considering her words.
"Give me a chance, please! Let's try to help Lukas together. We could make a difference," she urged, trying to keep her tone gentle and understanding.
Tim seemed hesitant, and Lina felt that she was slowly pushing him in the direction she wanted. She just needed to remain patient and make him feel in control.
"Okay, I trust you," Tim finally said, and a sense of triumph swept through Lina. She had managed to temporarily manipulate him, but deep down, she knew she still had a long way to go to fully implement her plans.
As they said their goodbyes and Tim resumed jogging, she felt a mixture of triumph and tension. She was determined to achieve her goal, even if it meant pushing the boundaries of what was permissible. And as she looked back, she realized that she was only one step away from her goal – getting Lukas and getting Tim out of her way for good.
Lina sat in her room, staring at her phone as she reflected on her recent conversations with Tim. She realized she couldn't waste any more time with Tim. He wasn't the real problem. Her mind was completely focused on Lukas, and she had to find a way to win him back. The only way to do that was to observe him and figure out what made him tick.
Determined to refocus on Lukas, she grabbed her jacket and left the house. She had to get closer to him. She knew where he often spent time—in the park, by the river, and at school. And so she set out to track him over the next few days.
She spent the first few days secretly observing him. She positioned herself near the park, hiding behind a tree, or sitting on a bench while he laughed and talked with his friends. Every time she saw his smile, she felt a thrill of obsession. It was like an addictive game that she couldn't give up.
Lukas noticed her presence, even if he didn't say anything. Once, he saw her while sitting in a café with his friends. He paused for a brief moment, his eyes searching hers, but then quickly turned away and continued the conversation. That was the moment Lina felt her heart race. It wasn't what she had expected. He seemed unfazed, as if he didn't even notice how much she was watching him.
But deep down, she knew it bothered him. More and more often, she noticed him getting nervous when he turned around and saw her out of the corner of his eye. The way he raised his voice slightly or his movements became restless showed that he no longer felt completely confident. And that was exactly what she wanted.
It was similar at school. She made a point of being close to him during recess. She sat at a table in the cafeteria, strategically placed so she could observe Lukas and his friends. Her friends noticed that she was turning away from them and only had eyes for Lukas, but she didn't care.
Once, when Lukas was talking to Tim, Lina noticed that her emotions were mingling in a whirlpool of anger and jealousy. How could Tim treat him so lightly? But she didn't let it stop her. Again and again, she crept closer to him, hoping to learn something about his thoughts and feelings.
She noticed that he was becoming increasingly restless and irritable. Sometimes he stared into space, and his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. Once, she wondered if he was thinking about her or perhaps Tim. She couldn't allow that.
That evening, as she lay down in bed, the thought flashed through her mind that she simply couldn't let him out of her sight. Her obsession grew, and the urge to win him over grew stronger. "I can't stop watching him," she murmured quietly as she thought of a new strategy.
Over the next few days, she became a shadowy figure in Lukas's life. He knew she was there, and even though he didn't say much, she could tell by his body language. The constant feeling of being watched drove him to the brink of madness. She observed how he sometimes asked his friends for help, as if he were in a constant battle with himself.
The situation escalated when she noticed that Lukas was spending less and less time with his friends and was becoming increasingly lost in his own thoughts. Lina felt empowered. It was the perfect time to strike. She had to make him feel like she was the only one who truly understood him.
One evening, as she was back in the park, watching him, a new thought occurred to her. She could meet him in a secluded place where they could talk undisturbed. Maybe she could persuade him to break away from Tim and come back to her. But to do that, she would have to drive him even more crazy. She had to make sure he no longer trusted anyone and depended only on her.
Lina knew she couldn't wait long. The time was right. She was determined that soon Lukas would only need her in his life.
Lina felt as if the time for her plan had come. Over the last few days, she had been thinking intensely about how she could get Lukas to break away from Tim and open up to her again. She knew she had to get him to do it, to distract him from Tim.
She began creating small situations designed to corner Lukas. She made sure she was always near him, whether at school, in the park, or at the café. Her presence became a constant burden for him. But instead of Lukas wanting to retreat, he noticed Lina taking a dark turn.
"What about you, Lina? Why are you around me all the time?" he asked one day when she caught him leaving school. His voice was calm, but there was something in his eyes that Lina couldn't ignore—a spark of concern.
"I'm just here to help," she replied, and although her smile looked warm, she knew it was just a mask she wore to hide her true intentions.
Lukas shook his head, seeming to take the situation seriously. "I think it would be better if you took some time off. I need time for myself," he said, and Lina felt a storm building inside her.
His words cut through her heart like a knife. How dare he treat her like that? The thought of him wanting to turn away from her made her freak out. She couldn't allow him to distance himself from her.
Over the next few days, her obsession became an uncontrollable wave. She secretly followed him, watching him when he met with Tim. She saw them laughing and having fun, and it made her furious. How could Tim be so carefree while she lived in an emotional prison?
Lukas, on the other hand, was breaking inside. He felt like Lina was no longer the person he once knew. Her obsession made him nervous and prevented him from concentrating properly at school and in his everyday life. He kept feeling her gaze on him, and it consumed him inside.
One afternoon, as he sat alone in his room, thinking about everything, the thought occurred to him that he should cut off contact with Lina completely. It was the best thing for him. But the thought that she might completely lose control held him back. He knew she wasn't the same Lina he once knew.
Lina sensed Lukas withdrawing, and this made her even more desperate. Her surveillance became more and more intense. She made sure she never let him out of her sight. She stood in front of his house, watching him talk to Tim, anger seething inside her. He couldn't just carry on as if nothing had happened.
After another sleepless night, she decided to make one last attempt. She wanted to confront him, to show him how serious she was. Lina knew she had to risk everything to win him back.
The next day, she found Lukas in the park. He was sitting alone on a bench, staring into space. Lina crept up to him, her heart pounding. "Lukas, we need to talk," she demanded, standing right in front of him.
"What is it now?" he replied, his voice irritated. "I told you I need time for myself."
"That can't be all you want! We had something special once, and I can't just stand by and watch you walk away from me," she insisted, feeling the anger rising inside her again.
"Lina, you scare me. I don't know what happened to you, but I can't take this anymore," he confessed, shaking his head as if he wanted to turn away from her.
"You can't just pretend I'm not here! You need me, Lukas. I'm the only one who understands you," she cried, not realizing at that moment that she was driving herself further into the abyss.
Lukas looked at her in shock, the look in his eyes no longer that of a familiar person, but of a stranger overwhelmed by her obsession. "I can't take this anymore, Lina. I want you to leave me alone," he said, standing up to move away from her.
In that moment, everything inside Lina collapsed. Her rage and despair merged into a dangerous cocktail of obsession. She couldn't let him turn away from her. It was time to put the next phase of their plan into action.
Lukas walked home, his thoughts swirling in his head. Lina was no longer the person he once knew. Her obsession had cornered him, and the fear of her reaction wouldn't leave him alone. He knew she wouldn't give up, and that drove him crazy.
In the nights that followed, he couldn't sleep. He repeatedly woke up, shaken by nightmares in which Lina haunted him, staring at him with a sinister smile. The creeping fear that she might harm him gnawed at him. It was no longer just a concern about his relationship with her, but the feeling that she wanted to harm him.
The more he thought about it, the more he began to question his own sanity. What if she was capable of harming him and his family? Images of her stalking his siblings with a blade in her hand surfaced in his mind and wouldn't leave him alone. Was it possible that she was targeting not only him, but his family as well?