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💔💔💔😭"My crush is shamelessly having sex with my roommate next door. Unable to endure it, I was forced to move into Julian’s house. An arrogant hockey captain, the boy who has been silently watching me since we were children... After evolving from friends into a more dangerous relationship, I became pregnant. However, his hesitation-free departure left me heartbroken... Should I keep holding on, or throw myself into the arms of the crush who has been with me for many years?" ****** Aria’s pov. The moans slipped through the wall, again. Luca, my best friend, my secret crush for years, was having sex with my roommate on the other side of the wall. The sounds were louder than usual tonight, a sharp, rhythmic thudding against the drywall that felt like it was happening inside my own head. It felt deliberate, like Serena wanted to make sure I heard every single gasp, every single second of her winning. It was a shitty way to end a twelve-hour double shift at the coffee shop. I lay on my bed, my eyes burning from the caffeine and the fluorescent lights I’d been under all day. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Serena’s moans were reckless. I looked at the small, framed photo on the corner of my desk—my parents and my older brother, Anthony, smiling in the sun. They’ve been gone for five years now. The car accident that took them when I was fifteen shattered my entire world in a single afternoon. Luca was the only one who didn't let me drown in the silence of that empty house. He held me while I cried until I had no tears left. He stayed when everyone else eventually went back to their lives. He was my anchor, my only piece of home left in the world. That’s why I followed him here to Westbridge University. I gave up a full ride at my dream school just so I wouldn't have to face a single day without him nearby. What a massive, pathetic fool I was. Now I was just the scholarship girl working two jobs while he lived the life of a rich playboy. I’d watched him date dozens of girls over the years. I used to just sit back and wait for them to vanish, which they usually did after a month or two. I told myself they were just distractions, toys he used because he wasn't ready for something real. But Serena felt different. She didn't feel like a distraction, she felt like a permanent replacement. The noise from the next room spiked again, a loud moan that made my skin crawl with a mix of nausea and rage. The lack of sleep and the physical ache in my back from standing all day finally made something inside me snap. I pushed myself up from the bed so fast it felt like the world jolted with me. I stormed into the hallway of our suite and hammered my fist against Serena’s door with everything I had. "Keep it the down, you two!" I yelled. My voice sounded raw, cracking under the weight of the frustration I’d been bottling up for weeks. "Some of us actually have to work for a living in the morning!" The noise stopped instantly. It was replaced by a silence so heavy I could feel it pressing against my eardrums. I didn't wait for a response. I turned around, went back into my room, and shut my door hard enough to make the walls tremble. I fell onto my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to force my heart to stop racing. A few minutes later, there was a sharp, aggressive knock on my door. I thought it was Luca coming to apologize, but when I opened it, Serena was leaning against the frame. She wore one of Luca’s oversized t-shirts, looking like she’d stepped out of a magazine. She had a smirk on her face that made me want to slap the look right off her. "You're very grumpy tonight, Aria," She said, pushing past me into my room. "I'm tired, Serena. I just want to sleep. Get out," I said, my voice flat and exhausted. She leaned against my dresser, looking at me with this fake, sugary pity that made my stomach turn. "Is it really the noise that's bothering you? Or is it the person making me scream?" she asked. I felt a flush of heat creep up my neck, my face burning with a humiliation I couldn't hide. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. "Oh come on. I'm not blind. Just admit it. You’re in love with him," she said, her voice dropping to a sharp whisper. "Every time he touches me, you feel like you're dying inside, don't you?" she asked. I couldn't breathe. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. I looked past her and saw Luca standing in the hallway. He was frozen there, his hair messy, his shirt unbuttoned. He had heard everything. He looked confused and deeply uncomfortable, like he was looking at a car wreck he didn't want to be involved in. He didn't defend me. He didn't tell her she was being cruel. He just stood there, avoiding my gaze, letting the silence confirm everything Serena said. "Get out," I told her. My voice was trembling now, and I hated myself for it. "Both of you. Get the out of my room," I said. Serena let out a soft, mean laugh and walked back into the hall. Luca stayed for a second longer, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually just followed her back into her room. I locked the door and stayed awake for a while, too embarrassed to stop thinking, replaying the look on his face, everything I should have said, everything I didn’t. I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep. ★ The next morning was beyond awkward. I tried to stay in my room as long as possible, but I eventually had to go to the kitchen for coffee. I ran right into Luca. He looked perfectly fine, looking like he’d slept for ten hours, while I looked like a ghost. The eye bags were heavy under my eyes and my stare was probably enough to frighten the dead. "Hey, Ri," he said. He was acting like the fight last night didn't even happen. "My mom called today," he said, pouring himself some juice. "She wants to host a dinner for Serena this weekend. She wants to officially meet her," he continued. I felt a sharp, icy pain in my chest that made it hard to swallow. Luca had never brought a girl home to his parents before. Not once in all the years I’d known him. Only me. I was the only girl who had ever met his family, and I had secretly convinced myself it would stay that way until it was my turn for real. "That's nice," I said, keeping my voice as dead as I felt inside. "I want you to come with us," he said. He beamed at me, like he was doing me a favor. "It’ll be less awkward if you’re there you know. You can even study in the library at my house while we do the dinner," he added. He was serious. He really expected me to sit at his family’s table and watch him play house with the girl who had just destroyed me. He didn't care about my feelings. He didn't even care that Serena had humiliated me right in front of him. To him, I was just a fixture. A doll that came along for the ride. At that moment, I realized the truth. He was serious about her. And I was officially being replaced. "I can't go, Luca. I'm busy," I said. "Busy with what? You always come home with me on weekends," he argued. "Not anymore. I have plans," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. I don’t owe you any explanation for how I choose to live my life. I walked away before he could say another word. I went back into my room and pulled up my banking app. I stared at the balance, calculating every penny from my scholarship and my shifts. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get me a deposit on a tiny room somewhere else. I looked at the thin dorm walls and realized I couldn’t stay here another night. I was done being the backup friend. Tonight, I’m leaving. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't even bother looking in the mirror before I walked out of my room. I knew I looked like a ghost, but I didn't care. I grabbed my phone and my work bag, checking to make sure I had my keys and nothing else. I was halfway to the front door when Serena stepped into the hallway, still wearing that same smug look from last night. "Leaving so soon? Luca hasn't even finished his breakfast yet," she said mockingly. Her voice was like a slow-acting poison, and I could feel it working its way under my skin. "Stay out of my way, Serena. For real," I said. I didn't wait for her to come up with some clever comeback. I just pushed past her and walked out of the dorm, stepping right into a miserable, gray downpour. The rain was freezing, soaking through my thin shirt in seconds, but it felt better than being inside that suite. I walked all the way to the coffee shop where I worked, my head spinning with every step. When I pushed through the door, the bell jingled loudly, and the warmth of the shop hit me like a physical wall. Mark, my manager, looked up from the register and let out a low whistle. "Aria? You’re not on the schedule until four. You look like a drowned rat, kid," he said. "I’m fine. Mark, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you," I said. I was shivering so hard my teeth were practically chattering. "Sure, what's up? You look like you're about to have a breakdown," he said. "I have some major accommodation issues. I can't stay in my dorm anymore. Like, I need a new place today," I told him. I was trying to keep my voice down, but the shop was quiet and my voice was already shaky. "Do you know anyone with a spare room? Or a cheap studio? I have some savings, but I need it right now," I added. Mark rubbed his chin, looking concerned. "Today? That's a tall order, Aria. Most places near campus are booked solid this time of year. It's midterm season," he reminded me. I let out a frustrating sigh, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. "But you can post on the school website. I bet someone there could help you out," he suggested. I shook my head immediately. "I can't. Everyone on that site is a shark, Mark. I'm a scholarship kid. They'll just use it to rip me apart," I said. "Why? You really need it, don't you? Desperate times, Aria," he pushed. I opened my mouth to deny him again, but the image of Serena and Luca together in that hallway stabbed my vision. I couldn't bear another second of that nightmare. I pulled out my phone and opened the school website, a place I usually avoided like the plague unless I wanted to see who they were bullying that week. I typed in the words quickly: "Hi. Having major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent please, my DM is open. Urgent." I almost shuddered in disgust as I hit the button. The text felt tacky and reeked of desperation, but I didn't have any other cards to play. The site let out a little beep, confirming it had been uploaded to the public feed. "Done," I said to Mark, who was peering over the counter at me. "Good. Now we just wait and—" The notification sound on my phone disrupted his words. I shifted my gaze to the screen and froze. Someone had replied. Not in my DMs. Publicly. "I have an apartment. Meet me at the cafeteria if you are interested," the comment read. I almost screamed in joy, but the stone-faced gaze from a customer nearby snapped me back to reality. "Someone replied! Already!" I shoved the phone toward Mark. "See? I told you," he said, smiling warmly. "Who is it? Can you tell?" I asked. I read the username out loud. "J. Vance." I’d never heard of the name, but then again, I didn't exactly hang out with the elite crowd at this school. I figured it was probably a girl named Jules or maybe a nerd who felt sorry for me. "So when are you meeting the mystery person?" Mark asked. "They didn't give me time, so I'm guessing they want to meet now. It's almost lunch," I said. I looked at the clock on the wall. 9:45 a.m. "Go get ready. You can't meet a potential roommate looking like you just crawled out of a lake," Mark said. I nodded and hurried back to the dorm. Luckily, it was empty. Luca and Serena must have finally left for their morning classes. I walked past Luca’s room, and the door was slightly ajar. The air coming from inside still smelled like sex and cheap alcohol, making my stomach churn with a fresh wave of nausea. I slammed the door shut and went to my own room to change. I threw on my normal baggy jeans and a clean top, tossing my damp hair into a quick ponytail. I checked my reflection once, adjusted my glasses, and ran back out the door. When I stepped into the school cafeteria, it felt like the entire world stopped turning. All eyes turned to me, and for once, it wasn't the usual look of boredom. I ignored them and searched for Table 7, the spot the user had mentioned in their DM follow-up. I caught it in the corner. Someone was already sitting there. From the broad shoulders and the dark, expensive-looking hair, it definitely wasn't a girl named Jules. Shit. I hoped he wasn't some kind of pervert. I shoved the thought aside and walked closer, letting out a little cough to get his attention. "Hi. I'm here about the apartment. You commented on my post," I started rambling. Then he straightened up and turned around. I stopped talking. I stopped breathing. The world actually seemed to stop. Because sitting in the chair was Julian Vance. He was wearing a black pea coat that probably cost more than my entire year's tuition. He was the hockey captain. Every girl at Westbridge had a crush on him. He looked successful and untouchable, like he lived in a completely different universe than me. His dark eyes, which I hadn't seen up close in over a decade, widened just slightly. "Aria?" he asked, his voice a low, rough velvet, laced with genuine surprise. I could only manage a slow nod. "Hi, Julian." "It's been... ages," he said, the surprise quickly masked by his usual guarded demeanor. "I heard you were on campus, but I haven't seen you since—since you were about knee-high. I left campus with my father's company shortly after, remember?" "I do," I mumbled. "You... you were gone for a long time." "For a while, yeah. But I'm back now, obviously," he said, a ghost of a smile touching the corner of his lips. He leaned back in his seat, suddenly serious. "So, the apartment. I saw your post. What's going on? Are you okay?" "I am," I lied, too quickly. "Just accommodation issues. A misunderstanding with my... current situation." He nodded, his gaze unwavering, as if he knew exactly what I wasn't saying. "I have a place near the Heights. You can have the guest suite," he said. He wasn't even whispering. The whole cafeteria had gone dead silent. Every single jaw was hanging open in total shock. "Huh? You... you really mean it?" I whispered. "I-I thought you didn't even remember me." "I knew who you were, Ri," he said, using the old nickname. It felt like a punch to the gut. I almost forgot Luca and he came up with the nickname for me. "And yes, I mean it. I won't overcharge you, and I rarely use it anyway." He was talking, but my mind couldn't even process the words. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and held it out to me. Mindlessly, I took it. It was a phone number and an address. "Call me when you're ready to move," he said. He didn't wait for an answer. He just stood up and walked out like he owned every single inch of the floor he was walking on. I watched him disappear through the double doors, then looked back at the students. They were staring at me with a mix of envy, disgust, and pure, unadulterated hate. At that moment, I wanted the floor to open and swallow me. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I was hiding. I sat at the furthest corner table of the coffee shop, staring at the piece of paper Julian had given me in the cafeteria like it was a piece of radioactive waste. My phone wouldn't stop buzzing in my pocket. Notifications from the school website were blowing up, of course from other students, and I didn't even have to open them to know what they said. The lowly scholarship girl and the King of Hockey. What a headline. The gossip was spreading faster than a leak in a dam, and I was right at the center of it. I couldn't stop thinking about the look in Julian's eyes when he stood up and walked away. He didn't look like he was playing a prank. He looked like he was waiting for me to just say yes already. Everyone at Westbridge knew about the war between the Morettis and the Vances. It wasn't just a school rivalry, it was a blood feud between two massive companies that had been trying to bankrupt each other for some years now. Julian was the one everyone loved and cheered for, the quiet hero of the hockey team who had the whole campus wrapped around his finger. Luca was the opposite, the reckless playboy of the Moretti empire who spent more time flaunting his wealth than in a classroom. Growing up, I was always stuck in the middle of them. I remembered our kindergarten playground fights, back when we were kids—when they both swore I would be their bride. I thought it was all just a joke. We were only kids. Julian was the one who actually got his knuckles bloody fighting for me back then, standing his ground even when he was outnumbered. Luca would just use his charm to talk his way out of trouble, always smiling like the world owed him everything. I had always chosen to stay by Luca’s side, thinking his flashy charm was safer than whatever intense fire Julian had in his eyes. Even though I knew he was a reckless playboy, I couldn’t help but hope, just a little, that one day he would realize that I love him. What a massive mistake that turned out to be. "Aria! My God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" I jumped slightly as my best friend, Elena, slid into the chair across from me, her eyes wide with total shock. She slammed her phone down on the table, showing the school’s main forum page. Julian’s public reply to my post was the top-rated comment, with hundreds of likes and even more people losing their minds in the replies. "Aria, tell me right now why Julian Vance is offering you a luxury suite in the Heights," she demanded. I sighed and told her everything—the desperate need of an apartment, how I had to put up the notice on the site and then how he just handed me his number and walked out. I also told her about the dorm drama. From the whole sex charade to the dinner invite Luca gave me for Serena. Elena looked like she was having a heart attack right there in the middle of the shop. "You have to do it. You have to call him right now," she said. "I can't just move in with a guy I haven't seen in over a decade, Elena. We talked for two minutes and it was so intense. It's too much," I argued. "Aria, look at yourself. You're exhausted, you're hiding, and your 'best friend' is busy bringing another girl home to meet his parents," she said. She leaned across the table, her voice getting serious. "Julian is the golden boy here for a reason. He’s responsible and he’s quiet. If he’s opening his door for you publicly, he's basically protecting you from the fallout," she added. "He probably just wants to spite Luca," I muttered. "Who cares? It's your chance to finally stop being Luca's shadow. He’s never going to choose you, Aria," she said. That hit me harder than the rain outside. She was right. I thought about how Luca had cancelled our traditions lately. The movie nights he missed. The ten-year anniversary he forgot because Serena wanted a spa day. Even going shopping with her. I realized I wasn't his best friend anymore. It was just a habit he was trying to break. "I'm going back to the dorm," I said, standing up suddenly. "To sleep?" Elena asked. "No. To pack. I'm done being an inconvenience," I told her. I walked back to the dorms, my heart hammering a rhythm of pure defiance. I walked right through the front door, not caring who saw me. When I got to the common area, I saw them. Luca and Serena were tangled together on the couch, surrounded by shopping bags from places I couldn't even afford to look at. Luca looked up and frowned when he saw me standing there. "Oh, hey. I forgot we were supposed to grab dinner tonight," he said. He didn't even sound sorry. He sounded like I was an interruption. "I’m taking Serena to the Vanguard Gala tonight. Her dad invited us," he added. He looked at his watch, clearly wishing I would just go away. "It’s fine, Luca. I wasn't expecting you to remember anyway," I said. My voice didn't tremble. I felt weirdly cold, like the rain had finally frozen my heart shut. "Are you okay? You look... different," he said, squinting at me. "I'm great. Have fun at the gala," I said. I didn't wait for a response. I went straight to my room and pulled my suitcases out from under the bed. I shoved everything I owned into them—my clothes, my books, the photo of my parents. I left the stuff Luca had bought me over the years on the desk. The stuffed bear. The expensive necklace. I didn't want any of it anymore. I stood in the hallway with my bags, feeling Serena's smug gaze on my back. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Julian had written down. "I'm ready," I said as soon as he picked up. "Does the offer still stand? Because I'm standing in the hallway with two suitcases and no plan B," I told him. There was a brief silence on the other end. "Hold on. Don't move," Julian said. He hung up, and I stood there in the silence of the dorm that used to be my home. Luca came out of his room, adjusting his tuxedo jacket, and stopped dead when he saw my bags. "What are you doing? Where are you going at this hour?" he asked. "Away from here," I said. "Aria, don't be dramatic. We can talk about this after the gala," he said, reaching for my arm. Dramatic. Right. Of course he'd call it that. Just then, a loud, heavy horn honked from the street below. I looked out the window and saw Julian's car idling at the curb, dark and imposing. "That's my ride," I said, pulling my arm away from him. "Is that Vance’s car? Aria, what the hell is going on? Did you really take his offer?" Luca shouted. I didn't give him an explanation. I didn't owe him a single word. I grabbed my suitcases and walked out the door, leaving him standing there in his expensive suit looking completely lost. I made it down to the curb just as Julian stepped out of the car. He didn't say anything as he took my bags and tossed them into the trunk. He opened the passenger door for me, his eyes searching mine for a second. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "Drive," I said. He nodded, climbed in beside me, and just like that, we drove off. I resisted every urge to look back at the boy I'd spent half of my life yearning for. .............................................................................. Julian’s pov. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white, but I kept my face like stone. Inside, I was screaming. I was actually, physically vibrating with the kind of high I haven't felt since I was what, ten years old? She was in my car. Aria Vale was sitting in my passenger seat, her scent of old coffee beans and rain filling up my space. I had waited three years for this exact moment. Most people think I transferred to Westbridge for the hockey program or the business prestige. And it made sense considering those were the excuses I gave my parents to let me come here. But still, that was far fetched, really. The only reason I transferred was because I saw a post on her Instagram three years ago about her getting a scholarship here. I spent my entire freshman year at a different school just watching her from a screen, waiting for the right time to move. I knew Luca was an idiot. I knew he would eventually choose someone shiny and loud like Serena because he has zero taste and even less heart. I was actually on her school profile when it happened. I had been scrolling through her old photos, just like I did every morning, when the notification popped up at the top of my screen. It was a public post on the housing board. "Major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent, DM me. Urgent." My heart nearly stopped. I didn't even think. I didn't breathe. I just typed out the reply as fast as my fingers could move. I knew it was public. I knew the whole school would see it. I wanted them to see it. I wanted every single person on this campus to know that if Aria Vale needed a place to go, she was coming to me. I came to this school and I played the role of the quiet, disciplined hockey captain. I walked past her lecture halls every single day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the back of her head. I knew her schedule better than she did. I knew what time she started her shifts at that shitty coffee shop. I even knew which library table was her favorite because I’d sit three rows back just to watch her study. Some would call it stalking, and yes, I'm not going to bother lying about it. But I was also protecting her. I’d seen the way people looked at her because she was a scholarship girl. I made sure those people knew that if they messed with her, they’d be dealing with Vance. But all that didn't matter anymore because now, all of my hard work had finally paid off. Even though I pretended not to know she was the one I was meeting at the cafeteria... she was here. She was finally here. I pulled into my garage and took a breath, trying to calm my racing heart before I looked at her. "We're here," I said. My voice sounded normal, which was a miracle considering I felt like I was losing my mind. She didn't say anything. She just got out and stood there with her two suitcases. I took them from her, wanting to burn them because they reminded me of the life she lived with that loser. We got up to the apartment and the elevator doors slid open. I gave her the tour, pointing out the kitchen and the living room and the balcony. I watched her face the whole time. It remained icily blank. Totally unfazed by the marble floors or the view that costs more than most people make in a lifetime. I’ve always loved that about her. She doesn't really care about things that aren't hers. She’s hardworking, beautiful, even though she isn’t financially buoyant. She’s herself and doesn’t try to impress anyone or keep up with the campus hot girls, as they call themselves. She has this pride that is so thick you could choke on it. It makes me want to break and bend her so badly, until she only relies on me. "This is your suite," I said, opening the door to the guest wing. She walked in and looked around, her expression still not changing. "Thank you, Julian," she said. Her voice was small, but it was steady. "I mean it. I appreciate you helping me out of that situation," she added. "It’s fine, Aria. I told you I had the space," I said. I was standing too close to her, and I could see the way her eyelashes were still damp from the rain. "I just want to be clear about something," she said, turning to face me. "There is nothing more to this situation. You're helping me, and I'm grateful," she said. She was drawing a line in the tiles, and I wanted to laugh. "I’m going to start paying you rent as soon as I can pick up extra shifts," she continued. "You don't need to worry about money here," I told her. "I do. Because I don't take charity," she snapped. She stepped back into her room and grabbed the handle of the door. "Goodnight, Julian," she said. Then she slammed the door right in my face. I stood there in the hallway for a long time, staring at the dark wood of the door. I bit back a smile until my cheeks actually hurt. I couldn't remember the last time I had been this happy. She could feel like she was doing the right thing by setting boundaries all she wanted. But she was already in my house. She was under my roof, eating my food, and sleeping in a bed I bought. She was mine now, even if she didn't know it yet. My phone started buzzing in my pocket, ruining the moment. I pulled it out and saw my mother’s name on the screen. I sighed and swiped to answer. "Julian. Why am I hearing that you have a guest?" she asked. She didn't even say hello. My mother has people tailing me, and she’s never been subtle about it. "I have a roommate, Mother. It’s a big apartment and I was getting tired of being lonely," I said. I walked over to the window and looked out at the city lights. "Don't lie to me. I know who she is. She’s that girl. Moretti's friend. Come on, son. She's pathetic," my mother said. "Her name is Aria," I corrected her, my voice turning cold. "I don't care what her name is. She is a distraction. You have a reputation to maintain, and the Morettis would love to use this against us," she hissed. "Make sure she does not distract you from your goals, Julian. Or I will make sure she is removed from the equation," she warned. The threat made my blood turn to ice. "If you touch her, I will burn everything you’ve worked for to the ground. I swear it," I said. I didn't wait for her to respond before I hung up. I threw my phone onto the sofa and rubbed my face with my hands. The Vance family was a shark tank, and I had just brought a lamb into the middle of it. But I didn't care. I walked back toward my own bedroom, pausing outside her door one last time. I could hear the faint sound of her moving around inside. She was safe here. I had spent years watching her be treated like an afterthought by a guy who didn't deserve to breathe her air. Now, I was the one who got to see her wake up in the morning. I was the one who got to see her without the mask she wore for the rest of the world. I didn't have any plans on letting her go. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever. I went into my room and lay down, staring at the ceiling and listening to the silence of the apartment. It didn't feel empty anymore. It felt full. I thought about the look on Luca’s face when I picked her up. He looked like he had just realized he lost his most valuable possession. He was right. He had lost her, and he was never getting her back. I’d make sure of that. I’d make sure she forgot his name within a month. I couldn't wait for tomorrow morning. I couldn't wait to see her sitting at my table. I was going to make her her favorite tea. I was going to make her the eggs she liked. I was going to show her what it felt like to actually be seen. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in years. Everything was finally going according to plan. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't sleep well. Even though the bed in Julian’s guest suite felt like sleeping on a literal cloud, I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. The room was too quiet and the air felt too.... I don't know, expensive? I kept waiting for someone to knock on the door and tell me this was all a prank. When I finally dragged myself out of bed, I felt like a zombie in a scholarship girl’s body. I brushed my hair and tried to look like I hadn't spent the night questioning every single life choice I’d made in the last decade. I walked into the kitchen and there he was. Julian was already dressed in a crisp black hoodie and joggers, looking like a professional athlete even before his morning coffee. He pushed a mug of Earl Grey toward me without saying a word. Two drops of honey. Exactly what I needed at that moment. I took a sip and felt the warmth hit my stomach, but it didn't stop the fluttering of nerves. "I have a ten a.m. lecture," I said, breaking the silence. "I know. I'm driving you," he said. He didn't even look up from his tablet. "Julian, you don't have to do this. I can take the bus. I don't want to make things weird," I told him. He finally looked at me, and his gray-blue eyes felt like they were pinning me to the chair. "The bus takes forty minutes. My car takes ten. You need the extra thirty minutes to study," he said pointedly. He wasn't suggesting it. He was stating it like it was a law of physics. Translation, I didn't have a say really. "Are you always this bossy?" I muttered into my tea. "Only when I'm right," he answered. I wanted to argue, but I was too tired to fight with a guy who was giving me a free place to stay. I grabbed my bag and followed him down to the garage. The car ride was silent, but it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was tense. I kept looking at his hands on the steering wheel, wondering why the hockey captain was being so careful with me. When we pulled onto the Westbridge campus, I felt the immediate urge to duck. Julian’s car was a dark, sleek shark in a sea of basic student vehicles. He didn't pull into the parking lot. He drove right up to the front of the main quad. The quad was packed with students grabbing breakfast between classes. "You're making a scene," I whispered, clutching my bag. "Let them look," Julian said. He actually got out of the car and walked around to open my door. I felt like I was walking onto a movie set where I didn't know the lines. "I'll be here at four. Don't be late," he said, his voice carrying just enough for the nearest group of girls to hear. I nodded, confused, and practically ran toward the library entrance. I could hear the whispers starting behind me like a wave. "Is that Aria Vale?" "Since when does Vance let people in his car?" I kept my head down, staring at the pavement until I saw a pair of familiar sneakers. I looked up and my heart stopped. It was Luca. He was standing near the fountain, looking like he hadn't slept either. His tuxedo from last night was gone, replaced by a rumpled hoodie, and his hair was a mess. "Aria," he said, stepping into my path. I tried to walk around him, but he moved to block me. "We need to talk," he said. "I have class, Luca. And I think we said everything last night," I told him. I felt incredibly uncomfortable. People were stopping to watch us. "What were you doing in Julian Vance's car?" he asked. His voice was loud, full of that jealous edge that didn't make sense since he had Serena. "He's my roommate. I told you I was moving," I said. “And I owe you no explanation for what I choose to do with my life.” "Roommate? Aria, are you insane? Do you even know who that guy is?" he shouted. He reached out to grab my wrist, but I stepped back before he could touch me. "I know he's the guy who didn't spend the morning making me listen to him have sex with my roommate," I snapped. A few people nearby gasped, and I saw Luca’s face go pale. "Ri, it’s not like that. I was just... I was distracted," he stammered. "First off, don't call me that. It's Aria to you. And second, you’ve been distracted for ten years, Luca. I'm done waiting for you to look at me," I said. The discomfort was like one helluva huge physical weight now, making me want to crawl into a hole. But I wasn't going to back down from this easily. He needed to know what's on my mind. He needed to know that he up real bad. "Does he know?" Luca asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Does he know what?" "Does he know you've been in love with me since we were kids? Or are you just using him to make me jealous?" he sneered. I felt a slap of pure humiliation hit me. Of course he knew. He had always known how I felt, and he’d just let me sit there in the shadows like I was a bloody waiter while he dated everyone else. "He knows I'm a roommate who pays her rent," I lied, my voice cold. "And even if I was using him, at least he's worth the effort. Unlike you," I added. Luca looked like I’d actually punched him in the gut. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then he looked over my shoulder and froze. I turned around and saw Julian’s car hadn't moved. Julian was leaning against the driver's side door, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't doing anything. He was just watching. But the way he was looking at Luca was so intense, so dark, that it felt like the temperature in the quad dropped ten degrees. "Leave her the hell alone, Luca," Julian said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise of the quad perfectly. I didn’t know what this was all about between them, but I wouldn’t be the reason they caused a scene here. I looked back at Luca one last time. He looked small. He looked like a boy trying to play a man’s game. "Stay away from me, Luca. I'm being serious as this time," I said. I walked away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. "!" I heard Luca cuss behind me. For a minute, it actually sounded like he felt mad at himself for letting me go. But then again, you can't wipe a leopard's skin spotless. He was never going to change and that was the truth. .............................................................................. ARIA’S POV Avoidance should be an Olympic sport. If it were, I’d have gold by noon. I left my last lecture five minutes early, slipped out through the side stairwell instead of the main hall, and took the long route behind the science building just to avoid the quad. Every corner I turned felt like a potential ambush. Whispers followed me anyway. They didn’t need to see me to talk about me. I kept walking. Head down. AirPods in. Music off. The parking lot came into view, and I exhaled slowly. If I could just make it to the curb where Julian said he’d pick me up, I could survive the day. Then I heard my name. “Aria!” Of course. I didn’t turn around. “Aria, please.” The word please made me pause despite myself. Stupid heart. Stupid history. I turned slowly. Luca looked wrecked. Not the artfully messy, campus golden boy version of wrecked. Actually wrecked. Dark circles under his eyes. Jaw tight. Shoulders slumped like something inside him had finally cracked. He walked toward me carefully, like I was a wild animal he didn’t want to spook. “Can we just talk? Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.” “You’ve had ten years,” I replied evenly. He flinched. “I know. I know I screwed up. I was selfish. I thought—you were always there, Aria. You were solid. I didn’t think I had to fight for you.” “That’s the problem,” I said quietly. “You never did.” He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping in front of me. “Last night was a mistake.” I stared at him. “You didn’t seem confused,” I said. His jaw flexed. “Serena doesn’t mean anything.” The irony almost made me laugh. “But I do?” I asked. “Yes!” he burst out. “You always have.” I felt something inside me tremble and then harden. “Then why did I have to listen to you with her?” I asked. “Why did I have to sit there and pretend I wasn’t dying inside?” He swallowed hard. “I was distracted,” he repeated, desperate now. “The pressure, the team, my dad breathing down my neck about law school. I was just… not thinking straight.” “Ten years, Luca,” I said softly. “You’ve been ‘not thinking straight’ for ten years.” His expression shifted then. Less pleading. More calculating. “And now what?” he said. “You’re thinking straight? By moving in with Julian Vance?” There it was. He stepped closer. “Do you even know who that guy is? You think he’s helping you out of the goodness of his heart? Aria, Julian doesn’t do charity. He doesn’t breathe without a reason.” My stomach twisted. “He’s manipulative,” Luca continued. “Everything he does is strategic. You’re a move to him. A statement. He probably gets off on messing with me.” “That’s rich,” I muttered. “I’m serious,” he pressed. “He doesn’t care about you. He cares about control. You think it’s a coincidence he made a whole scene this morning? He wanted people to see.” My chest tightened. Because part of me knew that was true. Julian had wanted them to see. “But at least he didn’t humiliate me,” I shot back. Luca’s eyes darkened. “You’re making a mistake,” he said quietly. “He’s not safe.” “And you are?” I asked. Silence. Then, a low, familiar engine cut through the tension. Every nerve in my body snapped to attention. Julian’s car turned into the parking lot. Of course he was right on time. Like always. Students immediately slowed their steps. Heads turned. Phones subtly lifted. A small crowd was already forming near the edge of the lot. And Serena was there. Standing near the entrance with two of her sorority friends, arms crossed, expression thunderous. This was becoming a show. Luca noticed the car too. His posture stiffened. “See?” he muttered. “Right on cue.” The car rolled closer. Closer. I could feel it, the narrative forming in real time. Scholarship girl caught between two campus elites. Poor Aria. Indecisive Aria. Desperate Aria. No. Not today. I was done being the girl people felt sorry for. I stepped forward. “Aria, don’t,” Luca warned, reaching for my arm. But this time, I didn’t step back. I walked straight toward the car. Julian slowed, confusion flickering across his face for half a second before the mask slipped back into place. He stopped directly in front of me. The window rolled down. “You’re early,” he said calmly. Behind me, I heard Luca move. “Aria, this is stupid…” His fingers brushed my wrist. That was it. Something inside me snapped. I opened the passenger door. And instead of sliding in, I leaned across the console, grabbed Julian by the collar of his hoodie and kissed him. Gasps exploded around us. For half a second, Julian froze. Just long enough for me to register the shock in his body. Then, he moved. His hand came up, sliding into my hair, gripping, not painfully, but firmly. Possessively. He kissed me back. Not soft. Not hesitant. Deep. Demanding. Like he’d been waiting. The world tilted. My lungs forgot how to function. This was supposed to be strategic. A statement. A weapon. But Julian didn’t kiss like a man playing a game. He kissed like a man claiming something he already believed was his. His other hand slid to my waist, pulling me fully into the car, chest to chest across the center console. My knees hit the seat. My fingers tightened in his hoodie. Heat flooded through me so fast it made my head spin. The parking lot disappeared. The crowd disappeared. There was only the pressure of his mouth, the controlled hunger in the way he angled his head, the quiet, dangerous intensity vibrating beneath his restraint. I made a small, involuntary sound against his lips. That seemed to snap him back. He pulled away slowly. Too slowly. His gray-blue eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. Not confused. Not amused. Possessive. His thumb brushed once against my jaw before he released me. The silence in the parking lot was deafening. Julian looked past me. Straight at Luca. His expression shifted into something lethal. He stepped out of the car, closing the distance with unhurried confidence. Luca stood his ground, but I saw it, the hesitation. Julian stopped just close enough to make the message clear. “The lady said to leave her alone,” he said evenly. Each word landed like a controlled detonation. “Leave. Her. Alone.” A beat. “Don’t make me force you to.” No shouting. No theatrics. Just certainty. Luca’s fists clenched. But he didn’t move. Julian held his gaze a second longer, then turned away like Luca wasn’t worth another second of oxygen. He walked back to the driver’s seat. Got in. And without another word, he drove off. Fast. The campus blurred past the windows. My heart was still racing. My lips were still tingling. My brain was still trying to process what had just happened. I had kissed him to get back at Luca. That was the plan. But the way Julian had kissed me back? That hadn’t been part of it. Silence filled the car. Thick. Charged. After a full minute, he spoke. “Was that tactical,” he asked calmly, eyes on the road, “or should I start worrying about my self-control?” I swallowed. “I needed him to stop,” I said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “He’ll stop,” Julian replied quietly. There was something in his tone that made my stomach flip again. Not relief. Not satisfaction. Promise. I turned to look at him. “Julian…” He glanced at me briefly. And for the first time since I’d met him, the mask was gone. What was underneath wasn’t indifference. It wasn't a strategy. It was something far more dangerous. “I don’t do things halfway, Aria,” he said softly. My pulse stuttered. And for the first time since I’d moved into his guest suite, I realized I might have just started something I wasn’t prepared to finish.

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I'll never understand why I ever stuck my di.k in her. Glory had wanted me since middle school. I fvcked her on and off throughout the years. We never dated. I never dated anyone. I'm part of a motorcycle club. It's hard to tie a brother down, and I definitely wasn't going to be tied down as a teenager. Glory was just a patch chaser anyway. She wanted me for the clout, my money, my brand. Never me. She just wanted a comfortable life. Honestly, I shouldn't have let Glory do whatever she wanted. I was young and dumb. I didn't care. I thought that Glory would figure out one day that she was only a quick fu.ck for me and that was it. The only time I ever got in her sh.it over a girl was when she slapped Deidra across the face when we were in the 8th grade. She did it in front of everyone and told Deidra it was for looking at her man. I knew she was talking about me. I wasn't her man though, and Deidra definitely wasn't looking at me. No, Deidra never looked at me. Definitely not with heart-eyes either. I was the one looking at her, and that always pi.ssed Glory off. Pretty sure that's why she even started taking Waylen to the diner in the first place. Just to rub it in Deidra's face. Not that Thorn ever gave a f.ck about me or who I f.cked. Not sure what Glory was even thinking. I'm pi.ssed, yeah. My son didn't come home from school again, and I had the whole club out looking for him. "I just like being with Dra," he mumbled with a sad look on his face. Dra. That damn nickname he has for her. She once told me that she hated nicknames. Of course, it was because I was calling her Thorn and Lily-pad every day, but still. I sound f.cking pathetic being jealous over my own damn son. This little man wanted a mother. "A mom?" Waylen asked, giving me a curious look. "You mean like Dra?" Waylen asked, and I choked on air at the question. Of course, every interaction I've ever had with the woman was mostly her yelling at me in some way. Even if it was just with those stupidly bright hazel eyes of hers. The woman barely ever lets me finish a damn sentence. That's partly why I call her Thorn. 'Cause she's a thorn in my damn side. And Waylen only ever sees her when she's at work. Which is all the time, but still. "I think she is," Waylen said softly, sulking now. "She's nice to me. She ruffles my hair. She feeds me, and she even used to cut up my food at the diner, Dad. And you remember how she used to yell at Mom about being nicer to me?" "Honey!" My friend called out, getting my attention. "Come, tell you something about Deidra." "What?" "Caught her man and bestie f.cking in her bed and chased them out with a shotgun like a total bada.ss." She said, laughing loudly. "When you gonna put a cut on that girl, Jinx?" I blinked, unable to even reply to that. Deidra is not my girl. I refuse to claim any woman. Especially after the sh.it Glory pulled. I could never trust anyone. But I've known Thorn pretty much my whole life, and she doesn't want me for my patch. Or at all. And fu.ck, I knew Sophie was sh.it! And that Theo guy! He should have just stayed away from her when I told him to. None of that came out of my mouth though. Nothing did. Because even though I knew that nothing would ever come of it, all I could think was... Deidra's single? ---- Chapter 1: Garden Sip Deidra's P.O.V. ******************************* There have been a lot of moments in my life that have rendered me speechless. When I was 10, and walked out of the bathroom at school with my skirt tucked into my u*******r, and was called out about it in front of the entire class. When I was 13, and got slapped across the face in the cafeteria during lunch by the head cheerleader for apparently looking at her boyfriend with heart-eyes. When I was 16, and was told by the principal of my school that my parents, my only family, had died in a car accident. And right now. At age 24, watching my best friend of 20 years and my boyfriend of five years, f******g. In my apartment. In my bed. Together. Let's back up a little bit before we jump into this f******g mess. ********************* ~ Earlier that day ~ ********************* "Why are you calling me so early in the morning?" Sophie, my best friend, answered her phone. "It's after 9 a.m.," I said with a laugh. "Yeah, too early," she grumbled. "It's Thursday," I said, chuckling. "Did you go out in the middle of the week?" I heard Sophie yawn and some shuffling going on before she answered me. "Yeah, was at that new club that opened up a couple of towns over," she replied, still sounding tired. "Necto?" I asked with a frown as I put the finishing touches on the Christmas display in the front window of my shop. Santa Baby is playing softly in the background. Christmas is my favorite time of year. We might not get snow here in Dayton, Teneesee, but the Christmas spirit is very much alive. I own Garden Sip. It's my dream, my baby. I've wanted this place for as long as I can remember, and about a year ago, it became official. Garden Sip is a flower/plant shop and a café. We live in a small town in Tennessee, and there isn't much here. There is definitely not a lowkey café that offers free Wi-Fi and allows you to be surrounded by the beauty of nature. There are a couple of coffee shops and a Starbucks, but I think we bring something fun to the table, here at Garden Sip. I still sell flowers and plants too. We've even done two weddings so far. I have a few regular customers. Like Jim who comes in to buy his wife flowers every single Friday. I also have my regular coffee-goers. Alice and Steven are here daily. Steven does some kind of web designer stuff. I only know that because he thanked me for being so cool about him being here all day, using all the Wi-Fi and only buying coffee. He told me all about how he dropped out of college to pursue this dream, but his parents were very upset and wouldn't support his dreams. Alice is a writer, but I only know that because I peeped at her open laptop a time or two. She's usually very quiet and keeps to herself. On top of flowers and regular ol' coffee, we sell a few pastries, muffins, bagels, and several other coffee drinks. I wanted this place to be somewhere people could come and be able to relax. A place to breathe. A place where they weren't judged. I've always loved plants and flowers too. I would have become a botanist if I had the balls to leave home. I just love it here in Dayton. This is where I grew up. This is where my parents' graves are. This is where my friends are. And I was happy to stay and be part of the community. We've been decently busy since we opened. Enough that I'm not worried like I was in the beginning. Things have been going so smoothly. I even have a crew now. Well, if three counts as a crew. Aaron and Alexis are twins that are a few years younger than me, and are the best workers ever. Deb is an angel, a life-saver. I'd be so lost without her. She does all my financial work. She was a friend of my parents and moved back here to take care of me when they died since we had no other family. She supported this dream of mine more than anyone else. I will forever be thankful for her. "That's the one," Sophie replied, pulling me from my train of thoughts. "It was so fun. We should go sometime." "Uhm, I mean, not really my thing," I replied as I finished putting the muffins in the case. "But that's the same town Theo was in last night. He didn't come home until super late. Said his client wanted to drink a little, and he couldn't say no." "Oh... really?" She asked, sounding a bit off. "Yeah, what are the odds?" I said, forcing a laugh. "Right... weird," she mumbled. "So, uh, anyway," I said, clearing my throat. "Was wondering what you were doing later? Want to have a movie night? There's something I need to talk to you about." "Oh, I actually have a date," Sophie replied. "A date?" I asked. "With who?" "It's a secret," she said, giggling. "I thought you and I didn't have secrets," I pouted. "I'll tell you soon," she said. "I promise." "Okay, well, I guess if you're doing that, and Theo's working late again, I'll just catch up on some things here and have dinner with Deb," I said. "I'll call you later," Sophie said. "After my date." Then she hung up without her normal goodbye or telling me she loves me. It was weird, but... things between us have been weird for weeks now. For the last few months, I've suspected something was a little off between my best friend and my fiancé. At first, I thought that it was just because Sophie didn't like Theo. Theo and I met in college. The school was close enough that I could still live at home. I worked at the local diner all through college too. Theo saw me during a class we shared, but I wasn't interested in him. Or anyone. Life was a struggle, and I'm not the smartest either. I had to stay focused and study my b*tt off. On top of working too. I just didn't have the time for men. However, Theo pursued me relentlessly. He even started showing up in the diner almost every day. And every day he'd ask me out. He even said we could start out as friends. I always turned him down. It wasn't that Theo was ugly. In fact, he was very handsome in that all-american-boy kind of way. He had brown hair that was always styled perfectly, and deep blue eyes. He had a strong jaw, a dazzling smile, and a charming air around him. He was built like a football player, and actually cared about his grades. It wasn't until he suddenly stopped showing up that I'd finally said yes to one of his dates. He'd found me at school about a week or so after he stopped showing up at the diner. Told me that some of the local bikers who frequent the diner scared him off. I didn't ask for details, but I didn't need to. I know that to everyone The Salvation Knights MC members look scary. hll, if I hadn't grown up in this town I'd be afraid too. Er, well, maybe I should still be. Everyone else seems to at least be cautious. I probably would be if one of them in particular didn't literally haunt my entire f******g life. Anyway, I said yes to Theo and thus began our relationship. At the time, Sophie was away at college too. When she came back home over summer break, I introduced them. I was a bit upset with Sophie because of how rude she was. Theo was a nice man. Everyone loved him. But Sophie had always hated sharing me with anyone. She and Theo never got along. Not until recently. Not that they really get along, but... something just seems off. Sophie doesn't take jabs at him every chance she gets like she used to. Theo went from rolling his eyes at the mention of her name, to now inviting her out with us more. I'm not even sure when things changed. Just that one day, they started acting weird when I brought up the other. I keep telling myself that it's just my imagination though. I wanted to talk about it tonight, but it's probably fine. Sophie would never betray me like that. Plus, Theo and I are getting married. Next month, actually. All our details are finalized. Deb is even finishing up my dress. I'm wearing my mother's wedding dress. Everything is going to be perfect. Because Theo loves me. I need to stop thinking the worst of him and my best friend. Chapter 2: Betrayal Deidra's P.O.V. ******************************* The rest of the day went by slowly. We were busy on and off. I had a bride-to-be come in to talk about using us for her wedding. The bakery across the street came in to buy a pastry and make a huge thing in the middle of the place to try to drive my customers away. If it weren't for my little knight in shining armor, I think I might have been arrested today. June, owner of Tasty Treats, comes in at least once every two weeks. She buys something, stands in the middle of the lobby, and loudly complains about it. She's dropped cups of coffee, spilled potted plants, literally smashed muffins onto the floor... It's kind of insane behavior for a woman in her late 30s, but hey girl, crashout if that makes you feel better. However, I can also crashout. And I will. I maintain a pretty level head most of the time, but June and I have gotten into it a few times in front of customers. Deb has had to break us up. Deb even went as far as to call and speak to not only June's husband — who doesn't give a flying s***t about what his wife does, but also called her mother. Nothing has helped. Except my knight in shining armor that is. "Waylen, where the hll is your mother?" I asked the seven-year-old boy who spent his entire day in my shop. Well, after school let out that is. "Told you, she's gone," he replied without looking up from his coloring book. "It's just me and dad now." I tried not to show how happy I was that his s***t a**s mother was gone. Not sure if the b****h packed up and left or if she was finally forced out of town. I hadn't seen her in over a year, but I thought that was because she was avoiding me. You see, Erica — or Glory, whatever the hll she goes by now — have never gotten along. We went to school together our entire lives. She was the popular cheerleader, and I was the loner type. I never cared, but she did for some reason. She always bullied me, but I was never one to just take s***t either. I talked s***t back, but it never went further than that. Okay, there was one time, but it was stupid. After we graduated from high school. Erica shacked up at the Salvation Knights clubhouse on the edge of town. I'd heard she became a club bunny and that she was a patch chaser. I had no idea what either of those things were, but I sure do now. Kind of hard not to when you're surrounded by it. The f******g b****h used to bring Waylen to the diner when I worked there, drop him off in a booth, and f******g leave. Leave! Like it was a Dam daycare. The owner, Big Ricky, was going to kick the kid onto the street when he was like three-years-old. I threatened to set the diner on fire if he did that. Which resulted in me pretty much babysitting for free. Until I'd finally had enough one day. After Waylen sat in a booth for two hours, sick as s***t and running a high fever, I lost my s***t. That was about two years ago now. I took my apron off, told Big Ricky I'd be back, and drove me and Waylon to the gates of the Salvation Knights MC. I stormed in after being let through the gates with Waylen in tow and cussed out a room full of bikers. I even refused to let go of Waylen until his id.iot father swore to me that he'd take him right to the hospital. I even followed them to make sure. That day was the last time I ever saw Erica. However, Waylen still showed up at the diner every day. Much to his father's dismay. Not that the man hated me, but Waylon just never told anyone where he was going. How an entire clubhouse full of adults lost sight of one child every single day is beyond me. "Waylen, if it's just you and your dad, why aren't you at the clubhouse?" I asked. The little cutie winced. I sighed, half g******g when I realized what that meant. He might be here every day, but usually someone from the club is with him. Sometimes he shows up alone, but that usually means... "Waylen!!" I jumped a foot in the air at that shout. I whirled around, my body moving to shield the boy. It's not like I think his dad would ever hurt him. It's just a reaction. Probably because I really don't condone yelling at children. Jinx Roth stormed into my shop looking like delicious sin. Which instantly made me glare at him. It's completely unfair how unreasonably se.xy this face is and always has been. When's his awkward stage going to hit? I've only been waiting over 20 years to see it! Jinx is a couple of years older than me, but we graduated the same year. We were never friends, never hung out in the same circles, but we knew each other due to school. He's always been attractive, but the older he gets, the more ridiculous it is. The man has got to be at least 6 feet, 4 inches, and all pure muscle. He wears his cut with the club's logo with pride. It's an outline of a knight in purple, holding a sward. It's drawn in a goth-style, making it look freaking awesome. Not that I'd ever tell Jinx that. My eyes always linger on the stitched name on the right side of his cut. Jinx. The name everyone's called him since we were in middle school. His long golden blonde hair is pulled back into a manbun, but looks frazzled. Probably due to his missing kid. Those bright blue and green eyes were angry, and it only made him look better. He had stubble growing across his sharp jaw. His nose was crooked from fighting one too many times. He looked like a Dam model. Why does he have to be Waylen's dad? "Don't f******g give me that look Thorn," Jinx bit out when he saw the scowl on my face. "Stop shouting in my store before I throw you out," I stated before quietly adding. "It's Christmas time. Be jolly for once in your miserable life, Jinx." Jinx let out a harsh laugh, rolled his shoulders, and took a deep breath. "Sorry, but my f******g son didn't come home from school and the entire club's been out looking for him-" "Jesus, just stop," I cut him off, waving my hand in the air as I rolled my eyes. "Why you didn't come here first, I'll never know." "He promised me he'd stop bothering you," Jinx ground out. "He never bothered me in the first place," I said as I walked behind the counter. "It was his dipsh.it mother that annoyed me. Waylen is always welcome." Jinx sighed and rested his fists on the counter. I set a black coffee in front of him, and he thanked me before taking a drink. "I'll talk with him," Jinx promised. "Start with the dangers of walking somewhere all alone," I muttered. Thankfully, Jinx left it at that. Which was surprising. Usually he always has something to say back. Instead, he gathered his son's belongings and left my little shop. I knew that no talk would stop Waylen from coming here. He said that he likes being around me because I'm calm and I care. I don't doubt that Jinx and the rest of the club care about him. I've seen it with my own eyes. But his mom never did, and I'm sure living at a motorcycle clubhouse is never calm. I tried not to let my thoughts wander for the rest of the day. Once I closed up and sent Alexis home, I took an inventory count. I prepared everything for the next morning, looked over the day's sales, and checked on the plants before leaving. Just when I got in my car, I got a text from Deb. She let me know that she wasn't feeling that well and was going to have some soup and go to bed. I offered to go check on her, but she refused. Which was like her. So, I went home. The first thing that tipped me off that something was off were the two sets of shoes by my door that weren't mine. I recognized them both as Theo's and Sophie's. I knew that Theo was going to come over after work, but I thought he was working late. We haven't moved in together yet because Theo said neither of our places were big enough. I thought his was, but we did put a deposit down on a place and get to move in after the wedding. At first, I thought that maybe the two of them were planning some surprise for me. I guess I was sort of right. The apartment was silent. All the lights were on. My Christmas tree was in the corner, lit up with a handful of gifts under it. There was a set-up at the table on top of my decorative cloth, for two with wine glasses and candles. Cute, right? Would be if the plates didn't have scraps of food left, and the wine glasses weren't half empty. This wasn't something they were setting up for me. This was something they set up and enjoyed behind my back. And at my apartment of all places? What the f***k! I tip-toed through my apartment, taking in the line of clothes that lead to my room. My bedroom door was shut, which wasn't how I left it. Ever. For a moment, I just stood there. I knew what I'd find behind that door. I knew that something was off with them. I knew... deep down, I knew. But the betrayal still hurt deeply. A loud, fake m**n knocked a bit of sense into me. I carefully opened the door just as the headboard started banging on the wall. And there they were. My best friend and my fiancé, n@ked, entangled with each other. Theo was on top with Sophie's body wrapped around him. He was b********p in her, both their faces full of pleasure. Again, why my apartment? The first thought that crossed my mind was: Dam, I just changed those sheets too. Then it was: I wonder how many times I slept there without changing the sheets and no f******g knowledge at all that I was sleeping in my best friends "wet spot". Oh, I bet she got a kick out of us singing that Megan Thee Stallion song. I shouldn't even be surprised. Sophie was always like this. She had to be the center of attention. She always stole my things. She never let me have other friends. hll, Theo was the very first boyfriend I'd ever had. I should have seen it coming, should have known she'd do something like this. But I thought she loved me. I thought she just liked the spotlight, but that she still cared about me. I mean, she and I had been friends since preschool. We've gone through everything together. She was there for my parents' funeral. She knew that Theo had taken my virginity and that he was my first everything. Sophie has done a lot of questionable things throughout our friendship, but this... this is devastating. She was my person. The only person left in my life aside from Deb. I lost everyone else. And apparently, our life-long friendship meant nothing to her. "You like that baby?" Theo asked her as he thrvst again. "You like it when I f***k you, don't you?" "Yes! Yes Theo!" Sophie m****d loudly and dramatically. "You're so naughty, suggesting we have our date here tonight," Theo said, further shattering my world. "I love it when we sneak around." This was Sophie's idea? "Show me how naughty I really am," Sophie said with a giggle. I couldn't hear it anymore. These two should have known me better. Known that, no matter how upset I get... I am not the type to go out without a fight. Chapter 3: The Audacity !!!! **** WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATERIALS THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING! SUCH AS GUNS AND VIOLENCE! READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! **** !!!! ************************************ Deidra's P.O.V. ******************************* The two of them were going at it so vigorously that they still hadn't noticed I'd come home. I moved to my closet where I kept my shotgun. I wasn't technically allowed to have it, but Deb insisted I take it if I wanted to live alone. I told her a bat would have been fine, but now I'm glad she made me take the gun. I loaded the barrel with two shells, and then co.cked that motherfu.cker. The noise of the gun co.cking finally broke through their love-haze. Theo made a confused face and turned his head. His eyes went wide and jumped so fast from the bed that he fell on the floor. Sophie looked around confused, and screamed when she saw me. "Deidra," she breathed out. "Both of you, get the f***k out," I stated, sounding much calmer than I felt. "Deidra baby, calm down, this isn't what it looks like," Theo said as he scrambled to his feet. My eyes glanced down to see that he wasn't even wearing a cond0m. Now I have to schedule an STI test. A full panel checkup. Because my slu.tty best friend has been f******g my fiancé. For all I know, they're both sleeping with other people too. Each other, other people, and me... "Save it," I spat. "No, baby, please, I love you. I do. I really do," Theo pleaded, eyes full of guilt. "Love me enough to f***k the girl I used to consider a sister," I said sarcastically. Sophie scoffed from my bed. She was sitting up, leaning against the headboard. She made no move to cover herself up. She didn't even look guilty or ashamed. If anything, she looked annoyed. "Oh come on," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "He's just a man. You'd never let our friendship crumble over a guy. You're too sweet. You love me too much." Then she looked at Theo. "And stop lying to her. You love me." I raised a brow as I pointed the gun at her. "You really think this wouldn't matter to me?" I asked incredulously. "Theo and I are supposed to get married next month!" I shouted. "You were supposed to be my maid of honor! Christmas is next week! We had plans to... And you've been f******g him! You betrayed me in the worst way possible, and you act like it's f******g nothing?" "It is nothing, because the two of you never loved each other," Sophie snapped, finally getting up from my bed. "I knew it from the beginning. Poor Theo really thought you loved him. But I know you, Deidra. I know you were faking it." I stared at her with my mouth open for a minute. Partly because of her sheer audacity. Partly because... I think she might be right and don't want to admit it. Theo and I didn't have a lot of passion between us. I tried, really. I faked it so well that even I believed it. But I thought Theo was a good man. I thought that, at least, I was settling down with a man I could trust. A man who had a good head on his shoulders. How'd I never realize how truly weak Theo is? Sophie walked closer, and I held the gun up higher. She stopped with her hands up, looking at me like I was the irrational one here. It made me want to pull the trigger just out of spite. "Look, I love you Deidra," Sophie said. "So much. You're my sister. I didn't mean for this to happen with Theo, but..." Then she looked at him. He looked at her. And they f******g smiled. Smiled like they weren't standing n@ked in my room after betraying me in the worst possible way. "We fell in love," Theo blurted, both of them looking at me again. Sorry, did he just say love? They fell in love? Sophie fell in love? This Sophie? The same Sophie I've known my whole life? I couldn't help the snort that came out of me. "Sophie? In love? Yeah, okay," I said. "It's true," Sophie said. "We were going to tell you after Christmas." "You mean, mere days before my wedding?" I asked. "Why not just tell me right away and get your money back for all the wedding bullsh.it?" The guilt that flickered across Theo's face had my heart sinking. I really thought I loved the guy. At the very least, I cared for him and trusted him. I was going to pledge the rest of my life to him. And he chose my best friend. "The wedding is still going to happen," Sophie stated, her voice soft but stern. Still going to happen... just not with me. I think I made that clear. hll, I think they're making it pretty clear. So that must mean... "You two... are going to get married?" I choked up, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. "Yes..." Theo replied apprehensively. Every single decision I made about this wedding, Sophie was a part of. It was my dream wedding. Not too big, but I don't have family anyway. I had to reserve the venue two years in advance. It was the only reason we were waiting so long. Because I have had my heart set on the Greenhouse since I was little. And now my best friend is getting married there. To my fiancé. I'll never be able to get married there. hll, I'll probably never trust another man ever again to even be able to get married. It felt like the walls were closing in. It was too much, too overwhelming. My entire world just imploded. Love or not. I trusted both of them. And Sophie... I can't believe she'd do something like this to me. "Was this the plan all along?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at my ex-best friend. "The whole time I was planning the wedding... you were really getting me to plan yours?" "It didn't start until after you got the Greenhouse," she told me. "I never meant for it to turn out like this, Deidra. I just-" "Never meant for this?" I scoffed, cutting her off. "You apparently told Theo I didn't really love him. You inserted yourself into our relationship. YOU did ALL of this, Sophie! Knowingly! With an agenda! You seduced him into sleeping with you in the hopes that he'd break up with me, didn't you!? You just didn't expect to fall in love. Or that I would cut you out of my life." "You wouldn't," she whispered. "Oh, I would, and I am," I stated, holding the gun at them again. "Get your clothes and get out. You have two minutes. I never want to see either of you again." "You don't mean that-" "Get the f***k out!" I screamed, cutting Sophie off. "Before I f******g shoot!" Sophie rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you don't have the balls to do that," she said. Something in me snapped. Maybe it was finding them in my bed together. Maybe it was knowing that my best friend had orchestrated this entire mess. Maybe it was Theo's pansy a**s remaining silent. Maybe it was the way Sophie brushed me off, like I was the crazy one, like I had no right to feel this way after finding her with my fiancé. Whatever the reason... I pulled the trigger. The gunshot went off, echoing harshly in the room. Sophie and Theo both screamed, which was great, because it was a huge turn-off on Theo's part. They both looked at the hole in the wall. I co.cked the gun again and this time, they actually looked scared. However, I was done playing. I pulled the trigger again, this time at their feet. They both screamed again, but started to scurry off. I reloaded the gun and followed them into the hall. I may, or may not have followed them all the way to the front door, shooting off five rounds in total. I chased them out while they were still b*tt-n@ked. "You're insane!" Theo screamed as he pulled the driver's door open of his car. I shot again, shattering his back windshield. "Deidra! This is too far!" Sophie screamed. "Nah," I said as I reloaded. "Too far would be shooting him in the nuts, so you two could never have kids." Then I aimed the gun right for his precious junk. Before I could actually do it, he got in the car though. "This isn't over, Deidra!" Sophie shouted. "You will forgive me! I'll see you at the wedding!" Then she got in the car, and Theo tore out of the parking lot like a bat out of hll. I stood there for a moment, thinking how insane those two are. They called me crazy, but they expected me to just be fine with his betrayal. To accept it and be part of it. It's disgusting. Unfortunately for me, I am a little insane. Because I'd completely forgotten about the fact that I lived in an apartment complex. And I just shot off my illegal gun a f***k ton of times. The only thing that alerted me to my mistake were the red and blue lights accompanied by the wailing sirens that were heading my way. "Awh, s***t," I muttered under my breath. Deb is so not going to be happy with me. Chapter 4: Jailbird Deidra's P.O.V. ******************************* "Jesus Christ Deid, you really got yourself in it this time," Officer Melvin said as he stopped in front of the cell bars. I sighed heavily. He's literally the fifth cop to come back here and tell me that. Small towns. Gotta love 'em. Half these police officers grew up with me. The other half knew my parents. My parents might not have had any family, but they made a family here. My dad was a firefighter and Mom was a nurse. They were caretakers. Everyone loved them. And everyone felt it hard when they suddenly died. Despite my parents being pillars of the community, I was not as sociable as them. I liked plants. I liked to garden or go for nature walks. I was content with being on my own. People made an effort to talk to me when they saw me and my parents raised me to be polite, but that didn't mean I was as loved as they were. I miss them. However, Officer Dylan Melvin was someone I was a bit closer to, you could say. He and I were part of the garden club in high school. Dylan was nice, and we had conversations here and there, but I'm not sure that I would call him a friend. His parents knew mine, so I always assumed he just felt bad for me like everyone else. I understood their pity, but it was annoying. "You gonna tell anyone what happened?" he asked me. "Deb said she gave you that gun for protection when Captain Russo called her. She can't figure out why you'd be shooting off if you weren't attacked though." I leaned my head back against the nasty wall as I looked around the nasty cell. Christmas music was playing low in the background. The whole station was decked out for the holiday. Even the cells are lined with Christmas lights. It's super adorable and not at all what I pictured for a police station. Again, small towns and all. There was one other girl in here with me. She looked like a prostitute, and I felt bad thinking it because I recognized her. She's one of the Salvation Knights' club bunnies. One of the nicer ones. I asked her why she was here, and she said one of the cops arrested her because he thought she was trying to sell herself on the street. Apparently, she's waiting for someone from the club to come get her and raise hll for the farce of an arrest. We actually talked for a while. I found out her name is Honey. I thought it was fitting for her; she's sweet and has pretty brown skin. She asked me what I was doing here. I told her, but I did it quietly. It wasn't like I was embarrassed by what happened. I just... the longer I stay here means the longer I can prolong going home. Once I get there, I have to face reality. I have to burn my Dam bed, pack up everything that reminds me of those two, and tell my handful of friends that my wedding is actually being taken over by my ex-best friend. Honestly, it all wouldn't be that bad if I had my best friend. If I had someone to go through this with me. I have Deb, and she's like a second mother to me, but she's also taken care of me for the last nine years. I've always hated having to dump my problems on her. She uprooted her whole life to move here and take care of me. I don't want to lean on her for every little thing for the rest of my life. God, why'd it have to be Sophie? "Deb's worried about you, Deid," Dylan said gently. "Just tell us what happened. Cap's willing to maybe let you go if you just tell us." I sighed again, wondering if I should just give it up. I'm getting tired. I know Deb is probably freaking out. She's probably tried to call Sophie a million times. Surprised the little w****e didn't answer just to tell her how she stole my fiancé. "For what it's worth," Honey spoke up. "Pretty sure he'd let ya go once you tell him. If you ask me, it was deserved." I smiled at her. "Hey, how's Waylen doing, by the way?" I asked. "Jinx's kid?" She asked with a confused expression. "Yeah, the little cutie patootie with a dipsh.it for a father and a complete ska.nk for a mother," I replied, making Honey burst out in laughter. "Oh, you must be the one he talks about all the time," she said. "That's me," I mumbled. "Had no idea," she said. "He calls you Thorn, so I didn't realize." I scrunched my face up at her. Waylen doesn't call me that stupid name, his dad does. Maybe she's all confused or something. Maybe Jinx goes back to the clubhouse and complains about me. Good. I hope he does. I hope I consume all his thoughts every day that he sees me and goes and cries to his little club brothers about it. Little freaking baby. Honestly, I have no idea why I'm so mean to Jinx. Something about him just... makes me irritated as hll. Every time I see his stupid, f******g smug, se.xy face, I just want to punch him. He's annoying and the hotter he gets, the more annoyed I get. Who even told him he could start getting tatted? God, the man is infuriating, and it's always been like that between us. It's a shame he had such an adorable son. A son who looks exactly like him. At least the kid doesn't look like his mother. Not that she's ugly or anything. "What's that mean?" Dylan asked, looking from Honey to me and back again. I sighed for the millionth time. "I went home and found Theo in my bed with another woman," I told him. Dylan's eyes widened. "Theo? Your fiancé?" he asked, shaking his head. "Yup," I replied, popping the p. "But... that doesn't make sense," he said. "He loves you. Everyone can see it." "Well, I guess we're all f******g dumb then," I stated, making Honey snort. "Okay, so who was the woman, and what happened?" he asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It was Sophie," I mumbled. Dylan's eyes went even wider. His l**s parted, but no words came out. I stared at him as he stared at me. I wasn't sure if he expected me to tell him it was a joke or something, but that wasn't going to happen. This was real. And it was really happening to me. "But... that..." Dylan trailed off. "Sophie... I could see her doing this to you." He can? "But Theo?" he continued. "I just ran into him at the store last week. He was telling me about the wedding and how excited he was..." "Oh, I'm sure," I replied. "Because there's still going to be a wedding." "Oh s***t," Honey breathed out, knowing exactly where I was headed. Dylan, bless his heart, was not as quick to catch on. "You're still going to marry him after he fu.cked your best friend?" he asked incredulously. I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "Yes Dylan," I said, my voice hard and sarcastic. "I found him in my bed with my best friend, chased the two of them out of the entire apartment complex by shooting at them, and I'm still going to marry him." "You don't mean..." he trailed off, again, looking at me like he was waiting for me to say it was all a joke. "She told me they fell in love," I told him. "Then said that I'd get over it because I cared about her too much to let a man come between us." I scoffed as tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "She fu.cked me over in the worst possible way, right before my favorite holiday and treated me like I was overreacting, or like she did me some f******g favor." Then I looked Dylan in the eyes. "So I chased them out with that shotgun. They're f******g lucky I didn't shoot either of them. I could have. I should have shot Theo in the nuts and taken out just one of Sophie's fake buubs." Honey cackled at that. "Girl, I like you, you're fun," she said, laughing. Dylan blew out a breath and shook his head. "I'll go tell Captain Russo, but he'll probably want to speak to you and have you write a statement," he told me. "Hey, tell him to take his time," I replied. "I'll try to make it quick, Deid—" "No seriously," I cut him off. "The longer this takes, the longer I can put off reality, so please, take your time." Dylan gave me a nod of understanding before leaving to go speak to his boss. Captain Russo has been on the force since my parents were alive. He and my dad were friends. His wife and my mom were friends. Everyone was their friend though. "Can't believe that b****h had the balls to steal your whole wedding," Honey commented after a moment. I let out a hollow laugh. "Sophie's always been... charismatic," I replied, staring at the wall. "She had to be the center of attention all the time. I never minded it since I liked to fade into the background. She stole toys, spotlight, friends, projects, clothes, and all kinds of s***t from me over the years. I always let it go because I thought she needed it more than me. I never thought she'd betray me like this though. But the more I think about it, the more I should have seen it coming. I already suspected it, but I kept telling myself that she wouldn't do that to me. That no matter how s***t Sophie's been in the past, she'd never hurt me like that. But she did. And she made it a million times worse by stealing my wedding. But she was right. I don't think I loved Theo. Maybe she really does love him. Maybe it was my fault for being so... unemotional. Maybe it was better it turned out this way." God, listen to me totally unloading on this poor woman. "Still, that don't make it hurt less," Honey said gently. "She was supposed to be your friend. This was plain conniving betrayal. You deserve better than both of 'em." I gave her a small smile. "You're right, it doesn't make it hurt less, and I do deserve better," I agreed. "A huge part of me still can't understand how she could do this to me. She purposely set out for it. And the worst part, she stole the venue I'd been dreaming about getting married at my whole life. As sh.itty as it sounds, I think that hurts the most. It was the same place my parents got married. I had to reserve it two years in advance. And now she's going to ruin it. Even if I ever met someone else, I'd never be able to get married there and not think about it, ya know?" "Want to go find her and beat her up when we get out of here?" Honey asked, making me laugh softly. "I might hold you to that," I replied. "Just you wait, sweetheart," she said. "Karma will get those two." "Thanks Honey," I mumbled. I hope she's right, and I hope I get to see it.

✨Click to watch👉👉Beauty and The Beta 💔‘Remember who I am Bailey. You are not above me. Never will be. Could have been equal to me at most had I seen you as suitable to be my mate, but no. You were beneath that honor.' He sneers.😡 🔥I felt anger racing through me. ‘And you think I would not have rejected you?' I snapped, moving back toward the exit, not wanting to be here anymore. Until I felt a hand grabbing the back of my tank top, yanking me back.😫 ⚠️‘You want to reject me? How dare you! Who else would want such a feeble pathetic wallflower like you? No one-' he said but was interrupted by a voice, which made him shiver.😮 💥‘I want her.' I looked at the clock on my bedroom wall. I think I have delayed the inevitable for as long as I physically can. I should go to the packhouse to go and wish our pack's upcoming Alpha a happy birthday. The bane of my life. My brother’s best friend. One day to be Alpha Miles. Today he will turn 17, and meet his Alpha wolf. In all honesty, he was egotistical enough, thinking the world revolved around him, without him adding to that by finally gaining his wolf. Not your run-of-the-mill werewolf either. Oh no, Miles Davenport was destined to be an Alpha, so he would have a strong and powerful Alpha wolf, only adding to his arrogance and strength. The crazy thing is, Miles had once upon a time been one of my closet friends too. In my younger childhood... Friends, that kind of thing comes when your father is the Beta to the Alpha. The children spend a lot of time together, and become friends. My older brother, Jordan, became the wing-man to Miles. His closest friend and ally, who as his Beta when the time came, was only right. But as the years went on, the friendship between Miles and I changed. Friendship faded as he grew into a more popular sports star of our school. At the end of the day, he was always going to be popular, he was the upcoming Alpha after all, but as one of the top sports stars too, he was idolized. As was my brother. All the girls in school flocked around them like they were pop stars or something, and it was bizarre. I was nothing more to him now but a source of amusement for him and his sports buddies. A geek. Not one of the beauty queens who followed him around. Simply someone to make fun of. I had gone from enjoying time with my one-day Alpha, to hating him, in the space of a school year. He thought he was god’s gift, and in all honesty, if he was, he is a gift I would return… “Bailey!” I heard my Mum call from downstairs, telling me I was definitely running it close now for time. I know Jordan had already headed over to the packhouse a while ago with my Dad to meet his friend and our Alpha. “I know.” I yelled back, looking at the books on my desk, desperate to continue with the assignment I was working on. I would so much rather continue working on the assignment and gain the additional credit available, work toward going to the college I want to go to instead of going to a party for the big-headed bully, I got to consider almost family, considering he was the son of my Dad’s best friend. I stood from my seat, and walked to my mirror, adjusting my black skater dress I had chosen to wear today. Something plain and simple, easy to blend into the background, but a dress all the same if anyone asked why I hadn’t made an effort. Along with my chunky black sandals, I looked presentable, not that anyone would be looking at me. Today, all eyes would be on the birthday boy, as they always were. He would make sure of that. I flicked back my curly brown hair, before I walked out of the door, already dreading the hours that lay ahead… My Mum pulled the car into the parking spaces outside the packhouse, while my younger sister Morgan was flicking at the curls around my head, simply trying to irritate me. She knew I would rather be anywhere but here right now, and was loving every last moment of it. “Aww, you want to go home Bailey-boo?” she teased. “Stop you two, come on, your Dad is waiting inside. Let us go and find the birthday boy.” Mum says, sounding cheerful, completely oblivious to the fact how horrendous this party had the potential to be. She, too, worshiped Miles. Having seen him grow up alongside my brother, she seemed to think the sun shone out of his rear-end. It had always driven me insane. “He won’t even notice us there.” I muttered under my breath as I followed her up the steps of the back house, shaking my head at my sister and how overdressed she looked. She definitely looked like she was out to impress someone today. A small part of me wondered if she hoped she might be the fated mate of Miles. After all, he was meeting his Alpha wolf today. He will have shifted for the first time today, and today could potentially be the day he can sense his fated mate out there waiting for him! There had been so much buzz around school about this, so many of the girls were excited about the potential possibility they could be his fated mate. The one chosen for him by the moon goddess. The one destined to be with him. So many of them are desperate for it to be them. While there I was desperate for anything but. I could think of nothing worse! Yet, looking at the amount of effort my younger sister had made today, I am beginning to think she was one of the many she-wolves that was holding out that hope… We walked through the corridors of the packhouse, and it was filled with various pack members. Today was a day of celebration within pack, the birthday of the upcoming Alpha. And not just any birthday, the day he came of age. The day he met his Alpha wolf. The walls of the packhouse were adorned with decorations, music was blaring from various speakers dotted around the multiple rooms. “Ooff, sorry!” a giggling she-wolf said to me as she nearly knocked me off my feet as she knocked into me. I would rather be anywhere but here right now. This was far too hectic and far too loud for me. I simply glare at the back of the girl as she moves away from me, not a care in the world. I followed my Mum and my sister, who was almost skipping as she walked, toward the main lounge area. I can only assume my Mum had mindlinked my Dad to let him know we had arrived, and he said they were there, or else we could spend all day looking around for them! It appeared almost every member of the pack had turned up to celebrate the birthday of Miles Davenport. The lounge area was laden with people, music truly blasting, and everyone seeming to have a good time. Everyone but me. I caught the eye of my brother, leaning against the wall of the lounge, the furthest away from the door we had just walked into. He nodded in my direction before simply turning away. ‘Could have made an effort, Bailey.’ he mindlinked. ‘It is a birthday, not a funeral, you know?’ I felt my heart sink at his words. Great, the insults were starting already, which meant it would only be a matter of time until Miles started too. The two of them seemed to like working together like that. Finding great enjoyment in harassing me. I was only a year younger than both of them, and had desperately hoped the name-calling and insulting would ease off as they got a little older, but if anything, they seemed to get worse. All because I wasn’t like the girls they were interested in, I was sure of it. I wasn’t like the other girls. Made myself an easy target, my Mum told me, all because I enjoyed studying. Liked reading and learning. Said, I only made it harder for myself. The plan was to make it easier for myself by finding a way out… “Jordan says your dress looks like you are going to a funeral, Bailey.” Morgan teased, fluffing up my curls again. My long brown hair fell in thick, unruly curls down my back. They drove me mad at times. Especially when my brother and sister decide to mess with them. “Oh well, I wore a dress, like you asked.” I snapped, moving away from them, feeling angry already, so tempted just to turn around and walk home, only to be pulled back by my Mum. “We are going to wish Miles a happy birthday. You will stay for a while at least. I do not need to be explaining to your Aunt and Uncle yet again why you have walked out on a social event, Bailey.” Mum warned me, her tone sounding grumpy, I swear she had to have read my thoughts on leaving the party already. I am sure she hated having me as a daughter, likely wishing for one that was more sociable, and one that enjoyed being a part of everything, instead of one that would rather have her head in a book. “Awww, Happy Birthday, Miles!” I heard my sister squeal from by my side. I swear she spoke at a pitch so high only dogs could hear. Goddess knows why she is so excited. It is only his birthday. He likely doesn’t even care, he never normally does… As I looked up, his blue eyes were locked on me, I raised my gaze to meet his, and could see his eyes shift to a darker blue… was that his wolf? I see a snarl across his face as he suddenly storms from the room. What was that about? ‘Get out here.’ Miles is suddenly mindlinking me, and I have to say he sounded far from impressed. That, combined with the angry expression on his face, told me something was off. Would he have rather I had not come? Well, he was not the only one… ‘What?’ I questioned, completely confused. Was he annoyed over how I had dressed too? Jeez, it was just a dress. Does it really matter? I would go home if it was. ‘Outside now.’ He demanded once more, sounding even more irritated this time, making me realize I had little choice but to follow his orders, so I snuck away from the ongoing party back to the doors of the packhouse. Only to find Miles pacing along the bottom of the steps, looking a mixture of confused and angry. So why did he need me here? Someone to take his anger out on? I was not willing to be that, I was sure about that… Just as I was about to walk away, he looked up. “Crap took you long enough.” He snapped. I frowned, unsure what this was all about, but it was making no sense to me as I looked down toward him from where I stood at the top of the packhouse steps. His blue eyes shifted to the dark blue once more, like they had inside, taking me by surprise. His wolf is clearly lingering… “What is wrong, Miles? Do you want me to get Jordan?” I asked. “No I do not! I do not want anyone knowing this.” He snarls, a growl slipping from his lips, though whether that was aimed at me or whether his wolf was angry at him, I do not know… “I don’t think I understand…” I began. “You soon will.” He sneers, and I simply look to him in confusion. Nothing he says makes sense to me. Until he continues. “Only today did I realize. The thought makes me sick. Why our own moon goddess would play a trick like this on me, I don’t know. I am an Alpha. An Alpha. I deserve a strong mate. A beautiful mate to be proud of. Not some feeble pathetic wallflower.” My body trembles at his words. No. I had yet to gain my wolf. I did not know this yet. Why… Why him of all people? “I am your fated mate?” I question with a shaky voice. “Are you sure?” “Are you doubting me?” he yells. “And you won’t be. The moment you have your wolf, I will decide when the time is right to reject you.” My heart twists and contorts at the thought. Rejection was meant to be the most painful thing possible. Why would he want to reject the mate chosen for him by our own moon goddess? Am I truly so repulsive? A Year Later Yet another birthday party for our beloved upcoming Alpha. Ha. Not my beloved upcoming Alpha. I hated the man. Breaking my heart without a second thought. What I had done to deserve that I had never got a proper explanation from him. Other than the frequent insults, of why would he want to be with someone like me? Did I look like Luna material to him? I had no clue. What did Luna material look like in his eyes? Some blond bimbo, no doubt. They were the she-wolves he tended to spend his time with within our pack. The ones who worshiped the ground he walked on. That would do anything he asked of them. Ones that I highly doubted read much more than the work set of them at school. “Bailey!” my Mum yelled at me from the stairway of our family home. “Will you hurry up?!” “Do I really need to come to the party?” I responded. “I am telling you, Miles will not be bothered if I am not there!” “Your Aunt and Uncle will be though. And I am not explaining to them again why you are missing.” My Mum continues yelling. “Do you not realize just how many events you have missed this year, all because you have your head in a book?” “Yeah Bai-Bai. Such a geek. No wonder you have no friends.” My sister Morgan giggles from outside my bedroom door. “Piss off.” I hissed. “I have friends.” I stormed from my room, and down the stairs toward my waiting family. I planned to greet the birthday boy, not that he would care in the slightest. I know that he would rather not see me at all. And then I would sneak home. “Ew, are you wearing that?” Morgan asked. I looked down at the skinny black trousers I had on and the white tank top. Great. I can’t win. Nothing I wear is approved of by my sister, evidently named the fashion queen without my knowledge. Oh well, I am dressed and wearing it. I think it looked good with my chunky black sandals I had on… I scowled at my sister and walked out of the door. “Are we going or not?” I snapped at them all, truly not able to wait for the following month when I leave to go to university. Get away from them, and this pack! The party was well underway when we arrived, music pounding from the speakers as couples made out in every available space, so I averted my eyes as we walked through the corridors of the packhouse to the lounge where we would no doubt find Miles reigning over his people. Being all important, like he was partial to considering himself. ‘Why are you here?’ Miles’s voice filled my mindlink, before I had even fully entered the room behind my parents. Great. ‘I didn’t get a choice. Trust me, I would rather not be.’ I snapped back. I was getting more than a little tired of the way he would treat me. Yes, he planned on rejecting me. Decided I was not for him, but he could have left it at that. I didn’t need treating like I was some sort of social pariah because of the fact he decided I was not right for him. I do not think I deserved that. I had endured enough bullying through my time in high school, for the fact I enjoyed my education. ‘Oh. Excuse me? Are you implying you were not going to come to the party of your next Alpha?’ Miles links with some serious attitude. ‘Miles, you just asked why I had bothered coming. Now you are asking if I was not going to come? Make your mind up.’ I argued. ‘Remember who I am Bailey. You are not above me. Never will be. Could have been equal to me at most had I seen you as suitable to be my mate, but no. You were beneath that honor.’ He sneers. I felt anger racing through me. ‘And you think I would not have rejected you?’ I snapped, moving back toward the exit, not wanting to be here anymore. Until I felt a hand grabbing the back of my tank top, yanking me back. My eyes darted upward to see the dark eyes of Miles. Sneering down at me. Our Pack’s upcoming Alpha. The most arrogant man I think I have ever met. One, thankfully, I did not have to be mates with any longer as the stupid had chosen to reject his own fated mate before even giving her a chance. “Going somewhere Bailey?” he asked, his voice full of spite. “Well, I do believe you asked me why I was here, so I assumed you wanted me to leave.” I told him. Miles bows his head down so it is level with mine, he inhales deeply, like he still enjoys the scent of me. He has done this numerous times of late, which I find quite bizarre. But, I ignore him as he tilts his head to look at me, “Hmm, I think my Mum and Dad may have something to say if you leave. Their clever little Bailey. Heaven forbid.” He presses his forehead against mine. “Just stay away from me, and do not spoil my fun.” I shake my head in disbelief at him, as he stalks away. Did he even think for a moment I would be going near him if I could avoid it? I would rather be anywhere but near him! “Bailey, why are you harassing my friend for?” I heard my brother, Jordan demand, as he suddenly approached, causing many people to turn around and look at me. Wonderful. Nothing like starting pack gossip is there. I am sure Miles would appreciate that! “I wasn’t harassing him, he came to speak to me. Asking why I had come.” I told him, and my brother laughed. He is as much an idiot as Miles. Any of my friends who have big brothers hate how protective they are. Me? No, my big brother is the one leading all the bullying and treating me badly. He finds great embarrassment in the fact his younger sister is far from being one of the popular group, and is, in his words, ‘far too into her books’. I think, in all honesty, my entire family found me, in one way or another, a huge embarrassment. “Well, he has a point. Not like you will be joining in with the celebrations. You will probably be sitting in a quiet corner somewhere reading.” He teases. “Well, it is certainly more intellectually pleasing than any of you would be.” I smirked at him as I walked away from my brother who was standing looking confused. I am sure he had no clue what I meant. The scary thing is he will be the next, pack Beta. Heaven help our pack. Between him and Miles they only had one brain cell between them, and that was one that they shared, I am sure of it! And even then, I think it was rechargeable and started losing power and knowledge at a rapid rate! They only graduated high school because they paid people to do their work for them. As I snuck away, out of the busy lounge to the top of the stairway, where I hoped to hide out for as long as possible, I heard footsteps behind me. I quickly turned, hoping it was simply someone on their way to their bedroom or even to one of the spare bathrooms on this floor. But, sadly, luck was not on my side tonight. No. Miles was following me. Eyebrows raised and looking quite irritated. “Oi. I want to talk to you.” he demanded. “You asked me to go away a minute ago, didn’t you?” I asked him. “Don’t think so, think it was more a case of why you were here.” Miles says with a smirk. Sitting on the top step with me. “Miles, you have the whole pack here for your birthday, I am sure whatever you need to speak to me about can wait.” I shrugged, desperately craving peace, which, considering the pounding beat of the music playing, would be difficult. “No. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” he questions, like he is irate at the fact I had not let him know. Why would I let him know? “Why would I? We aren’t friends, Miles. You also are not my Alpha yet. It was arranged with my parents, me and your Dad, as Alpha.” I explained to him, unsure why this would even bother him. If anything, I would think he would be glad to get rid of me. “You are going away though.” he murmurs. “That is generally what happens when you go to college or university. Yeah.” I said with another shrug. “There wasn’t one closer to home?” he hisses. “Because it seems to me you picked the one furthest away.” “What does it matter to you? You hate me. I won't be here, You get your wish of being rid of me.” I snapped, truly sick of him trying to dictate to me what I should and shouldn’t be doing. I had worked hard in school, so I could do this. My parents had spoken to my Aunt and Uncle, the Luna and Alpha of our pack to allow me special permission to go to a university out of state to study, saying it was what I had dreamed of. I had nothing holding me back. And, with the fact Miles did not want me for his mate, or his Luna, I truly did not. Not that any of them knew of that. That was our own secret. Even despite the pull to him as my mate since my wolf had arrived, I still found him truly repulsive. He sickened me. Though, the pains when he slept with the many she-wolves that visited his bed, made it even easier to detest the man that he had become. I still had no clue what I had done to deserve this treatment from this man, other than not being one of the popular group. But, I knew I deserved better than him. Miles glanced at me, momentarily a thoughtful look passed over his face, almost caring, before a hardness replaced it. “That much is true. No more having to see the disappointing failure the moon goddess made of mating me to you. At least not for a few years. Who knows, perhaps you will meet someone while there. I suggest you do. That way you won’t have to come back, because, I, as Alpha, will be looking for my Luna.” “Miles, I honestly do not care if you find someone else.” I told him, going to stand and head home, not wishing to spend another moment in the same place as him. As I went to move away, he grabbed my hand, pulling me to him, so I was once more sitting level with him on the top step of the first floor landing of our packhouse. “Always so righteous aren’t you Bailey? You say you don’t care? We will see. Well, this will be on my terms. I, Miles Davenport, reject you, Bailey West, as my fated mate…” he began, and my head began to whirl as his words sunk in. The realization and excruciating pain of what was happening becoming too much for me…

In my last life, I took a bottle of sulfuric acid to the face for Jackson Cole. Half my face was gone. So was my dream of going to Harvard. He told me he'd marry me after graduation. But one night, outside a bar, I heard him tell his friends: "That wrecked face of hers makes me sick." When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the morning of the SATs. The acid came flying at him again. This time, I stepped back. Three steps. As the sizzling sound of burning skin filled the air, I was already sitting in the exam room. ...... The first Saturday in June. The sun was vicious, beating down until the asphalt felt soft under my shoes. The air shimmered with heat, thick with the cloying sweetness of lilacs from the flowerbeds by the school gate. I stood at the entrance to Westbrook High, gripping my SAT admission ticket so hard my knuckles were white. Not because I was nervous. Because I remembered exactly what was about to happen. Under th......

💔💔💔😭"My crush is shamelessly having sex with my roommate next door. Unable to endure it, I was forced to move into Julian’s house. An arrogant hockey captain, the boy who has been silently watching me since we were children... After evolving from friends into a more dangerous relationship, I became pregnant. However, his hesitation-free departure left me heartbroken... Should I keep holding on, or throw myself into the arms of the crush who has been with me for many years?" ****** Aria’s pov. The moans slipped through the wall, again. Luca, my best friend, my secret crush for years, was having sex with my roommate on the other side of the wall. The sounds were louder than usual tonight, a sharp, rhythmic thudding against the drywall that felt like it was happening inside my own head. It felt deliberate, like Serena wanted to make sure I heard every single gasp, every single second of her winning. It was a shitty way to end a twelve-hour double shift at the coffee shop. I lay on my bed, my eyes burning from the caffeine and the fluorescent lights I’d been under all day. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Serena’s moans were reckless. I looked at the small, framed photo on the corner of my desk—my parents and my older brother, Anthony, smiling in the sun. They’ve been gone for five years now. The car accident that took them when I was fifteen shattered my entire world in a single afternoon. Luca was the only one who didn't let me drown in the silence of that empty house. He held me while I cried until I had no tears left. He stayed when everyone else eventually went back to their lives. He was my anchor, my only piece of home left in the world. That’s why I followed him here to Westbridge University. I gave up a full ride at my dream school just so I wouldn't have to face a single day without him nearby. What a massive, pathetic fool I was. Now I was just the scholarship girl working two jobs while he lived the life of a rich playboy. I’d watched him date dozens of girls over the years. I used to just sit back and wait for them to vanish, which they usually did after a month or two. I told myself they were just distractions, toys he used because he wasn't ready for something real. But Serena felt different. She didn't feel like a distraction, she felt like a permanent replacement. The noise from the next room spiked again, a loud moan that made my skin crawl with a mix of nausea and rage. The lack of sleep and the physical ache in my back from standing all day finally made something inside me snap. I pushed myself up from the bed so fast it felt like the world jolted with me. I stormed into the hallway of our suite and hammered my fist against Serena’s door with everything I had. "Keep it the down, you two!" I yelled. My voice sounded raw, cracking under the weight of the frustration I’d been bottling up for weeks. "Some of us actually have to work for a living in the morning!" The noise stopped instantly. It was replaced by a silence so heavy I could feel it pressing against my eardrums. I didn't wait for a response. I turned around, went back into my room, and shut my door hard enough to make the walls tremble. I fell onto my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to force my heart to stop racing. A few minutes later, there was a sharp, aggressive knock on my door. I thought it was Luca coming to apologize, but when I opened it, Serena was leaning against the frame. She wore one of Luca’s oversized t-shirts, looking like she’d stepped out of a magazine. She had a smirk on her face that made me want to slap the look right off her. "You're very grumpy tonight, Aria," She said, pushing past me into my room. "I'm tired, Serena. I just want to sleep. Get out," I said, my voice flat and exhausted. She leaned against my dresser, looking at me with this fake, sugary pity that made my stomach turn. "Is it really the noise that's bothering you? Or is it the person making me scream?" she asked. I felt a flush of heat creep up my neck, my face burning with a humiliation I couldn't hide. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. "Oh come on. I'm not blind. Just admit it. You’re in love with him," she said, her voice dropping to a sharp whisper. "Every time he touches me, you feel like you're dying inside, don't you?" she asked. I couldn't breathe. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. I looked past her and saw Luca standing in the hallway. He was frozen there, his hair messy, his shirt unbuttoned. He had heard everything. He looked confused and deeply uncomfortable, like he was looking at a car wreck he didn't want to be involved in. He didn't defend me. He didn't tell her she was being cruel. He just stood there, avoiding my gaze, letting the silence confirm everything Serena said. "Get out," I told her. My voice was trembling now, and I hated myself for it. "Both of you. Get the out of my room," I said. Serena let out a soft, mean laugh and walked back into the hall. Luca stayed for a second longer, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually just followed her back into her room. I locked the door and stayed awake for a while, too embarrassed to stop thinking, replaying the look on his face, everything I should have said, everything I didn’t. I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep. ★ The next morning was beyond awkward. I tried to stay in my room as long as possible, but I eventually had to go to the kitchen for coffee. I ran right into Luca. He looked perfectly fine, looking like he’d slept for ten hours, while I looked like a ghost. The eye bags were heavy under my eyes and my stare was probably enough to frighten the dead. "Hey, Ri," he said. He was acting like the fight last night didn't even happen. "My mom called today," he said, pouring himself some juice. "She wants to host a dinner for Serena this weekend. She wants to officially meet her," he continued. I felt a sharp, icy pain in my chest that made it hard to swallow. Luca had never brought a girl home to his parents before. Not once in all the years I’d known him. Only me. I was the only girl who had ever met his family, and I had secretly convinced myself it would stay that way until it was my turn for real. "That's nice," I said, keeping my voice as dead as I felt inside. "I want you to come with us," he said. He beamed at me, like he was doing me a favor. "It’ll be less awkward if you’re there you know. You can even study in the library at my house while we do the dinner," he added. He was serious. He really expected me to sit at his family’s table and watch him play house with the girl who had just destroyed me. He didn't care about my feelings. He didn't even care that Serena had humiliated me right in front of him. To him, I was just a fixture. A doll that came along for the ride. At that moment, I realized the truth. He was serious about her. And I was officially being replaced. "I can't go, Luca. I'm busy," I said. "Busy with what? You always come home with me on weekends," he argued. "Not anymore. I have plans," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. I don’t owe you any explanation for how I choose to live my life. I walked away before he could say another word. I went back into my room and pulled up my banking app. I stared at the balance, calculating every penny from my scholarship and my shifts. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get me a deposit on a tiny room somewhere else. I looked at the thin dorm walls and realized I couldn’t stay here another night. I was done being the backup friend. Tonight, I’m leaving. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't even bother looking in the mirror before I walked out of my room. I knew I looked like a ghost, but I didn't care. I grabbed my phone and my work bag, checking to make sure I had my keys and nothing else. I was halfway to the front door when Serena stepped into the hallway, still wearing that same smug look from last night. "Leaving so soon? Luca hasn't even finished his breakfast yet," she said mockingly. Her voice was like a slow-acting poison, and I could feel it working its way under my skin. "Stay out of my way, Serena. For real," I said. I didn't wait for her to come up with some clever comeback. I just pushed past her and walked out of the dorm, stepping right into a miserable, gray downpour. The rain was freezing, soaking through my thin shirt in seconds, but it felt better than being inside that suite. I walked all the way to the coffee shop where I worked, my head spinning with every step. When I pushed through the door, the bell jingled loudly, and the warmth of the shop hit me like a physical wall. Mark, my manager, looked up from the register and let out a low whistle. "Aria? You’re not on the schedule until four. You look like a drowned rat, kid," he said. "I’m fine. Mark, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you," I said. I was shivering so hard my teeth were practically chattering. "Sure, what's up? You look like you're about to have a breakdown," he said. "I have some major accommodation issues. I can't stay in my dorm anymore. Like, I need a new place today," I told him. I was trying to keep my voice down, but the shop was quiet and my voice was already shaky. "Do you know anyone with a spare room? Or a cheap studio? I have some savings, but I need it right now," I added. Mark rubbed his chin, looking concerned. "Today? That's a tall order, Aria. Most places near campus are booked solid this time of year. It's midterm season," he reminded me. I let out a frustrating sigh, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. "But you can post on the school website. I bet someone there could help you out," he suggested. I shook my head immediately. "I can't. Everyone on that site is a shark, Mark. I'm a scholarship kid. They'll just use it to rip me apart," I said. "Why? You really need it, don't you? Desperate times, Aria," he pushed. I opened my mouth to deny him again, but the image of Serena and Luca together in that hallway stabbed my vision. I couldn't bear another second of that nightmare. I pulled out my phone and opened the school website, a place I usually avoided like the plague unless I wanted to see who they were bullying that week. I typed in the words quickly: "Hi. Having major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent please, my DM is open. Urgent." I almost shuddered in disgust as I hit the button. The text felt tacky and reeked of desperation, but I didn't have any other cards to play. The site let out a little beep, confirming it had been uploaded to the public feed. "Done," I said to Mark, who was peering over the counter at me. "Good. Now we just wait and—" The notification sound on my phone disrupted his words. I shifted my gaze to the screen and froze. Someone had replied. Not in my DMs. Publicly. "I have an apartment. Meet me at the cafeteria if you are interested," the comment read. I almost screamed in joy, but the stone-faced gaze from a customer nearby snapped me back to reality. "Someone replied! Already!" I shoved the phone toward Mark. "See? I told you," he said, smiling warmly. "Who is it? Can you tell?" I asked. I read the username out loud. "J. Vance." I’d never heard of the name, but then again, I didn't exactly hang out with the elite crowd at this school. I figured it was probably a girl named Jules or maybe a nerd who felt sorry for me. "So when are you meeting the mystery person?" Mark asked. "They didn't give me time, so I'm guessing they want to meet now. It's almost lunch," I said. I looked at the clock on the wall. 9:45 a.m. "Go get ready. You can't meet a potential roommate looking like you just crawled out of a lake," Mark said. I nodded and hurried back to the dorm. Luckily, it was empty. Luca and Serena must have finally left for their morning classes. I walked past Luca’s room, and the door was slightly ajar. The air coming from inside still smelled like sex and cheap alcohol, making my stomach churn with a fresh wave of nausea. I slammed the door shut and went to my own room to change. I threw on my normal baggy jeans and a clean top, tossing my damp hair into a quick ponytail. I checked my reflection once, adjusted my glasses, and ran back out the door. When I stepped into the school cafeteria, it felt like the entire world stopped turning. All eyes turned to me, and for once, it wasn't the usual look of boredom. I ignored them and searched for Table 7, the spot the user had mentioned in their DM follow-up. I caught it in the corner. Someone was already sitting there. From the broad shoulders and the dark, expensive-looking hair, it definitely wasn't a girl named Jules. Shit. I hoped he wasn't some kind of pervert. I shoved the thought aside and walked closer, letting out a little cough to get his attention. "Hi. I'm here about the apartment. You commented on my post," I started rambling. Then he straightened up and turned around. I stopped talking. I stopped breathing. The world actually seemed to stop. Because sitting in the chair was Julian Vance. He was wearing a black pea coat that probably cost more than my entire year's tuition. He was the hockey captain. Every girl at Westbridge had a crush on him. He looked successful and untouchable, like he lived in a completely different universe than me. His dark eyes, which I hadn't seen up close in over a decade, widened just slightly. "Aria?" he asked, his voice a low, rough velvet, laced with genuine surprise. I could only manage a slow nod. "Hi, Julian." "It's been... ages," he said, the surprise quickly masked by his usual guarded demeanor. "I heard you were on campus, but I haven't seen you since—since you were about knee-high. I left campus with my father's company shortly after, remember?" "I do," I mumbled. "You... you were gone for a long time." "For a while, yeah. But I'm back now, obviously," he said, a ghost of a smile touching the corner of his lips. He leaned back in his seat, suddenly serious. "So, the apartment. I saw your post. What's going on? Are you okay?" "I am," I lied, too quickly. "Just accommodation issues. A misunderstanding with my... current situation." He nodded, his gaze unwavering, as if he knew exactly what I wasn't saying. "I have a place near the Heights. You can have the guest suite," he said. He wasn't even whispering. The whole cafeteria had gone dead silent. Every single jaw was hanging open in total shock. "Huh? You... you really mean it?" I whispered. "I-I thought you didn't even remember me." "I knew who you were, Ri," he said, using the old nickname. It felt like a punch to the gut. I almost forgot Luca and he came up with the nickname for me. "And yes, I mean it. I won't overcharge you, and I rarely use it anyway." He was talking, but my mind couldn't even process the words. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and held it out to me. Mindlessly, I took it. It was a phone number and an address. "Call me when you're ready to move," he said. He didn't wait for an answer. He just stood up and walked out like he owned every single inch of the floor he was walking on. I watched him disappear through the double doors, then looked back at the students. They were staring at me with a mix of envy, disgust, and pure, unadulterated hate. At that moment, I wanted the floor to open and swallow me. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I was hiding. I sat at the furthest corner table of the coffee shop, staring at the piece of paper Julian had given me in the cafeteria like it was a piece of radioactive waste. My phone wouldn't stop buzzing in my pocket. Notifications from the school website were blowing up, of course from other students, and I didn't even have to open them to know what they said. The lowly scholarship girl and the King of Hockey. What a headline. The gossip was spreading faster than a leak in a dam, and I was right at the center of it. I couldn't stop thinking about the look in Julian's eyes when he stood up and walked away. He didn't look like he was playing a prank. He looked like he was waiting for me to just say yes already. Everyone at Westbridge knew about the war between the Morettis and the Vances. It wasn't just a school rivalry, it was a blood feud between two massive companies that had been trying to bankrupt each other for some years now. Julian was the one everyone loved and cheered for, the quiet hero of the hockey team who had the whole campus wrapped around his finger. Luca was the opposite, the reckless playboy of the Moretti empire who spent more time flaunting his wealth than in a classroom. Growing up, I was always stuck in the middle of them. I remembered our kindergarten playground fights, back when we were kids—when they both swore I would be their bride. I thought it was all just a joke. We were only kids. Julian was the one who actually got his knuckles bloody fighting for me back then, standing his ground even when he was outnumbered. Luca would just use his charm to talk his way out of trouble, always smiling like the world owed him everything. I had always chosen to stay by Luca’s side, thinking his flashy charm was safer than whatever intense fire Julian had in his eyes. Even though I knew he was a reckless playboy, I couldn’t help but hope, just a little, that one day he would realize that I love him. What a massive mistake that turned out to be. "Aria! My God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" I jumped slightly as my best friend, Elena, slid into the chair across from me, her eyes wide with total shock. She slammed her phone down on the table, showing the school’s main forum page. Julian’s public reply to my post was the top-rated comment, with hundreds of likes and even more people losing their minds in the replies. "Aria, tell me right now why Julian Vance is offering you a luxury suite in the Heights," she demanded. I sighed and told her everything—the desperate need of an apartment, how I had to put up the notice on the site and then how he just handed me his number and walked out. I also told her about the dorm drama. From the whole sex charade to the dinner invite Luca gave me for Serena. Elena looked like she was having a heart attack right there in the middle of the shop. "You have to do it. You have to call him right now," she said. "I can't just move in with a guy I haven't seen in over a decade, Elena. We talked for two minutes and it was so intense. It's too much," I argued. "Aria, look at yourself. You're exhausted, you're hiding, and your 'best friend' is busy bringing another girl home to meet his parents," she said. She leaned across the table, her voice getting serious. "Julian is the golden boy here for a reason. He’s responsible and he’s quiet. If he’s opening his door for you publicly, he's basically protecting you from the fallout," she added. "He probably just wants to spite Luca," I muttered. "Who cares? It's your chance to finally stop being Luca's shadow. He’s never going to choose you, Aria," she said. That hit me harder than the rain outside. She was right. I thought about how Luca had cancelled our traditions lately. The movie nights he missed. The ten-year anniversary he forgot because Serena wanted a spa day. Even going shopping with her. I realized I wasn't his best friend anymore. It was just a habit he was trying to break. "I'm going back to the dorm," I said, standing up suddenly. "To sleep?" Elena asked. "No. To pack. I'm done being an inconvenience," I told her. I walked back to the dorms, my heart hammering a rhythm of pure defiance. I walked right through the front door, not caring who saw me. When I got to the common area, I saw them. Luca and Serena were tangled together on the couch, surrounded by shopping bags from places I couldn't even afford to look at. Luca looked up and frowned when he saw me standing there. "Oh, hey. I forgot we were supposed to grab dinner tonight," he said. He didn't even sound sorry. He sounded like I was an interruption. "I’m taking Serena to the Vanguard Gala tonight. Her dad invited us," he added. He looked at his watch, clearly wishing I would just go away. "It’s fine, Luca. I wasn't expecting you to remember anyway," I said. My voice didn't tremble. I felt weirdly cold, like the rain had finally frozen my heart shut. "Are you okay? You look... different," he said, squinting at me. "I'm great. Have fun at the gala," I said. I didn't wait for a response. I went straight to my room and pulled my suitcases out from under the bed. I shoved everything I owned into them—my clothes, my books, the photo of my parents. I left the stuff Luca had bought me over the years on the desk. The stuffed bear. The expensive necklace. I didn't want any of it anymore. I stood in the hallway with my bags, feeling Serena's smug gaze on my back. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Julian had written down. "I'm ready," I said as soon as he picked up. "Does the offer still stand? Because I'm standing in the hallway with two suitcases and no plan B," I told him. There was a brief silence on the other end. "Hold on. Don't move," Julian said. He hung up, and I stood there in the silence of the dorm that used to be my home. Luca came out of his room, adjusting his tuxedo jacket, and stopped dead when he saw my bags. "What are you doing? Where are you going at this hour?" he asked. "Away from here," I said. "Aria, don't be dramatic. We can talk about this after the gala," he said, reaching for my arm. Dramatic. Right. Of course he'd call it that. Just then, a loud, heavy horn honked from the street below. I looked out the window and saw Julian's car idling at the curb, dark and imposing. "That's my ride," I said, pulling my arm away from him. "Is that Vance’s car? Aria, what the hell is going on? Did you really take his offer?" Luca shouted. I didn't give him an explanation. I didn't owe him a single word. I grabbed my suitcases and walked out the door, leaving him standing there in his expensive suit looking completely lost. I made it down to the curb just as Julian stepped out of the car. He didn't say anything as he took my bags and tossed them into the trunk. He opened the passenger door for me, his eyes searching mine for a second. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "Drive," I said. He nodded, climbed in beside me, and just like that, we drove off. I resisted every urge to look back at the boy I'd spent half of my life yearning for. .............................................................................. Julian’s pov. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white, but I kept my face like stone. Inside, I was screaming. I was actually, physically vibrating with the kind of high I haven't felt since I was what, ten years old? She was in my car. Aria Vale was sitting in my passenger seat, her scent of old coffee beans and rain filling up my space. I had waited three years for this exact moment. Most people think I transferred to Westbridge for the hockey program or the business prestige. And it made sense considering those were the excuses I gave my parents to let me come here. But still, that was far fetched, really. The only reason I transferred was because I saw a post on her Instagram three years ago about her getting a scholarship here. I spent my entire freshman year at a different school just watching her from a screen, waiting for the right time to move. I knew Luca was an idiot. I knew he would eventually choose someone shiny and loud like Serena because he has zero taste and even less heart. I was actually on her school profile when it happened. I had been scrolling through her old photos, just like I did every morning, when the notification popped up at the top of my screen. It was a public post on the housing board. "Major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent, DM me. Urgent." My heart nearly stopped. I didn't even think. I didn't breathe. I just typed out the reply as fast as my fingers could move. I knew it was public. I knew the whole school would see it. I wanted them to see it. I wanted every single person on this campus to know that if Aria Vale needed a place to go, she was coming to me. I came to this school and I played the role of the quiet, disciplined hockey captain. I walked past her lecture halls every single day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the back of her head. I knew her schedule better than she did. I knew what time she started her shifts at that shitty coffee shop. I even knew which library table was her favorite because I’d sit three rows back just to watch her study. Some would call it stalking, and yes, I'm not going to bother lying about it. But I was also protecting her. I’d seen the way people looked at her because she was a scholarship girl. I made sure those people knew that if they messed with her, they’d be dealing with Vance. But all that didn't matter anymore because now, all of my hard work had finally paid off. Even though I pretended not to know she was the one I was meeting at the cafeteria... she was here. She was finally here. I pulled into my garage and took a breath, trying to calm my racing heart before I looked at her. "We're here," I said. My voice sounded normal, which was a miracle considering I felt like I was losing my mind. She didn't say anything. She just got out and stood there with her two suitcases. I took them from her, wanting to burn them because they reminded me of the life she lived with that loser. We got up to the apartment and the elevator doors slid open. I gave her the tour, pointing out the kitchen and the living room and the balcony. I watched her face the whole time. It remained icily blank. Totally unfazed by the marble floors or the view that costs more than most people make in a lifetime. I’ve always loved that about her. She doesn't really care about things that aren't hers. She’s hardworking, beautiful, even though she isn’t financially buoyant. She’s herself and doesn’t try to impress anyone or keep up with the campus hot girls, as they call themselves. She has this pride that is so thick you could choke on it. It makes me want to break and bend her so badly, until she only relies on me. "This is your suite," I said, opening the door to the guest wing. She walked in and looked around, her expression still not changing. "Thank you, Julian," she said. Her voice was small, but it was steady. "I mean it. I appreciate you helping me out of that situation," she added. "It’s fine, Aria. I told you I had the space," I said. I was standing too close to her, and I could see the way her eyelashes were still damp from the rain. "I just want to be clear about something," she said, turning to face me. "There is nothing more to this situation. You're helping me, and I'm grateful," she said. She was drawing a line in the tiles, and I wanted to laugh. "I’m going to start paying you rent as soon as I can pick up extra shifts," she continued. "You don't need to worry about money here," I told her. "I do. Because I don't take charity," she snapped. She stepped back into her room and grabbed the handle of the door. "Goodnight, Julian," she said. Then she slammed the door right in my face. I stood there in the hallway for a long time, staring at the dark wood of the door. I bit back a smile until my cheeks actually hurt. I couldn't remember the last time I had been this happy. She could feel like she was doing the right thing by setting boundaries all she wanted. But she was already in my house. She was under my roof, eating my food, and sleeping in a bed I bought. She was mine now, even if she didn't know it yet. My phone started buzzing in my pocket, ruining the moment. I pulled it out and saw my mother’s name on the screen. I sighed and swiped to answer. "Julian. Why am I hearing that you have a guest?" she asked. She didn't even say hello. My mother has people tailing me, and she’s never been subtle about it. "I have a roommate, Mother. It’s a big apartment and I was getting tired of being lonely," I said. I walked over to the window and looked out at the city lights. "Don't lie to me. I know who she is. She’s that girl. Moretti's friend. Come on, son. She's pathetic," my mother said. "Her name is Aria," I corrected her, my voice turning cold. "I don't care what her name is. She is a distraction. You have a reputation to maintain, and the Morettis would love to use this against us," she hissed. "Make sure she does not distract you from your goals, Julian. Or I will make sure she is removed from the equation," she warned. The threat made my blood turn to ice. "If you touch her, I will burn everything you’ve worked for to the ground. I swear it," I said. I didn't wait for her to respond before I hung up. I threw my phone onto the sofa and rubbed my face with my hands. The Vance family was a shark tank, and I had just brought a lamb into the middle of it. But I didn't care. I walked back toward my own bedroom, pausing outside her door one last time. I could hear the faint sound of her moving around inside. She was safe here. I had spent years watching her be treated like an afterthought by a guy who didn't deserve to breathe her air. Now, I was the one who got to see her wake up in the morning. I was the one who got to see her without the mask she wore for the rest of the world. I didn't have any plans on letting her go. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever. I went into my room and lay down, staring at the ceiling and listening to the silence of the apartment. It didn't feel empty anymore. It felt full. I thought about the look on Luca’s face when I picked her up. He looked like he had just realized he lost his most valuable possession. He was right. He had lost her, and he was never getting her back. I’d make sure of that. I’d make sure she forgot his name within a month. I couldn't wait for tomorrow morning. I couldn't wait to see her sitting at my table. I was going to make her her favorite tea. I was going to make her the eggs she liked. I was going to show her what it felt like to actually be seen. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in years. Everything was finally going according to plan. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't sleep well. Even though the bed in Julian’s guest suite felt like sleeping on a literal cloud, I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. The room was too quiet and the air felt too.... I don't know, expensive? I kept waiting for someone to knock on the door and tell me this was all a prank. When I finally dragged myself out of bed, I felt like a zombie in a scholarship girl’s body. I brushed my hair and tried to look like I hadn't spent the night questioning every single life choice I’d made in the last decade. I walked into the kitchen and there he was. Julian was already dressed in a crisp black hoodie and joggers, looking like a professional athlete even before his morning coffee. He pushed a mug of Earl Grey toward me without saying a word. Two drops of honey. Exactly what I needed at that moment. I took a sip and felt the warmth hit my stomach, but it didn't stop the fluttering of nerves. "I have a ten a.m. lecture," I said, breaking the silence. "I know. I'm driving you," he said. He didn't even look up from his tablet. "Julian, you don't have to do this. I can take the bus. I don't want to make things weird," I told him. He finally looked at me, and his gray-blue eyes felt like they were pinning me to the chair. "The bus takes forty minutes. My car takes ten. You need the extra thirty minutes to study," he said pointedly. He wasn't suggesting it. He was stating it like it was a law of physics. Translation, I didn't have a say really. "Are you always this bossy?" I muttered into my tea. "Only when I'm right," he answered. I wanted to argue, but I was too tired to fight with a guy who was giving me a free place to stay. I grabbed my bag and followed him down to the garage. The car ride was silent, but it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was tense. I kept looking at his hands on the steering wheel, wondering why the hockey captain was being so careful with me. When we pulled onto the Westbridge campus, I felt the immediate urge to duck. Julian’s car was a dark, sleek shark in a sea of basic student vehicles. He didn't pull into the parking lot. He drove right up to the front of the main quad. The quad was packed with students grabbing breakfast between classes. "You're making a scene," I whispered, clutching my bag. "Let them look," Julian said. He actually got out of the car and walked around to open my door. I felt like I was walking onto a movie set where I didn't know the lines. "I'll be here at four. Don't be late," he said, his voice carrying just enough for the nearest group of girls to hear. I nodded, confused, and practically ran toward the library entrance. I could hear the whispers starting behind me like a wave. "Is that Aria Vale?" "Since when does Vance let people in his car?" I kept my head down, staring at the pavement until I saw a pair of familiar sneakers. I looked up and my heart stopped. It was Luca. He was standing near the fountain, looking like he hadn't slept either. His tuxedo from last night was gone, replaced by a rumpled hoodie, and his hair was a mess. "Aria," he said, stepping into my path. I tried to walk around him, but he moved to block me. "We need to talk," he said. "I have class, Luca. And I think we said everything last night," I told him. I felt incredibly uncomfortable. People were stopping to watch us. "What were you doing in Julian Vance's car?" he asked. His voice was loud, full of that jealous edge that didn't make sense since he had Serena. "He's my roommate. I told you I was moving," I said. “And I owe you no explanation for what I choose to do with my life.” "Roommate? Aria, are you insane? Do you even know who that guy is?" he shouted. He reached out to grab my wrist, but I stepped back before he could touch me. "I know he's the guy who didn't spend the morning making me listen to him have sex with my roommate," I snapped. A few people nearby gasped, and I saw Luca’s face go pale. "Ri, it’s not like that. I was just... I was distracted," he stammered. "First off, don't call me that. It's Aria to you. And second, you’ve been distracted for ten years, Luca. I'm done waiting for you to look at me," I said. The discomfort was like one helluva huge physical weight now, making me want to crawl into a hole. But I wasn't going to back down from this easily. He needed to know what's on my mind. He needed to know that he up real bad. "Does he know?" Luca asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Does he know what?" "Does he know you've been in love with me since we were kids? Or are you just using him to make me jealous?" he sneered. I felt a slap of pure humiliation hit me. Of course he knew. He had always known how I felt, and he’d just let me sit there in the shadows like I was a bloody waiter while he dated everyone else. "He knows I'm a roommate who pays her rent," I lied, my voice cold. "And even if I was using him, at least he's worth the effort. Unlike you," I added. Luca looked like I’d actually punched him in the gut. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then he looked over my shoulder and froze. I turned around and saw Julian’s car hadn't moved. Julian was leaning against the driver's side door, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't doing anything. He was just watching. But the way he was looking at Luca was so intense, so dark, that it felt like the temperature in the quad dropped ten degrees. "Leave her the hell alone, Luca," Julian said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise of the quad perfectly. I didn’t know what this was all about between them, but I wouldn’t be the reason they caused a scene here. I looked back at Luca one last time. He looked small. He looked like a boy trying to play a man’s game. "Stay away from me, Luca. I'm being serious as this time," I said. I walked away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. "!" I heard Luca cuss behind me. For a minute, it actually sounded like he felt mad at himself for letting me go. But then again, you can't wipe a leopard's skin spotless. He was never going to change and that was the truth. .............................................................................. ARIA’S POV Avoidance should be an Olympic sport. If it were, I’d have gold by noon. I left my last lecture five minutes early, slipped out through the side stairwell instead of the main hall, and took the long route behind the science building just to avoid the quad. Every corner I turned felt like a potential ambush. Whispers followed me anyway. They didn’t need to see me to talk about me. I kept walking. Head down. AirPods in. Music off. The parking lot came into view, and I exhaled slowly. If I could just make it to the curb where Julian said he’d pick me up, I could survive the day. Then I heard my name. “Aria!” Of course. I didn’t turn around. “Aria, please.” The word please made me pause despite myself. Stupid heart. Stupid history. I turned slowly. Luca looked wrecked. Not the artfully messy, campus golden boy version of wrecked. Actually wrecked. Dark circles under his eyes. Jaw tight. Shoulders slumped like something inside him had finally cracked. He walked toward me carefully, like I was a wild animal he didn’t want to spook. “Can we just talk? Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.” “You’ve had ten years,” I replied evenly. He flinched. “I know. I know I screwed up. I was selfish. I thought—you were always there, Aria. You were solid. I didn’t think I had to fight for you.” “That’s the problem,” I said quietly. “You never did.” He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping in front of me. “Last night was a mistake.” I stared at him. “You didn’t seem confused,” I said. His jaw flexed. “Serena doesn’t mean anything.” The irony almost made me laugh. “But I do?” I asked. “Yes!” he burst out. “You always have.” I felt something inside me tremble and then harden. “Then why did I have to listen to you with her?” I asked. “Why did I have to sit there and pretend I wasn’t dying inside?” He swallowed hard. “I was distracted,” he repeated, desperate now. “The pressure, the team, my dad breathing down my neck about law school. I was just… not thinking straight.” “Ten years, Luca,” I said softly. “You’ve been ‘not thinking straight’ for ten years.” His expression shifted then. Less pleading. More calculating. “And now what?” he said. “You’re thinking straight? By moving in with Julian Vance?” There it was. He stepped closer. “Do you even know who that guy is? You think he’s helping you out of the goodness of his heart? Aria, Julian doesn’t do charity. He doesn’t breathe without a reason.” My stomach twisted. “He’s manipulative,” Luca continued. “Everything he does is strategic. You’re a move to him. A statement. He probably gets off on messing with me.” “That’s rich,” I muttered. “I’m serious,” he pressed. “He doesn’t care about you. He cares about control. You think it’s a coincidence he made a whole scene this morning? He wanted people to see.” My chest tightened. Because part of me knew that was true. Julian had wanted them to see. “But at least he didn’t humiliate me,” I shot back. Luca’s eyes darkened. “You’re making a mistake,” he said quietly. “He’s not safe.” “And you are?” I asked. Silence. Then, a low, familiar engine cut through the tension. Every nerve in my body snapped to attention. Julian’s car turned into the parking lot. Of course he was right on time. Like always. Students immediately slowed their steps. Heads turned. Phones subtly lifted. A small crowd was already forming near the edge of the lot. And Serena was there. Standing near the entrance with two of her sorority friends, arms crossed, expression thunderous. This was becoming a show. Luca noticed the car too. His posture stiffened. “See?” he muttered. “Right on cue.” The car rolled closer. Closer. I could feel it, the narrative forming in real time. Scholarship girl caught between two campus elites. Poor Aria. Indecisive Aria. Desperate Aria. No. Not today. I was done being the girl people felt sorry for. I stepped forward. “Aria, don’t,” Luca warned, reaching for my arm. But this time, I didn’t step back. I walked straight toward the car. Julian slowed, confusion flickering across his face for half a second before the mask slipped back into place. He stopped directly in front of me. The window rolled down. “You’re early,” he said calmly. Behind me, I heard Luca move. “Aria, this is stupid…” His fingers brushed my wrist. That was it. Something inside me snapped. I opened the passenger door. And instead of sliding in, I leaned across the console, grabbed Julian by the collar of his hoodie and kissed him. Gasps exploded around us. For half a second, Julian froze. Just long enough for me to register the shock in his body. Then, he moved. His hand came up, sliding into my hair, gripping, not painfully, but firmly. Possessively. He kissed me back. Not soft. Not hesitant. Deep. Demanding. Like he’d been waiting. The world tilted. My lungs forgot how to function. This was supposed to be strategic. A statement. A weapon. But Julian didn’t kiss like a man playing a game. He kissed like a man claiming something he already believed was his. His other hand slid to my waist, pulling me fully into the car, chest to chest across the center console. My knees hit the seat. My fingers tightened in his hoodie. Heat flooded through me so fast it made my head spin. The parking lot disappeared. The crowd disappeared. There was only the pressure of his mouth, the controlled hunger in the way he angled his head, the quiet, dangerous intensity vibrating beneath his restraint. I made a small, involuntary sound against his lips. That seemed to snap him back. He pulled away slowly. Too slowly. His gray-blue eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. Not confused. Not amused. Possessive. His thumb brushed once against my jaw before he released me. The silence in the parking lot was deafening. Julian looked past me. Straight at Luca. His expression shifted into something lethal. He stepped out of the car, closing the distance with unhurried confidence. Luca stood his ground, but I saw it, the hesitation. Julian stopped just close enough to make the message clear. “The lady said to leave her alone,” he said evenly. Each word landed like a controlled detonation. “Leave. Her. Alone.” A beat. “Don’t make me force you to.” No shouting. No theatrics. Just certainty. Luca’s fists clenched. But he didn’t move. Julian held his gaze a second longer, then turned away like Luca wasn’t worth another second of oxygen. He walked back to the driver’s seat. Got in. And without another word, he drove off. Fast. The campus blurred past the windows. My heart was still racing. My lips were still tingling. My brain was still trying to process what had just happened. I had kissed him to get back at Luca. That was the plan. But the way Julian had kissed me back? That hadn’t been part of it. Silence filled the car. Thick. Charged. After a full minute, he spoke. “Was that tactical,” he asked calmly, eyes on the road, “or should I start worrying about my self-control?” I swallowed. “I needed him to stop,” I said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “He’ll stop,” Julian replied quietly. There was something in his tone that made my stomach flip again. Not relief. Not satisfaction. Promise. I turned to look at him. “Julian…” He glanced at me briefly. And for the first time since I’d met him, the mask was gone. What was underneath wasn’t indifference. It wasn't a strategy. It was something far more dangerous. “I don’t do things halfway, Aria,” he said softly. My pulse stuttered. And for the first time since I’d moved into his guest suite, I realized I might have just started something I wasn’t prepared to finish.

💔💔💔😭"My crush is shamelessly having sex with my roommate next door. Unable to endure it, I was forced to move into Julian’s house. An arrogant hockey captain, the boy who has been silently watching me since we were children... After evolving from friends into a more dangerous relationship, I became pregnant. However, his hesitation-free departure left me heartbroken... Should I keep holding on, or throw myself into the arms of the crush who has been with me for many years?" ****** Aria’s pov. The moans slipped through the wall, again. Luca, my best friend, my secret crush for years, was having sex with my roommate on the other side of the wall. The sounds were louder than usual tonight, a sharp, rhythmic thudding against the drywall that felt like it was happening inside my own head. It felt deliberate, like Serena wanted to make sure I heard every single gasp, every single second of her winning. It was a shitty way to end a twelve-hour double shift at the coffee shop. I lay on my bed, my eyes burning from the caffeine and the fluorescent lights I’d been under all day. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Serena’s moans were reckless. I looked at the small, framed photo on the corner of my desk—my parents and my older brother, Anthony, smiling in the sun. They’ve been gone for five years now. The car accident that took them when I was fifteen shattered my entire world in a single afternoon. Luca was the only one who didn't let me drown in the silence of that empty house. He held me while I cried until I had no tears left. He stayed when everyone else eventually went back to their lives. He was my anchor, my only piece of home left in the world. That’s why I followed him here to Westbridge University. I gave up a full ride at my dream school just so I wouldn't have to face a single day without him nearby. What a massive, pathetic fool I was. Now I was just the scholarship girl working two jobs while he lived the life of a rich playboy. I’d watched him date dozens of girls over the years. I used to just sit back and wait for them to vanish, which they usually did after a month or two. I told myself they were just distractions, toys he used because he wasn't ready for something real. But Serena felt different. She didn't feel like a distraction, she felt like a permanent replacement. The noise from the next room spiked again, a loud moan that made my skin crawl with a mix of nausea and rage. The lack of sleep and the physical ache in my back from standing all day finally made something inside me snap. I pushed myself up from the bed so fast it felt like the world jolted with me. I stormed into the hallway of our suite and hammered my fist against Serena’s door with everything I had. "Keep it the down, you two!" I yelled. My voice sounded raw, cracking under the weight of the frustration I’d been bottling up for weeks. "Some of us actually have to work for a living in the morning!" The noise stopped instantly. It was replaced by a silence so heavy I could feel it pressing against my eardrums. I didn't wait for a response. I turned around, went back into my room, and shut my door hard enough to make the walls tremble. I fell onto my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to force my heart to stop racing. A few minutes later, there was a sharp, aggressive knock on my door. I thought it was Luca coming to apologize, but when I opened it, Serena was leaning against the frame. She wore one of Luca’s oversized t-shirts, looking like she’d stepped out of a magazine. She had a smirk on her face that made me want to slap the look right off her. "You're very grumpy tonight, Aria," She said, pushing past me into my room. "I'm tired, Serena. I just want to sleep. Get out," I said, my voice flat and exhausted. She leaned against my dresser, looking at me with this fake, sugary pity that made my stomach turn. "Is it really the noise that's bothering you? Or is it the person making me scream?" she asked. I felt a flush of heat creep up my neck, my face burning with a humiliation I couldn't hide. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. "Oh come on. I'm not blind. Just admit it. You’re in love with him," she said, her voice dropping to a sharp whisper. "Every time he touches me, you feel like you're dying inside, don't you?" she asked. I couldn't breathe. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. I looked past her and saw Luca standing in the hallway. He was frozen there, his hair messy, his shirt unbuttoned. He had heard everything. He looked confused and deeply uncomfortable, like he was looking at a car wreck he didn't want to be involved in. He didn't defend me. He didn't tell her she was being cruel. He just stood there, avoiding my gaze, letting the silence confirm everything Serena said. "Get out," I told her. My voice was trembling now, and I hated myself for it. "Both of you. Get the out of my room," I said. Serena let out a soft, mean laugh and walked back into the hall. Luca stayed for a second longer, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually just followed her back into her room. I locked the door and stayed awake for a while, too embarrassed to stop thinking, replaying the look on his face, everything I should have said, everything I didn’t. I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep. ★ The next morning was beyond awkward. I tried to stay in my room as long as possible, but I eventually had to go to the kitchen for coffee. I ran right into Luca. He looked perfectly fine, looking like he’d slept for ten hours, while I looked like a ghost. The eye bags were heavy under my eyes and my stare was probably enough to frighten the dead. "Hey, Ri," he said. He was acting like the fight last night didn't even happen. "My mom called today," he said, pouring himself some juice. "She wants to host a dinner for Serena this weekend. She wants to officially meet her," he continued. I felt a sharp, icy pain in my chest that made it hard to swallow. Luca had never brought a girl home to his parents before. Not once in all the years I’d known him. Only me. I was the only girl who had ever met his family, and I had secretly convinced myself it would stay that way until it was my turn for real. "That's nice," I said, keeping my voice as dead as I felt inside. "I want you to come with us," he said. He beamed at me, like he was doing me a favor. "It’ll be less awkward if you’re there you know. You can even study in the library at my house while we do the dinner," he added. He was serious. He really expected me to sit at his family’s table and watch him play house with the girl who had just destroyed me. He didn't care about my feelings. He didn't even care that Serena had humiliated me right in front of him. To him, I was just a fixture. A doll that came along for the ride. At that moment, I realized the truth. He was serious about her. And I was officially being replaced. "I can't go, Luca. I'm busy," I said. "Busy with what? You always come home with me on weekends," he argued. "Not anymore. I have plans," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. I don’t owe you any explanation for how I choose to live my life. I walked away before he could say another word. I went back into my room and pulled up my banking app. I stared at the balance, calculating every penny from my scholarship and my shifts. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get me a deposit on a tiny room somewhere else. I looked at the thin dorm walls and realized I couldn’t stay here another night. I was done being the backup friend. Tonight, I’m leaving. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't even bother looking in the mirror before I walked out of my room. I knew I looked like a ghost, but I didn't care. I grabbed my phone and my work bag, checking to make sure I had my keys and nothing else. I was halfway to the front door when Serena stepped into the hallway, still wearing that same smug look from last night. "Leaving so soon? Luca hasn't even finished his breakfast yet," she said mockingly. Her voice was like a slow-acting poison, and I could feel it working its way under my skin. "Stay out of my way, Serena. For real," I said. I didn't wait for her to come up with some clever comeback. I just pushed past her and walked out of the dorm, stepping right into a miserable, gray downpour. The rain was freezing, soaking through my thin shirt in seconds, but it felt better than being inside that suite. I walked all the way to the coffee shop where I worked, my head spinning with every step. When I pushed through the door, the bell jingled loudly, and the warmth of the shop hit me like a physical wall. Mark, my manager, looked up from the register and let out a low whistle. "Aria? You’re not on the schedule until four. You look like a drowned rat, kid," he said. "I’m fine. Mark, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you," I said. I was shivering so hard my teeth were practically chattering. "Sure, what's up? You look like you're about to have a breakdown," he said. "I have some major accommodation issues. I can't stay in my dorm anymore. Like, I need a new place today," I told him. I was trying to keep my voice down, but the shop was quiet and my voice was already shaky. "Do you know anyone with a spare room? Or a cheap studio? I have some savings, but I need it right now," I added. Mark rubbed his chin, looking concerned. "Today? That's a tall order, Aria. Most places near campus are booked solid this time of year. It's midterm season," he reminded me. I let out a frustrating sigh, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. "But you can post on the school website. I bet someone there could help you out," he suggested. I shook my head immediately. "I can't. Everyone on that site is a shark, Mark. I'm a scholarship kid. They'll just use it to rip me apart," I said. "Why? You really need it, don't you? Desperate times, Aria," he pushed. I opened my mouth to deny him again, but the image of Serena and Luca together in that hallway stabbed my vision. I couldn't bear another second of that nightmare. I pulled out my phone and opened the school website, a place I usually avoided like the plague unless I wanted to see who they were bullying that week. I typed in the words quickly: "Hi. Having major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent please, my DM is open. Urgent." I almost shuddered in disgust as I hit the button. The text felt tacky and reeked of desperation, but I didn't have any other cards to play. The site let out a little beep, confirming it had been uploaded to the public feed. "Done," I said to Mark, who was peering over the counter at me. "Good. Now we just wait and—" The notification sound on my phone disrupted his words. I shifted my gaze to the screen and froze. Someone had replied. Not in my DMs. Publicly. "I have an apartment. Meet me at the cafeteria if you are interested," the comment read. I almost screamed in joy, but the stone-faced gaze from a customer nearby snapped me back to reality. "Someone replied! Already!" I shoved the phone toward Mark. "See? I told you," he said, smiling warmly. "Who is it? Can you tell?" I asked. I read the username out loud. "J. Vance." I’d never heard of the name, but then again, I didn't exactly hang out with the elite crowd at this school. I figured it was probably a girl named Jules or maybe a nerd who felt sorry for me. "So when are you meeting the mystery person?" Mark asked. "They didn't give me time, so I'm guessing they want to meet now. It's almost lunch," I said. I looked at the clock on the wall. 9:45 a.m. "Go get ready. You can't meet a potential roommate looking like you just crawled out of a lake," Mark said. I nodded and hurried back to the dorm. Luckily, it was empty. Luca and Serena must have finally left for their morning classes. I walked past Luca’s room, and the door was slightly ajar. The air coming from inside still smelled like sex and cheap alcohol, making my stomach churn with a fresh wave of nausea. I slammed the door shut and went to my own room to change. I threw on my normal baggy jeans and a clean top, tossing my damp hair into a quick ponytail. I checked my reflection once, adjusted my glasses, and ran back out the door. When I stepped into the school cafeteria, it felt like the entire world stopped turning. All eyes turned to me, and for once, it wasn't the usual look of boredom. I ignored them and searched for Table 7, the spot the user had mentioned in their DM follow-up. I caught it in the corner. Someone was already sitting there. From the broad shoulders and the dark, expensive-looking hair, it definitely wasn't a girl named Jules. Shit. I hoped he wasn't some kind of pervert. I shoved the thought aside and walked closer, letting out a little cough to get his attention. "Hi. I'm here about the apartment. You commented on my post," I started rambling. Then he straightened up and turned around. I stopped talking. I stopped breathing. The world actually seemed to stop. Because sitting in the chair was Julian Vance. He was wearing a black pea coat that probably cost more than my entire year's tuition. He was the hockey captain. Every girl at Westbridge had a crush on him. He looked successful and untouchable, like he lived in a completely different universe than me. His dark eyes, which I hadn't seen up close in over a decade, widened just slightly. "Aria?" he asked, his voice a low, rough velvet, laced with genuine surprise. I could only manage a slow nod. "Hi, Julian." "It's been... ages," he said, the surprise quickly masked by his usual guarded demeanor. "I heard you were on campus, but I haven't seen you since—since you were about knee-high. I left campus with my father's company shortly after, remember?" "I do," I mumbled. "You... you were gone for a long time." "For a while, yeah. But I'm back now, obviously," he said, a ghost of a smile touching the corner of his lips. He leaned back in his seat, suddenly serious. "So, the apartment. I saw your post. What's going on? Are you okay?" "I am," I lied, too quickly. "Just accommodation issues. A misunderstanding with my... current situation." He nodded, his gaze unwavering, as if he knew exactly what I wasn't saying. "I have a place near the Heights. You can have the guest suite," he said. He wasn't even whispering. The whole cafeteria had gone dead silent. Every single jaw was hanging open in total shock. "Huh? You... you really mean it?" I whispered. "I-I thought you didn't even remember me." "I knew who you were, Ri," he said, using the old nickname. It felt like a punch to the gut. I almost forgot Luca and he came up with the nickname for me. "And yes, I mean it. I won't overcharge you, and I rarely use it anyway." He was talking, but my mind couldn't even process the words. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and held it out to me. Mindlessly, I took it. It was a phone number and an address. "Call me when you're ready to move," he said. He didn't wait for an answer. He just stood up and walked out like he owned every single inch of the floor he was walking on. I watched him disappear through the double doors, then looked back at the students. They were staring at me with a mix of envy, disgust, and pure, unadulterated hate. At that moment, I wanted the floor to open and swallow me. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I was hiding. I sat at the furthest corner table of the coffee shop, staring at the piece of paper Julian had given me in the cafeteria like it was a piece of radioactive waste. My phone wouldn't stop buzzing in my pocket. Notifications from the school website were blowing up, of course from other students, and I didn't even have to open them to know what they said. The lowly scholarship girl and the King of Hockey. What a headline. The gossip was spreading faster than a leak in a dam, and I was right at the center of it. I couldn't stop thinking about the look in Julian's eyes when he stood up and walked away. He didn't look like he was playing a prank. He looked like he was waiting for me to just say yes already. Everyone at Westbridge knew about the war between the Morettis and the Vances. It wasn't just a school rivalry, it was a blood feud between two massive companies that had been trying to bankrupt each other for some years now. Julian was the one everyone loved and cheered for, the quiet hero of the hockey team who had the whole campus wrapped around his finger. Luca was the opposite, the reckless playboy of the Moretti empire who spent more time flaunting his wealth than in a classroom. Growing up, I was always stuck in the middle of them. I remembered our kindergarten playground fights, back when we were kids—when they both swore I would be their bride. I thought it was all just a joke. We were only kids. Julian was the one who actually got his knuckles bloody fighting for me back then, standing his ground even when he was outnumbered. Luca would just use his charm to talk his way out of trouble, always smiling like the world owed him everything. I had always chosen to stay by Luca’s side, thinking his flashy charm was safer than whatever intense fire Julian had in his eyes. Even though I knew he was a reckless playboy, I couldn’t help but hope, just a little, that one day he would realize that I love him. What a massive mistake that turned out to be. "Aria! My God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" I jumped slightly as my best friend, Elena, slid into the chair across from me, her eyes wide with total shock. She slammed her phone down on the table, showing the school’s main forum page. Julian’s public reply to my post was the top-rated comment, with hundreds of likes and even more people losing their minds in the replies. "Aria, tell me right now why Julian Vance is offering you a luxury suite in the Heights," she demanded. I sighed and told her everything—the desperate need of an apartment, how I had to put up the notice on the site and then how he just handed me his number and walked out. I also told her about the dorm drama. From the whole sex charade to the dinner invite Luca gave me for Serena. Elena looked like she was having a heart attack right there in the middle of the shop. "You have to do it. You have to call him right now," she said. "I can't just move in with a guy I haven't seen in over a decade, Elena. We talked for two minutes and it was so intense. It's too much," I argued. "Aria, look at yourself. You're exhausted, you're hiding, and your 'best friend' is busy bringing another girl home to meet his parents," she said. She leaned across the table, her voice getting serious. "Julian is the golden boy here for a reason. He’s responsible and he’s quiet. If he’s opening his door for you publicly, he's basically protecting you from the fallout," she added. "He probably just wants to spite Luca," I muttered. "Who cares? It's your chance to finally stop being Luca's shadow. He’s never going to choose you, Aria," she said. That hit me harder than the rain outside. She was right. I thought about how Luca had cancelled our traditions lately. The movie nights he missed. The ten-year anniversary he forgot because Serena wanted a spa day. Even going shopping with her. I realized I wasn't his best friend anymore. It was just a habit he was trying to break. "I'm going back to the dorm," I said, standing up suddenly. "To sleep?" Elena asked. "No. To pack. I'm done being an inconvenience," I told her. I walked back to the dorms, my heart hammering a rhythm of pure defiance. I walked right through the front door, not caring who saw me. When I got to the common area, I saw them. Luca and Serena were tangled together on the couch, surrounded by shopping bags from places I couldn't even afford to look at. Luca looked up and frowned when he saw me standing there. "Oh, hey. I forgot we were supposed to grab dinner tonight," he said. He didn't even sound sorry. He sounded like I was an interruption. "I’m taking Serena to the Vanguard Gala tonight. Her dad invited us," he added. He looked at his watch, clearly wishing I would just go away. "It’s fine, Luca. I wasn't expecting you to remember anyway," I said. My voice didn't tremble. I felt weirdly cold, like the rain had finally frozen my heart shut. "Are you okay? You look... different," he said, squinting at me. "I'm great. Have fun at the gala," I said. I didn't wait for a response. I went straight to my room and pulled my suitcases out from under the bed. I shoved everything I owned into them—my clothes, my books, the photo of my parents. I left the stuff Luca had bought me over the years on the desk. The stuffed bear. The expensive necklace. I didn't want any of it anymore. I stood in the hallway with my bags, feeling Serena's smug gaze on my back. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Julian had written down. "I'm ready," I said as soon as he picked up. "Does the offer still stand? Because I'm standing in the hallway with two suitcases and no plan B," I told him. There was a brief silence on the other end. "Hold on. Don't move," Julian said. He hung up, and I stood there in the silence of the dorm that used to be my home. Luca came out of his room, adjusting his tuxedo jacket, and stopped dead when he saw my bags. "What are you doing? Where are you going at this hour?" he asked. "Away from here," I said. "Aria, don't be dramatic. We can talk about this after the gala," he said, reaching for my arm. Dramatic. Right. Of course he'd call it that. Just then, a loud, heavy horn honked from the street below. I looked out the window and saw Julian's car idling at the curb, dark and imposing. "That's my ride," I said, pulling my arm away from him. "Is that Vance’s car? Aria, what the hell is going on? Did you really take his offer?" Luca shouted. I didn't give him an explanation. I didn't owe him a single word. I grabbed my suitcases and walked out the door, leaving him standing there in his expensive suit looking completely lost. I made it down to the curb just as Julian stepped out of the car. He didn't say anything as he took my bags and tossed them into the trunk. He opened the passenger door for me, his eyes searching mine for a second. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "Drive," I said. He nodded, climbed in beside me, and just like that, we drove off. I resisted every urge to look back at the boy I'd spent half of my life yearning for. .............................................................................. Julian’s pov. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were turning white, but I kept my face like stone. Inside, I was screaming. I was actually, physically vibrating with the kind of high I haven't felt since I was what, ten years old? She was in my car. Aria Vale was sitting in my passenger seat, her scent of old coffee beans and rain filling up my space. I had waited three years for this exact moment. Most people think I transferred to Westbridge for the hockey program or the business prestige. And it made sense considering those were the excuses I gave my parents to let me come here. But still, that was far fetched, really. The only reason I transferred was because I saw a post on her Instagram three years ago about her getting a scholarship here. I spent my entire freshman year at a different school just watching her from a screen, waiting for the right time to move. I knew Luca was an idiot. I knew he would eventually choose someone shiny and loud like Serena because he has zero taste and even less heart. I was actually on her school profile when it happened. I had been scrolling through her old photos, just like I did every morning, when the notification popped up at the top of my screen. It was a public post on the housing board. "Major accommodation issues. If you have a room I can rent, DM me. Urgent." My heart nearly stopped. I didn't even think. I didn't breathe. I just typed out the reply as fast as my fingers could move. I knew it was public. I knew the whole school would see it. I wanted them to see it. I wanted every single person on this campus to know that if Aria Vale needed a place to go, she was coming to me. I came to this school and I played the role of the quiet, disciplined hockey captain. I walked past her lecture halls every single day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the back of her head. I knew her schedule better than she did. I knew what time she started her shifts at that shitty coffee shop. I even knew which library table was her favorite because I’d sit three rows back just to watch her study. Some would call it stalking, and yes, I'm not going to bother lying about it. But I was also protecting her. I’d seen the way people looked at her because she was a scholarship girl. I made sure those people knew that if they messed with her, they’d be dealing with Vance. But all that didn't matter anymore because now, all of my hard work had finally paid off. Even though I pretended not to know she was the one I was meeting at the cafeteria... she was here. She was finally here. I pulled into my garage and took a breath, trying to calm my racing heart before I looked at her. "We're here," I said. My voice sounded normal, which was a miracle considering I felt like I was losing my mind. She didn't say anything. She just got out and stood there with her two suitcases. I took them from her, wanting to burn them because they reminded me of the life she lived with that loser. We got up to the apartment and the elevator doors slid open. I gave her the tour, pointing out the kitchen and the living room and the balcony. I watched her face the whole time. It remained icily blank. Totally unfazed by the marble floors or the view that costs more than most people make in a lifetime. I’ve always loved that about her. She doesn't really care about things that aren't hers. She’s hardworking, beautiful, even though she isn’t financially buoyant. She’s herself and doesn’t try to impress anyone or keep up with the campus hot girls, as they call themselves. She has this pride that is so thick you could choke on it. It makes me want to break and bend her so badly, until she only relies on me. "This is your suite," I said, opening the door to the guest wing. She walked in and looked around, her expression still not changing. "Thank you, Julian," she said. Her voice was small, but it was steady. "I mean it. I appreciate you helping me out of that situation," she added. "It’s fine, Aria. I told you I had the space," I said. I was standing too close to her, and I could see the way her eyelashes were still damp from the rain. "I just want to be clear about something," she said, turning to face me. "There is nothing more to this situation. You're helping me, and I'm grateful," she said. She was drawing a line in the tiles, and I wanted to laugh. "I’m going to start paying you rent as soon as I can pick up extra shifts," she continued. "You don't need to worry about money here," I told her. "I do. Because I don't take charity," she snapped. She stepped back into her room and grabbed the handle of the door. "Goodnight, Julian," she said. Then she slammed the door right in my face. I stood there in the hallway for a long time, staring at the dark wood of the door. I bit back a smile until my cheeks actually hurt. I couldn't remember the last time I had been this happy. She could feel like she was doing the right thing by setting boundaries all she wanted. But she was already in my house. She was under my roof, eating my food, and sleeping in a bed I bought. She was mine now, even if she didn't know it yet. My phone started buzzing in my pocket, ruining the moment. I pulled it out and saw my mother’s name on the screen. I sighed and swiped to answer. "Julian. Why am I hearing that you have a guest?" she asked. She didn't even say hello. My mother has people tailing me, and she’s never been subtle about it. "I have a roommate, Mother. It’s a big apartment and I was getting tired of being lonely," I said. I walked over to the window and looked out at the city lights. "Don't lie to me. I know who she is. She’s that girl. Moretti's friend. Come on, son. She's pathetic," my mother said. "Her name is Aria," I corrected her, my voice turning cold. "I don't care what her name is. She is a distraction. You have a reputation to maintain, and the Morettis would love to use this against us," she hissed. "Make sure she does not distract you from your goals, Julian. Or I will make sure she is removed from the equation," she warned. The threat made my blood turn to ice. "If you touch her, I will burn everything you’ve worked for to the ground. I swear it," I said. I didn't wait for her to respond before I hung up. I threw my phone onto the sofa and rubbed my face with my hands. The Vance family was a shark tank, and I had just brought a lamb into the middle of it. But I didn't care. I walked back toward my own bedroom, pausing outside her door one last time. I could hear the faint sound of her moving around inside. She was safe here. I had spent years watching her be treated like an afterthought by a guy who didn't deserve to breathe her air. Now, I was the one who got to see her wake up in the morning. I was the one who got to see her without the mask she wore for the rest of the world. I didn't have any plans on letting her go. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever. I went into my room and lay down, staring at the ceiling and listening to the silence of the apartment. It didn't feel empty anymore. It felt full. I thought about the look on Luca’s face when I picked her up. He looked like he had just realized he lost his most valuable possession. He was right. He had lost her, and he was never getting her back. I’d make sure of that. I’d make sure she forgot his name within a month. I couldn't wait for tomorrow morning. I couldn't wait to see her sitting at my table. I was going to make her her favorite tea. I was going to make her the eggs she liked. I was going to show her what it felt like to actually be seen. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in years. Everything was finally going according to plan. .............................................................................. Aria’s pov. I didn't sleep well. Even though the bed in Julian’s guest suite felt like sleeping on a literal cloud, I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. The room was too quiet and the air felt too.... I don't know, expensive? I kept waiting for someone to knock on the door and tell me this was all a prank. When I finally dragged myself out of bed, I felt like a zombie in a scholarship girl’s body. I brushed my hair and tried to look like I hadn't spent the night questioning every single life choice I’d made in the last decade. I walked into the kitchen and there he was. Julian was already dressed in a crisp black hoodie and joggers, looking like a professional athlete even before his morning coffee. He pushed a mug of Earl Grey toward me without saying a word. Two drops of honey. Exactly what I needed at that moment. I took a sip and felt the warmth hit my stomach, but it didn't stop the fluttering of nerves. "I have a ten a.m. lecture," I said, breaking the silence. "I know. I'm driving you," he said. He didn't even look up from his tablet. "Julian, you don't have to do this. I can take the bus. I don't want to make things weird," I told him. He finally looked at me, and his gray-blue eyes felt like they were pinning me to the chair. "The bus takes forty minutes. My car takes ten. You need the extra thirty minutes to study," he said pointedly. He wasn't suggesting it. He was stating it like it was a law of physics. Translation, I didn't have a say really. "Are you always this bossy?" I muttered into my tea. "Only when I'm right," he answered. I wanted to argue, but I was too tired to fight with a guy who was giving me a free place to stay. I grabbed my bag and followed him down to the garage. The car ride was silent, but it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was tense. I kept looking at his hands on the steering wheel, wondering why the hockey captain was being so careful with me. When we pulled onto the Westbridge campus, I felt the immediate urge to duck. Julian’s car was a dark, sleek shark in a sea of basic student vehicles. He didn't pull into the parking lot. He drove right up to the front of the main quad. The quad was packed with students grabbing breakfast between classes. "You're making a scene," I whispered, clutching my bag. "Let them look," Julian said. He actually got out of the car and walked around to open my door. I felt like I was walking onto a movie set where I didn't know the lines. "I'll be here at four. Don't be late," he said, his voice carrying just enough for the nearest group of girls to hear. I nodded, confused, and practically ran toward the library entrance. I could hear the whispers starting behind me like a wave. "Is that Aria Vale?" "Since when does Vance let people in his car?" I kept my head down, staring at the pavement until I saw a pair of familiar sneakers. I looked up and my heart stopped. It was Luca. He was standing near the fountain, looking like he hadn't slept either. His tuxedo from last night was gone, replaced by a rumpled hoodie, and his hair was a mess. "Aria," he said, stepping into my path. I tried to walk around him, but he moved to block me. "We need to talk," he said. "I have class, Luca. And I think we said everything last night," I told him. I felt incredibly uncomfortable. People were stopping to watch us. "What were you doing in Julian Vance's car?" he asked. His voice was loud, full of that jealous edge that didn't make sense since he had Serena. "He's my roommate. I told you I was moving," I said. “And I owe you no explanation for what I choose to do with my life.” "Roommate? Aria, are you insane? Do you even know who that guy is?" he shouted. He reached out to grab my wrist, but I stepped back before he could touch me. "I know he's the guy who didn't spend the morning making me listen to him have sex with my roommate," I snapped. A few people nearby gasped, and I saw Luca’s face go pale. "Ri, it’s not like that. I was just... I was distracted," he stammered. "First off, don't call me that. It's Aria to you. And second, you’ve been distracted for ten years, Luca. I'm done waiting for you to look at me," I said. The discomfort was like one helluva huge physical weight now, making me want to crawl into a hole. But I wasn't going to back down from this easily. He needed to know what's on my mind. He needed to know that he up real bad. "Does he know?" Luca asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Does he know what?" "Does he know you've been in love with me since we were kids? Or are you just using him to make me jealous?" he sneered. I felt a slap of pure humiliation hit me. Of course he knew. He had always known how I felt, and he’d just let me sit there in the shadows like I was a bloody waiter while he dated everyone else. "He knows I'm a roommate who pays her rent," I lied, my voice cold. "And even if I was using him, at least he's worth the effort. Unlike you," I added. Luca looked like I’d actually punched him in the gut. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then he looked over my shoulder and froze. I turned around and saw Julian’s car hadn't moved. Julian was leaning against the driver's side door, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't doing anything. He was just watching. But the way he was looking at Luca was so intense, so dark, that it felt like the temperature in the quad dropped ten degrees. "Leave her the hell alone, Luca," Julian said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise of the quad perfectly. I didn’t know what this was all about between them, but I wouldn’t be the reason they caused a scene here. I looked back at Luca one last time. He looked small. He looked like a boy trying to play a man’s game. "Stay away from me, Luca. I'm being serious as this time," I said. I walked away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. "!" I heard Luca cuss behind me. For a minute, it actually sounded like he felt mad at himself for letting me go. But then again, you can't wipe a leopard's skin spotless. He was never going to change and that was the truth. .............................................................................. ARIA’S POV Avoidance should be an Olympic sport. If it were, I’d have gold by noon. I left my last lecture five minutes early, slipped out through the side stairwell instead of the main hall, and took the long route behind the science building just to avoid the quad. Every corner I turned felt like a potential ambush. Whispers followed me anyway. They didn’t need to see me to talk about me. I kept walking. Head down. AirPods in. Music off. The parking lot came into view, and I exhaled slowly. If I could just make it to the curb where Julian said he’d pick me up, I could survive the day. Then I heard my name. “Aria!” Of course. I didn’t turn around. “Aria, please.” The word please made me pause despite myself. Stupid heart. Stupid history. I turned slowly. Luca looked wrecked. Not the artfully messy, campus golden boy version of wrecked. Actually wrecked. Dark circles under his eyes. Jaw tight. Shoulders slumped like something inside him had finally cracked. He walked toward me carefully, like I was a wild animal he didn’t want to spook. “Can we just talk? Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.” “You’ve had ten years,” I replied evenly. He flinched. “I know. I know I screwed up. I was selfish. I thought—you were always there, Aria. You were solid. I didn’t think I had to fight for you.” “That’s the problem,” I said quietly. “You never did.” He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping in front of me. “Last night was a mistake.” I stared at him. “You didn’t seem confused,” I said. His jaw flexed. “Serena doesn’t mean anything.” The irony almost made me laugh. “But I do?” I asked. “Yes!” he burst out. “You always have.” I felt something inside me tremble and then harden. “Then why did I have to listen to you with her?” I asked. “Why did I have to sit there and pretend I wasn’t dying inside?” He swallowed hard. “I was distracted,” he repeated, desperate now. “The pressure, the team, my dad breathing down my neck about law school. I was just… not thinking straight.” “Ten years, Luca,” I said softly. “You’ve been ‘not thinking straight’ for ten years.” His expression shifted then. Less pleading. More calculating. “And now what?” he said. “You’re thinking straight? By moving in with Julian Vance?” There it was. He stepped closer. “Do you even know who that guy is? You think he’s helping you out of the goodness of his heart? Aria, Julian doesn’t do charity. He doesn’t breathe without a reason.” My stomach twisted. “He’s manipulative,” Luca continued. “Everything he does is strategic. You’re a move to him. A statement. He probably gets off on messing with me.” “That’s rich,” I muttered. “I’m serious,” he pressed. “He doesn’t care about you. He cares about control. You think it’s a coincidence he made a whole scene this morning? He wanted people to see.” My chest tightened. Because part of me knew that was true. Julian had wanted them to see. “But at least he didn’t humiliate me,” I shot back. Luca’s eyes darkened. “You’re making a mistake,” he said quietly. “He’s not safe.” “And you are?” I asked. Silence. Then, a low, familiar engine cut through the tension. Every nerve in my body snapped to attention. Julian’s car turned into the parking lot. Of course he was right on time. Like always. Students immediately slowed their steps. Heads turned. Phones subtly lifted. A small crowd was already forming near the edge of the lot. And Serena was there. Standing near the entrance with two of her sorority friends, arms crossed, expression thunderous. This was becoming a show. Luca noticed the car too. His posture stiffened. “See?” he muttered. “Right on cue.” The car rolled closer. Closer. I could feel it, the narrative forming in real time. Scholarship girl caught between two campus elites. Poor Aria. Indecisive Aria. Desperate Aria. No. Not today. I was done being the girl people felt sorry for. I stepped forward. “Aria, don’t,” Luca warned, reaching for my arm. But this time, I didn’t step back. I walked straight toward the car. Julian slowed, confusion flickering across his face for half a second before the mask slipped back into place. He stopped directly in front of me. The window rolled down. “You’re early,” he said calmly. Behind me, I heard Luca move. “Aria, this is stupid…” His fingers brushed my wrist. That was it. Something inside me snapped. I opened the passenger door. And instead of sliding in, I leaned across the console, grabbed Julian by the collar of his hoodie and kissed him. Gasps exploded around us. For half a second, Julian froze. Just long enough for me to register the shock in his body. Then, he moved. His hand came up, sliding into my hair, gripping, not painfully, but firmly. Possessively. He kissed me back. Not soft. Not hesitant. Deep. Demanding. Like he’d been waiting. The world tilted. My lungs forgot how to function. This was supposed to be strategic. A statement. A weapon. But Julian didn’t kiss like a man playing a game. He kissed like a man claiming something he already believed was his. His other hand slid to my waist, pulling me fully into the car, chest to chest across the center console. My knees hit the seat. My fingers tightened in his hoodie. Heat flooded through me so fast it made my head spin. The parking lot disappeared. The crowd disappeared. There was only the pressure of his mouth, the controlled hunger in the way he angled his head, the quiet, dangerous intensity vibrating beneath his restraint. I made a small, involuntary sound against his lips. That seemed to snap him back. He pulled away slowly. Too slowly. His gray-blue eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. Not confused. Not amused. Possessive. His thumb brushed once against my jaw before he released me. The silence in the parking lot was deafening. Julian looked past me. Straight at Luca. His expression shifted into something lethal. He stepped out of the car, closing the distance with unhurried confidence. Luca stood his ground, but I saw it, the hesitation. Julian stopped just close enough to make the message clear. “The lady said to leave her alone,” he said evenly. Each word landed like a controlled detonation. “Leave. Her. Alone.” A beat. “Don’t make me force you to.” No shouting. No theatrics. Just certainty. Luca’s fists clenched. But he didn’t move. Julian held his gaze a second longer, then turned away like Luca wasn’t worth another second of oxygen. He walked back to the driver’s seat. Got in. And without another word, he drove off. Fast. The campus blurred past the windows. My heart was still racing. My lips were still tingling. My brain was still trying to process what had just happened. I had kissed him to get back at Luca. That was the plan. But the way Julian had kissed me back? That hadn’t been part of it. Silence filled the car. Thick. Charged. After a full minute, he spoke. “Was that tactical,” he asked calmly, eyes on the road, “or should I start worrying about my self-control?” I swallowed. “I needed him to stop,” I said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “He’ll stop,” Julian replied quietly. There was something in his tone that made my stomach flip again. Not relief. Not satisfaction. Promise. I turned to look at him. “Julian…” He glanced at me briefly. And for the first time since I’d met him, the mask was gone. What was underneath wasn’t indifference. It wasn't a strategy. It was something far more dangerous. “I don’t do things halfway, Aria,” he said softly. My pulse stuttered. And for the first time since I’d moved into his guest suite, I realized I might have just started something I wasn’t prepared to finish.

My daughter kept a notebook. Every time her father broke a promise to her, she drew a small red X on a fresh page. She never showed it to me. I found it by accident the spring she turned eight, tucked beneath her pillow. There were forty-seven Xs. Today was supposed to be the day that finally broke that toxic cycle. It was the first Saturday of December. Outside, the city was freezing, but inside our SUV, the heater was blasting as we drove toward the conservatory. It was Lily's first piano competition. For three straight months, she had practiced the exact same complicated Beethoven piece. Last week, Mark had knelt in the center of our living room carpet. He held her small hands and swore he wouldn't miss it. He bought her a dark blue velvet dress for the occasion. She was wearing it now, smoothing the fabric nervously over her knees. We took our seats in the third row of the auditorium. We had ten minutes before the red velvet curtains parted. Mark sat to my right, tapping his leather shoe against the floorboards. Then his phone lit up inside his jacket pocket. I saw the name flash on the screen before he could angle the phone away. Chloe. His personal secretary. He didn't silence the call. He pressed the phone to his ear, and I watched his jaw tighten. "Slow down," he whispered, already shifting toward the aisle. "What happened?" He listened for five seconds, then stood. "I have to go," he said, reaching for his coat. "Leo fell during his soccer game. He scraped his knee pretty badly and he's panicking. Chloe's in a panic and doesn't know what to do." I stared at him, my stomach dropping. "Mark, are you out of your mind?" I kept my voice low, but it shook with anger. "It's a scraped knee. Lily is backstage right now. She spent three months preparing for this. You promised her." He rolled his eyes. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face. "Don't do this right now, Sarah. Don't be dramatic. She has you here. Leo has no one. He needs me." He didn't wait for my response. He turned and walked up the aisle, disappearing through the doors. The sound of them closing echoed in my head. Minutes later, the spotlight hit the stage. Lily walked out and immediately searched the audience. I watched her gaze sweep across the first two rows before stopping on the empty seat beside me. Her shoulders slumped. She placed her hands on the keys and played the piece without missing a single note. But the music felt lifeless. Mechanical. Empty. After the show, the lobby was filled with cheering families. Fathers were lifting their daughters into the air while proud parents snapped photos. I stood by the coat check and pulled my phone from my purse. It was an Instagram notification. Chloe had just posted a photo. Mark, still in his suit, was carrying seven-year-old Leo on his shoulders outside a local clinic. Both of them were smiling. The caption read: "Thank God Leo has someone he can always count on." I looked up from my phone and saw Lily standing alone by the glass exit doors, clutching her trophy against her chest while families celebrated all around her. The ride home was quiet except for the steady hum of the heater. At a red light, I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw Lily unzip her backpack, pull out the black notebook, and reach for the red marker. She met my eyes in the mirror. Her voice was flat. "Dad picked them again, didn't he?" She uncapped the marker. The scratching sound filled the car. X number forty-eight. Mark walked through the front door at exactly 1:15 a.m. He dropped his keys and phone onto the marble kitchen island with a metallic clatter and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked exhausted, but the moment he saw me sitting on the barstool waiting for him, his shoulders stiffened. "Leo was terrified, Sarah. It took me two hours just to calm him down," he said, loosening his tie and pouring himself a glass of water. "He needed me more. Lily will get over it." I didn't argue with him. I didn't raise my voice. I just sat there in the shadows, staring at the man I had married. Mark loved playing the role of the self-made tech CEO. In every interview, he talked about building his company from the ground up and carrying the weight of our family on his shoulders. If he knew who had quietly signed the checks that saved his company three separate times, he wouldn't be standing in my kitchen so certain of himself. He had no idea I was the anonymous investor behind every rescue. And somehow, the freedom that money bought him was spent on another woman's child instead of his own. "Did you even ask how she played tonight?" I asked quietly. "I'll buy her a giant teddy bear tomorrow," he said, setting his glass in the sink. "I'm going to bed. I have a headache." He walked past me without another word, leaving his phone on the marble counter. A few seconds later, the screen lit up with a new text message. I glanced down. It was from Chloe. "Leo keeps asking if you can come to his school's Parent Day next week. He says you're the closest thing he's ever had to a real father." I stared at the glowing screen until it went dark. Earlier that morning, before leaving for school, Lily had carefully placed her own Parent Day invitation in the center of Mark's desk. He hadn't even looked at it. I left the kitchen and headed upstairs to Lily's room. Her door was slightly open. The room was dark, lit only by the pale yellow glow of the streetlamp outside her window. She wasn't sleeping. She was sitting on the hardwood floor beside her open closet, holding the glass piano trophy she had won that night. She reached into the back of her closet and pulled out a dusty cardboard box. With deliberate care, she tucked the trophy inside and buried it beneath a pile of old winter boots, where no one would ever see it again. She didn't shed a single tear. Her face was blank in the shadows. When she finally spoke, she wasn't talking to me. She was talking to the empty closet, her voice quiet and tired. "Maybe next year I won't invite him." The forty-ninth time broke something beyond repair. It destroyed whatever was left of our family. Three weeks after the piano competition, at 2:00 AM, I woke to the terrifying sound of Lily gasping for air. I sprinted down the hallway. She was tangled in her bedsheets, her skin burning hot, shivering uncontrollably. I grabbed the thermometer from her bathroom and pressed it against her forehead. 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Her skin was deathly pale, covered in a cold sweat, and her breathing was dangerously shallow. Panic tightened in my chest. I threw a heavy winter coat over her thin pajamas, scooped her up, and dialed Mark's number while carrying her down the stairs. He was supposedly at a late-night strategy meeting at the corporate office. "Mark, Lily is at 104 degrees," I yelled into the phone, fumbling with my car keys. "I'm taking her to the ER at Seattle General. Meet us there. Hurry." "Oh my god," Mark's voice cracked through the line. "Okay. I'm leaving the office. I'm on my way, I promise." I drove faster than I ever had in my life. The emergency nurses rushed us straight into a room and hooked Lily up to an IV line. I sat in the hard plastic chair next to her hospital bed, gripping her hot hand and staring at the wooden door. I waited for an hour. The door didn't open. Two more hours passed. I called his phone eight times. It went straight to voicemail every time. At 4:30 AM, my phone buzzed with a text from the head of HR at Mark's company, forwarding a screenshot from the internal group chat. The message was from Chloe. "Mark is literally amazing. Leo woke up with a 101-degree fever and I was so scared. Mark drove straight to my apartment with medicine and stayed on my couch with him. Best boss ever." I sat perfectly still in the sterile hospital room. 101 degrees. Not an emergency, just a mild temperature. Mark had driven to his secretary's apartment instead of his own daughter's hospital room. By dawn, the IV medication finally worked. Lily's fever broke, and she opened her eyes. She looked at the white hospital ceiling, then turned toward the empty plastic chair beside me. "Mom," she whispered into the quiet room. "If I wasn't his daughter, would he love me more?" There was no answer. Two hours later, we were discharged. We didn't go to the airport right away. We drove back to Mark's house. I needed to pack. The quiet, empty house felt like a graveyard. In Mark's home office, a new youth baseball glove sat on his leather chair, still untouched. On the floor by the trash can was Lily's unopened birthday gift---a cheap art set he had bought in a hurry at a gas station. I stopped in the doorway. On the edge of his mahogany desk lay Lily's Parent Day invitation, still where she had left it that morning. It was unsigned, unread, buried under a stack of Chloe's printed expense reports. I didn't rush. I went upstairs and packed our clothes into two large suitcases. I found Lily in her room. Her closet was empty. Before we left, I stood in Mark's pristine office one last time. I placed a single sheet of paper in the center of his desk, directly on top of the unsigned invitation. Lily had torn it from her black notebook. On it were forty-nine thick red Xs. Beneath the ink, in her neat, childlike handwriting, were the final words: No more Xs. I don't have a dad anymore. I didn't leave a note. I turned off the light, locked the door behind us, and drove us to the airport.

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After finally cutting ties with my three CEO brothers, they hit full-blown panic mode. They discovered I'd cleared out my room—sliced up every family photo and only took what my mother left me. They thought I was just throwing a tantrum and expected me to crawl back apologizing. Instead, what landed on their doorstep was a lawyer's letter demanding six years of unpaid dividends. My eldest brother blew up my phone, raging about how cold-hearted I was. I fired right back: "When you were all front row cheering for stepsister's concert, did it ever cross your mind that your real sister was alone in a hospital bed?" Dead silence on his end. I hung up and blocked him right after. They scrambled to track me down, but I was already settled into my penthouse. With the funds my mother left me, I invested heavily in their biggest competitor. Now, the family that once saw me as an embarrassment watches me become their worst nightmare.👑 ………………………………………… At a private hospital in Irisport, Alicia Delaney lay in bed, her gaze unfocused as she stared out the window. She never expected to travel to the past after dying. Suddenly, a notification rang out, snapping her back to reality. She picked up her phone to check it. It was a link to a trending topic that had blown up a few hours ago, sent by her assistant. She tapped on it. It read: [Nicole Hammond's concert not only had top idol Nicolas Moore as a special guest, but the VIP section was packed with even more big names!] The post started by gushing about how amazing Nicole's two songs were and how insanely popular she was. Then it showed a few photos of Nicolas and Nicole singing together on stage. Finally, it included pictures of the VIP section, where some of the biggest names in the industry were sitting. There was up-and-coming director Caleb Hammond, Hammond Group CEO Kevin Hammond, top investor Austin Hammond, Delaney Group CEO Collin Delaney, and esports superstar Maxwell Delaney. All of them were big shots. Alicia scrolled down and tapped on the comments. As she had expected, besides all the praise for Nicole, there were plenty of negative comments toward her. Alexrow: [I've been saying Nicole is the Hammond family's little princess, and some people didn't believe me. But look at all these VIPs here tonight. This is the best proof.] Matt_hill: [Gotta say, the Hammond family really dotes on Nicole. All three brothers showed up to support her.] Jasonlee77: [Nicolas, Maxwell, and Collin are all super close to Nicole too. They totally spoil her.] Lucas_w: [I wonder if that clout-chasing wannabe is feeling embarrassed right now after seeing this trending topic.] Quietjon: [No idea if she's actually embarrassed, but she's probably burning with jealousy and envy, totally losing it right now.] Latecoffee: [She really had the guts to claim she was the Hammonds's daughter, Nicolas's childhood sweetheart, and Collin and Maxwell's cousin.] Bluewindow: [None of them showed up for her performance yesterday. She got smacked by a stage light, and not one of them visited her in the hospital. But today, they all rushed over from everywhere just to support Nicole's concert. Honestly, the secondhand embarrassment is real.] Oldcam: [Yeah, she's in the same company as Nicolas, but I bet he doesn't even know she exists.] Sundaynoise: [She's totally desperate to be famous.] Softstatic: [Nicole's just too nice. She didn't even make a fuss when Alicia pretended to be the Hammond family's daughter.] Halfawake: [If Nicole wanted, with all these big shots backing her up, she could get that clout-chaser blacklisted in a heartbeat.] Afterten: [Blacklist her? She's already so hated. She'll probably end up getting herself booted from the industry soon enough.] Lowbattery: [She loves the drama and the clout. No way she'd give that up. I just wish she'd leave LUMIA already and stop holding the other girls back.] stillonline [Same question every day. When is Alicia finally leaving the group?] In her previous life, seeing this trending topic and all those comments hit Alicia hard. After she got out of the hospital, she even confronted those people she thought were important to her and caused a stir. But now, she was totally chill. She didn't care about them anymore. She was really a Hammond, also Kevin, Caleb, and Austin's biological younger sister. She was Collin and Maxwell's cousin and Nicolas's childhood sweetheart. Nicole was just Alicia's stepmother's daughter, who took the Hammond name, but Nicole wasn't actually related to any of them by blood. Next, Alicia logged into her X account. Aside from a handful of fans asking how she was doing after the accident, the rest were just a flood of hate comments. People were roasting her for going to the hospital and supposedly screwing up LUMIA's upcoming shows. They asked her to quit the group and stop dragging the other girls down. Alicia's entertainment company and her agent didn't give her any support or issue any announcement. They just watched the drama unfold and didn't do a thing. Just then, Alicia's phone lit up with a call from Kevin, her oldest brother. Alicia picked up and said, "Yeah?" Kevin's voice came through. "Nicole told me you got hurt. You alright?" Alicia let out a sarcastic laugh. "It happened yesterday, and you're just asking now? "And you wouldn't have called if Nicole hadn't told you, huh? You're such a great brother." Alicia knew Nicole had told them on purpose, not out of kindness, but just to get under her skin. After all, Alicia had asked them to come to her show, but none of them bothered to show up. She got hurt, and they didn't even notice. It really stung. Kevin was silent for a few seconds, then he spoke up, "Which hospital are you at? We'll come to see you." Alicia replied coolly, "Don't bother. I wouldn't dare trouble you." Kevin frowned, "What are you trying to pull?" He paused, then finally tried to explain, "We really did have things going on yesterday. That was why we couldn't make it to your show. None of us expected you'd get hurt on stage. We..." Alicia cut him off before he could finish. "If you didn't want to come, just tell me. No need to make up excuses." She'd invited every single one of them to her show, but they all had some excuse about being busy and couldn't make it. But the very next day, they all showed up to support Nicole. Now, trying to explain themselves was just making things even more awkward. To Alicia, it was just more infuriating and disgusting. She added, "Listen, I won't bother you guys anymore. If we ever run into each other, I'll just pretend we're strangers." She used to be the one they cherished and spoiled, but after her stepmother showed up with Nicole, everything changed. All the love and attention her family once gave her was now showered on Nicole. Whenever Alicia and Nicole clashed, their family always told Alicia to just let it go, took Nicole's side, and started treating Alicia like she was the problem. Kevin's face darkened. "What do you mean you won't bother us anymore, and you'll just pretend we're strangers?" Alicia said bluntly, "It means I'm cutting ties with all of you." Kevin was stunned for a moment. Then, his voice was full of anger. "Are you out of your mind? How can you even say something like that?" He couldn't believe it and asked, "Just because we missed your show? Is it really that serious?" Alicia scoffed, "Yeah, it is. Hasn't this happened enough over the years? "You guys always have double standards, and I've had enough." All these years, they bailed on Alicia over and over, just to please Nicole. Just like this time, they didn't even try to hide it and just picked Nicole over Alicia. When Alicia first wanted to get into showbiz, her family not only shot her down, but told her that if she were so capable, she should do it without the connections of the Hommond family. Thus, Alicia used her mother's last name instead. But when Nicole jumped into showbiz after Alicia, not only did they not object, they gave her full support, throwing money and resources at her, backing her up like she was the star of the family. Now, the thing Alicia got dragged for the hardest online was supposedly clout-chasing the Hammond family name. But she never went around telling people she was a Hommond. It was Nicole and her mother, working with her agent, who kept pushing that story everywhere behind the scenes. They knew the Hommonds would never step up and admit that Alicia was really one of them. Whenever people started questioning Alicia online, her family just kept quiet and never bothered to set the record straight. It turned out that Nicole and her mother played it just right. The Hommonds didn't say a word about the truth. It basically let everyone believe that Alicia was just chasing clout, so she got dragged through the mud online. Alicia added, "Let's be real. Isn't this exactly what you wanted? You'd rather pretend I don't exist. You guys only want Nicole to be your family, right? Fine. I'll make it easy for you." Kevin took a deep breath, his anger flaring. "You're seriously threatening to cut us off just because of something so petty? "We never said anything like that. You really need to stop acting out. Why can't you be more like Nicole and just behave?" Alicia knew Kevin would never believe her. He'd just think she was throwing a fit, as always. Ever since Nicole and her mother moved in, anything Alicia did was just called her acting out. It was honestly ridiculous. In Alicia's previous life, she valued family so much that she kept putting up with everything, always backing down for their sake. But in the end, she became public enemy number one. This time around, she was completely over it. Family, childhood sweetheart, or whatever, she wanted them as far away from her as possible. Alicia let out a cold laugh. "So having one obedient sister is all you ever needed, huh? "I'm not making a scene, and I'm not threatening you. "Let me make this clear one last time. From today on, I'm cutting ties with every single one of you in the Hammond family. "All my expenses growing up came from my mom, so I don't owe the Hammond family anything. "Just pass it on to the rest of the Hammonds for me. I won't tell the rest of them myself. "Let's not contact or see each other ever again. That's all." She ended the call right after saying that. Then she blocked every single one of the Hammonds, including her father, brothers, plus Collin, Maxwell, and Nicolas. Since she was cutting ties with them, she was going to do it for real. Chapter 2 Is She Serious? Later, Kevin went back to Hammond Manor. Seeing the shock and anger written all over Kevin's face, Austin and Caleb asked, "Kevin, what did she say?" With a stony expression, Kevin gave them a quick rundown of his conversation with Alicia. Hearing this, Austin and Caleb turned gloomy too. Nicole's eyes flickered with uncertainty. She put on an anxious look and said, "Kevin, do you think Alicia got so mad because you all came to see my show? "Which hospital is she staying at? I'll explain everything and apologize to her now. "She must've been so upset with me to say she wants to cut us off." Feeling even more guilty, Nicole added, "I really hope she doesn't get the wrong idea about you guys because of me and cut ties with you." Kevin gave her a reassuring look. "You don't need to explain anything to her. This has nothing to do with you." Kevin thought Alicia always had it out for Nicole. If Nicole showed up at the hospital, he didn't know what kind of scene Alicia would make. Austin frowned, "She's really gone overboard this time. Is cutting ties something she can just say so casually? "Honestly, she's almost certainly using this as a way to threaten us, trying to get us to back down. "Just leave her alone for a few days, and she'll come back on her own." Caleb didn't believe for a second that Alicia would really cut ties with them over something so trivial. He said, "Yeah, she was throwing a fit over the phone. Her injuries are probably nothing serious. There's no need for us to see her at the hospital. "If we keep giving in to her, she'll just get more and more unreasonable. "Let's just leave her alone for now. Once she calms down, she'll come back to us." Austin and Kevin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's just give her some space and let her cool off for a while." After a few more words of comfort, they personally escorted Nicole upstairs to get some rest. ***** Alicia's injuries weren't serious, so she checked herself out of the hospital the very next day. Except when she was out working, she usually stayed at the Hammond family's old mansion. But she'd actually bought a place of her own before, and nobody knew about it. Now that she was leaving the Hammond family, she could finally move in. She called the moving company first, then headed back to Hammond Manor. As she had expected, everyone else was out. Felix looked a little taken aback when Alicia walked in, but quickly he smiled and greeted her, "Ms. Alicia Hammond, you're back." Felix overheard the three Hammond brothers talking last night. He'd always thought Alicia was just in a mood, but he never expected her to come back so soon. Alicia gave Felix a quick look, said nothing, and went straight to her room. Felix had been working for the Hammonds since her grandfather's days, and he'd practically watched Alicia grow up. When she was a kid, he was always gentle and caring. He'd play with her in the yard and used to call her "Madam". But after Nicole moved in, it only took a couple of years before he started calling Alicia "Ms. Alicia Hommond" instead of just "Madam". He and the other servants all started calling Nicole "Madam" now. 'I'm the outsider here now, huh?' Alicia thought to herself. Back in her room, Alicia started boxing up all her things. She wasn't planning to leave a single thing behind. Anything she didn't want, she'd just sell online or simply throw away. Then she opened the safe and took out the jewelry her mother had left her, along with a share transfer document and a few property deeds. Her mother had owned 15% of Hammond Group's shares. Before she passed away, she gave 3% each to Alicia's three brothers, but left Alicia with 6%. She said the extra 3% was meant to be Alicia's wedding gift. At the time, neither her dad nor her brothers had any problem with it. But in her previous life, they tried to make her split half her shares with Nicole, claiming Nicole was her sister too. Of course, Alicia refused. Feeling betrayed, she used her 6% stake to mess with them and throw Hammond Group into chaos, all for revenge. On top of that, she also had a few properties that her maternal grandparents had left her. She ran her fingers over the document pouch, memories of her mom and grandparents' kindness flooding back. Her eyes reddened with emotion. 'At least I had people who truly cared about me. That's all I ever needed,' she told herself. After a moment, Alicia took a deep breath and carefully placed all those valuables into a lock box. After a while, she got a call from the movers. She went downstairs to show them in and led them up to her room to start packing, making sure to carry the lock box herself. Felix rushed in as soon as he saw what was happening. "Ms. Alicia Hammond, what are you doing?" Alicia looked at him with a calm expression. "I'm moving out. I already told Kevin. Since yesterday, I've cut ties with everyone in the Hammond family. "So of course, I won't be living here anymore." Felix was utterly shocked. "Ms. Alicia Hommond, no matter how much fuss you make, cutting ties isn't something to joke about. You..." He clearly hadn't expected Alicia to come back just to pack up and leave, instead of trying to make up. Alicia interrupted him, her voice cold. "You're not in a position to tell me what to do." She didn't bother with him anymore and turned away, calling out to the movers to get started. Felix hadn't expected Alicia to be so cold and forceful with him. He couldn't help but feel stung and a little upset. He wanted to step up and try to persuade her, but Alicia didn't even spare him a glance. Left with no other option, he stepped out of the room and called Kevin. Kevin was in the middle of a meeting, but when he saw it was Felix calling, he picked up anyway. When Kevin heard that Alicia had actually gone back to pack her things, he looked visibly shaken. A wave of unease and panic washed over him. After a moment's thought, he paused the meeting and headed home. At the same time, he called Caleb and Austin. By the time the three of them rushed home, Alicia had already left with the movers. They headed upstairs to Alicia's room. All that was left were the gifts they'd given her over the years and a photo frame and album on the desk. Everything else that belonged to her had completely disappeared. Austin's eyes landed on the photo frame, and he looked genuinely shocked. "She cut out the part with Mom and took them, leaving ours behind." The other two guys exchanged confused glances. They walked over and saw that the family portrait had been cut. The part of their mother and Alicia was missing, leaving only their father and the three sons. Caleb picked up the photo album and flipped through it. Sure enough, there wasn't a single solo shot of their mother or Alicia at all. All that was left were pictures of just their father and the brothers, or group photos where their mother and Alicia had been snipped out. The three brothers just stood there, totally baffled and at a loss. They thought, 'How did it end up like this? Is she actually serious about cutting us off? No way, she can't mean it. 'We only skipped her show. Does she really have to blow things up like this?' Kevin's face darkened as he pulled out his phone. "I'll call her." But when he tried, he realized Alicia had blocked his number. He switched to a messaging app, only to find she'd removed him there too. Seeing this, Caleb and Austin quickly pulled out their phones to try reaching Alicia, but she'd blocked them everywhere as well. The three guys were left feeling both hurt and pissed off. They got Felix to give Alicia a call, but he'd been blocked too. They borrowed a phone from one of the new maids and tried again. This number wasn't blocked, but Alicia just ignored every single call. Caleb turned to Kevin, looking totally lost. "Bro, what now?" Kevin just stared back, feeling completely helpless. He really didn't have a clue what to do. Austin thought for a moment and asked, "Should we tell Dad?" Kevin shook his head. "Let's not tell Dad for now. I'm worried he'll get upset and hurt his health." Over the years, Alicia had given their father plenty of headaches, but this time, things were getting pretty serious. Kevin wasn't sure if he should reassure his brothers or just himself. He said, "I really don't think Alicia would actually cut us off. She's probably just being dramatic again." After a moment, he continued, "Dad's birthday is next month. No matter how mad she is, she'll definitely show up for that. "Give it a month. She'll get over it, and then we can sit down and talk things out." Austin and Caleb relaxed a little after hearing that. "Yeah, even if she's still upset with us, she won't miss Dad's birthday." As far as they knew, Alicia had always been super attached to their father. Every year, she'd start shopping for his birthday gift weeks ahead of time. They were sure she wouldn't skip it this year. When the day came, they'd just sit her down and talk things out. Worst case, they'd put their pride aside and sweet-talk her a bit, and Alicia would forgive them. Chapter 3 I'm Easy To Mess With? After moving into her new home, Alicia tidied up. Then she sat down, deep in thought, trying to remember what had happened at this exact moment in her past life. Right now, she was getting roasted all over the internet, and she was still a member of the girl group LUMIA. Her relationship with the other members was pretty bad. It wasn't like she'd done anything to them. The other girls always ganged up on her for no reason. After those four got a taste of success from dragging Alicia down twice, they just got even worse. Of course, Alicia's company and her agent had a hand in all of this too. Back in her previous life, Alicia brought up quitting LUMIA, but they shot her down. It dragged on until the next year, when a massive scandal exploded. Only then did she finally manage to break free. But this time, Alicia wasn't about to let those bloodsuckers keep draining her. First thing on her list was to quit the group and terminate the contract with her company for good. Thinking of that, Alicia called up her mom's lawyer friend and set up a meeting. ***** That evening, Alicia slipped into a restaurant, wearing a baseball cap and a mask. Even though she was getting dragged all over the internet, she was still pretty famous. She was pulling in a ton of traffic online. After all, being infamous still made many people know her name. After a few minutes, a distinguished and elegant middle-aged man stepped into the private room. Alicia stood up with a smile and greeted that man. "Mr. Wise, it's been so long." The man named Thomas Wise gave her a warm look. "Yeah, it has." He didn't ask how she'd been. He didn't really keep up with the entertainment scene, but after Alicia called to set up this meeting, he figured she probably needed his help, so he did a little digging. After checking things out, he was totally thrown off guard. He never expected Alicia's online reputation to be so trashed. When he saw the reasons people roasted her for, he was just speechless. But from all this, it was clear that Alicia's entertainment company was super unprofessional, and the Hammonds were irresponsible too. After they sat down, they chatted about some past things. Then Alicia said, "Mr. Wise, I want your help to terminate my contract with Starlight Entertainment." She knew it was best to leave this kind of stuff to the professionals. She definitely didn't want to deal with all the drama from those people herself. Thomas wasn't surprised. He replied, "Did you bring your contract with your company? Or do you have an e-copy? Let me take a look." If Starlight Entertainment had done its job and handled her PR properly, Alicia's reputation wouldn't be in the gutter like this. Thomas figured it was probably for the best to cut ties with a company like that. Alicia pulled the contract out of her bag and handed it over. "I brought it." Thomas read through the contract carefully, then started discussing it with Alicia. Alicia's contract with Starlight Entertainment still had a year left, and if she wanted out early, she'd have to pay a 3-million-dollar penalty. But Alicia had some proof that Starlight Entertainment hadn't kept their promises, so Thomas said he'd use that to fight for a lower penalty. After they finished talking about that, Alicia pulled out the equity contract. She continued, "Mr. Wise, this is the equity my mom transferred to me before she passed away. According to the contract, I was supposed to start getting dividends from the company once I turned eighteen. "But I haven't gotten anything since then. "So I want you to help me get back what's mine from Hammond Group through legal channels. "Even if it comes down to a lawsuit, I'm fine with that." Now that she'd cut ties with the Hammonds, she wouldn't let them steal a single cent that was rightfully hers. After her mother passed away, she never used a cent from the Hammond family. Besides the equity, her mother had invested in several funds for her, so she got a nice chunk of cash every year. Her three brothers had the same setup, of course. With all that money coming in, her dad and brothers never gave her any allowance. But when it came to Nicole, they'd give her hundreds of thousands of dollars in allowance every month, and they covered all her living expenses. They always spoiled Nicole with the latest luxury clothes, designer bags, and jewelry. As for Alicia, the only time she ever got a gift from them was on her birthday. Back in her previous life, Alicia treasured those gifts, but now, she couldn't care less. She left them all behind at the old house. As for those funds her mother left her, once Austin started working in finance, Alicia just let him take care of them. But now, she was ready to take them back and hand them over to a professional investment firm. Thomas looked genuinely surprised. He asked, "Have you ever brought this up with your dad or Kevin? They really haven't given you any dividends?" If they had, Alicia wouldn't even consider going the legal route to get her dividends. Alicia gave a wry smile. "I cut ties with the entire Hammond family yesterday. "So from now on, anything to do with them, I'm treating it like business." Thomas frowned, concern etched on his face. "Did they really do something to upset you?" Otherwise, why would things get so bad that you'd have to break off all contact with them? Alicia wasn't about to make excuses for the Hammonds. She let out a helpless sigh. "It's enough for them to have a daughter and a sister. I'm just... the spare." Thomas was her mother's longtime friend. Even though he was just a lawyer by profession, he was born into old money. So aside from genuinely needing his help, Alicia also wanted to let the word get out through him that she'd severed ties with the Hammonds, making sure everyone in their elite circles heard about it. The reason was simple. The Hammonds' favoritism was just off the charts. Back in her previous life, Alicia realized something. If people weren't close to Nicole, they didn't just automatically jump to defend her or blindly take her side. And once Alicia put some distance between herself and Nicole, the folks around her stopped treating her like she was some kind of outcast, unlike Nicole's crowd. Sure enough, Thomas's mind started to wander after hearing that. He thought about all that drama he'd read online. The Hammond family's adopted daughter was called their little princess, while Alicia, the real heiress, was accused of being a fraud. It was just plain absurd. Even if they really loved Nicole, or were just putting on a show, it was way over the top to treat her like royalty and shove Alicia to the sidelines. That alone made Thomas think way less of the Hammonds. He looked at Alicia with a bit of pity in his eyes. "Leave this to me as well." "Thanks for your help, Mr. Wise," Alicia said. Alicia thought for a moment before saying, "You don't have to keep this under wraps, Mr. Wise. I actually want word to get out that I'm done with the Hammonds." Not only did she not want it kept quiet, but she wanted everyone in their circle to feast on the drama. Thomas was sharp. He got it right away and nodded. "Alright, I see." They chatted for a bit longer before heading out. ***** When Thomas got home, he filled his wife in on everything—Alicia asking for help and her breaking things off with the Hammonds. His wife used to be pretty close with Alicia's mother. After hearing the whole story, she went online to dig up the drama herself and couldn't help but roast the Hammonds for being totally brainless. She could instantly tell that the new wife Leo Hammond brought in, and that adopted daughter Nicole, were both pieces of work. After that, she vented to her family and her close circle of society ladies, and soon enough, the whole story was making the rounds. By the time the Hammonds caught wind of it, they'd already been labeled as ridiculously biased and out of their minds. It was way too late to try and explain themselves or do anything about it. ***** Meanwhile, Alicia got home and opened X, only to see the top trending topic right there. Nicole had posted a photo of herself with the Hammond brothers and the rest of the family after last night's party. Her smile was absolutely radiant. She captioned it: [With you guys, I feel like I have the whole world. With all your love and care, I'm honestly the luckiest, happiest girl in the world.] The comments were all raving about how lucky Nicole was and what a picture-perfect family they had. Mixed in were plenty of snarky remarks, throwing shade at Alicia. One of Nicole's actress friends even mentioned Alicia and commented: [This is what a real family looks like. Stop trying to insert yourself into their drama.] It was not like this actress was actually trying to have Nicole's back or anything. She just wanted to ride Nicole's coattails, since Nicole was tight with all those big-shot elites. And with Alicia getting roasted online and her company and agent basically showing no sign of defending her, the actress couldn't care less about offending Alicia. Plus, she could score points with both Nicole's fans and Alicia's haters for being so real. It was a total win-win. Alicia let out a soft laugh when she saw the post tagging her. 'Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon just to get some attention off me?' she thought. 'Do they really think I'm that easy to mess with?' Since people were coming at her for Nicole, Alicia wasn't going to play nice anymore. It was perfect timing. Just when she needed a target, someone served one up. Alicia fired off two posts on X right away, and in one of them, she responded directly by tagging that actress. Just like she expected, her post shot straight to the top of the trending list in no time. After all, she was basically a magnet for haters. Everyone was always watching her. Any little thing she did, people would catch it instantly and start roasting her from all sides. Online, nobody expected Alicia to suddenly go so hard and drop a post like this. Her haters, the paid trolls, and all the gossip crowd were left stunned. Chapter 4 Get The Clout For Herself The actress who came to Nicole's defense was Alexandra Barton, a third-tier celebrity. Her post wasn't just about sucking up to Nicole. She was also trying to get in good with the big shots behind her. Besides, she planned to throw shade at Alicia and ride the wave of drama for some free clout. Every time the other LUMIA members played the victim or put on a pitiful face, Alicia would get dragged online. And every time, they'd get a wave of sympathy and attention. Sure enough, after Alexandra posted it, Nicole's fans flooded her with likes and praise. On top of that, a bunch of people called her genuine and bold for speaking up for her friend. Even some celebs hit like on her post. Alexandra was feeling pretty smug about how well her little stunt was going when her agent walked in, looking seriously pissed. "Alicia just responded. It's a bit of a mess," her agent said. Alexandra immediately opened X. She saw Alicia had posted something and tagged her. AliciaDelaneyOfficial: [I've never, not once, said or even hinted that I'm a Hammond, the Delaney brothers's cousin, or Nicolas's childhood sweetheart. Anyone who spreads this crap stays broke forever.] [If you're the one hiring trolls to slander me, I'll track you down and hit you with a lawsuit.] [If you can't be bothered to get your facts straight, you don't get to run your mouth. You're a public figure. Slandering me in public is unacceptable.] [Being a bootlicker isn't as easy as you think. I've already called the cops, and I'm taking you to court. That's illegal. @AlexandraBarton] Alexandra was totally caught off guard. She never expected Alicia to go this hard and actually call the cops and threaten a lawsuit. Alicia even called Alexandra a bootlicker. That was way over the line, and it seriously pissed Alexandra off. Alexandra shot her agent a look and asked, "Has she lost her mind? How did the company even let her post something like that on social media?" Both Nicole and Alicia were signed to Starlight Entertainment, but Starlight was all about hyping up Nicole and deliberately sidelining Alicia. Alexandra was sure that Starlight would never let Alicia do something like this. That was exactly why Alexandra had felt safe enough to tag Alicia on X. Alexandra figured even if Alicia got pissed, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. After all, without Starlight's backing and PR muscle, Alicia was no threat at all flying solo. Alexandra's agent looked exasperated. "I just got off the phone with her agent. They seriously had no idea she was going to post that on X. "But I've already talked it over. They'll get Alicia to delete the post. "As for the cops and the lawsuit, they said Starlight will shut it all down." The agent herself never thought Alicia would go this far, totally breaking the usual playbook and ignoring all the unspoken industry rules. Going to the police and threatening to sue over a few online comments? Alicia was seriously the first one to ever do this. Hearing that, Alexandra breathed easier, the tension finally melting away. She flashed a sly grin. "Once she deletes that post, the real show begins." Deleting it would make Alicia a total clown, and she would get roasted alive online. The handful of fans she got left probably wouldn't stick around for the embarrassment. So instead of deleting her post, Alexandra fired back, tagging Alicia right back. AlexandraBarton: [I've got nothing to fear. Bring it on!@AliciaDelaneyOfficial.] Everyone watching the drama unfold got another surprise when Alexandra clapped back on X. Nobody expected Alexandra to go this hard, either. The comments under both Alicia and Alexandra's posts started blowing up, racking up thousands in no time. Markd82: [Who are we supposed to believe here?] Tommy94: [Both of them are so savage. Let's see who can outlast the other.] Chris_y: [Come to think of it, Alicia never actually claimed or even hinted she was a Hammond.] Juststeve: [She wouldn't have posted something like that unless she was totally fed up with all the hate.] Nooot: [Reading her post, I really feel like someone set her up.] Idkben: [Yeah, and wishing for the rumor-spreader to stay broke forever? That's brutal. Seriously, who would jinx themselves like that if they were faking it?] Okmatt: [If that's really the case, Alicia's got it tough. She's been roasted nonstop over this.] Randomname: [You guys just buy whatever she says? Come on, this is clearly her way of trying to clear her name.] User472: [Yeah, I still don't buy that she never said or hinted at it. And talking about a lawsuit? Anyone can say that online.] Loggedout: [Alicia's not the only one who's ever posted a lawyer letter. In the end, it's all bark and no bite.] Still_here: [She's just doing this to scare people and make herself look like the victim, so everyone feels sorry for her.] Rabbitie: [Watch it, she'll probably delete that post real soon.] Cloud: [No way she actually called the cops, and I seriously doubt she's taking anyone to court.] Heyitsdan: [For real, she's been roasted online so many times before and always just let it slide. Why is she suddenly acting tough now? Obviously just trying to play the victim and chase some attention.] Alicia just happened to scroll past that comment. She fired back right under it: [Back then, my agent handled my account. Now, I call the shots myself. If you don't buy it, just wait and see if the cops come knocking on Alexandra's door.] Fans couldn't believe Alicia actually replied to the comment herself. They did find out that the way she was acting now was totally different from before. They finally knew why her account only had generic promo posts. Turned out that her agent was running her account all this time After Alicia clapped back, everyone was dying to see if the cops would actually come to Alexandra's place. Now it was all about who'd stay savage till the end. But the haters and Nicole and Alexandra's fans kept dragging Alicia nonstop, flooding her comments with insults. Nicole's fans totally lost it over Alicia calling Alexandra out as a bootlicker. They started speculating. 'What's that supposed to mean? Is she throwing shade at Nicole, saying Nicole put Alexandra up to this?' They started spamming Alicia's comments with angry rants. Imtom: [Alexandra is just sticking up for Nicole. What's wrong with that?] LoveNicole: [You've been leeching off Nicole's name, and she's been chill about it. Instead of saying thanks, you go and throw shade? You really think Nicole's just too nice and easy to push around?] NNNICOLE: [Keep messing with her and see what happens. She'll make sure you get iced out of the whole industry.] BabyNicole: [That's right. Nicole is the Hammond family's princess. She's got serious backup. If you piss her off, don't be surprised if you get shut out.] Alicia saw those comments and clapped back without hesitation. Alicia: [Come on, I surely don't dare to push Bitchy Nicole around. She's so scheming.] Alicia: [Sure, go ahead! Tell Nicole to get her powerful family to shut me down. Let's see if they can really kick me out of the industry.] Alicia: [If she doesn't blacklist me like you want, honestly, I'll laugh at her.] Anyway, Alicia was already public enemy number one online, getting roasted from all sides. She wasn't afraid of more hate at this point. Now that she'd been given a second shot at life, anyone who pissed her off was gonna get it right back. Honestly, everyone enjoyed the drama online. The fake peace and phony friendship act couldn't get people's interest. Nothing could grab attention like a straight-up online fight. Back then, they rode Alicia for clout and attention. Now, Alicia could play the same game right back. Besides, would Nicole really dare to flex her status and try to freeze Alicia out of the industry? No way. She didn't have the nerve, and she sure didn't have the pull. If she did, Alicia wouldn't have been able to stage a comeback and rise up again in her last life. And if Nicole actually ran to the Hammonds and tried to get them to blacklist Alicia, that would just wreck the whole perfect good-girl act she puts on for them. Nicole wouldn't have the nerve to pull something like that. And seriously, who was the real Hammond heiress? The fans might not have a clue, but Nicole definitely knew the truth. After clapping back in the comments, Alicia pulled another ballsy move. She tagged Nicole in a new post: [Bitchy Nicole, why don't you flaunt your Hammond princess status and get your big-shot backers to blacklist me? Come on, wipe out the villain in your story once and for all.] From now on, Alicia would be the loose cannon of the entertainment world, ready to tear into anyone whenever she felt like it. If anyone came for her, she'd come for them even harder. If she was gonna get roasted anyway, she might as well roast them right back and enjoy every second of it. Besides, a lot of people were really into her bold, straight-shooter attitude. Sure, Nicole had her fans, but she wasn't the kind of star everyone loved like cash. Alicia wasn't the only one who didn't vibe with Nicole. There were plenty of folks, both online and offline, who couldn't stand Nicole. Plus, with Starlight Entertainment and the Hammond family supporting Nicole into the spotlight, she'd ruffled a ton of feathers in the industry, stepping on the toes of other rising and established actresses, and messing with the profits of the companies backing them. If Alicia and Nicole started going at it, tons of people would be glued to their screens, eating up every second of the drama. And nothing could go viral like a feud between two celebrities. This time, Alicia was ready to get all that clout for herself. Chapter 5 Out Of Her Mind Alicia didn't just clap back at anyone who trashed her in the comments. She even tagged Nicole on X, straight-up telling her to blacklist and shut her down for good. This whole drama had everyone watching nearly speechless. Everyone watching left comments. LoveU: [Geeze, is Alicia out of her mind?] Crazymind: [Her posts and those comment replies are totally crazy. I'm kinda living for it. Am I too bad?] Jojo: [Haha, you're not alone. I feel the same way.] Footprints: [Alicia's got guts. She's the only one who'd tag and call her Bitchy Nicole.] Sunny:[She's really cool. I give her my respect.] Dunno: [Haha, she's gone totally rogue now. She's even calling herself the villain and telling the big names behind Nicole to just blacklist her.] Mindy7: [Honestly, I've been sick of Nicole for ages. She's such a phony.] CuteAsDucks: [She used her connections to snatch the role from my idol, and then her fans trashed my idol for it. Alicia just said exactly what I've been dying to say.] Casanova : [My fave had her opportunities stolen by Nicole too, but her fans are way too fierce. We can't win against them, so we just keep quiet. Looks like everyone feels the same...] HairyPoppins: [This drama is so satisfying. Keep it coming!] YellowSnowman: [I live for these epic beefs. Don't stop pls!] Something: [You guys think the ones backing Bitchy Nicole are really gonna shut Alicia down for good?] Tinfoilhat: [Bitchy Nicole is Starlight Entertainment's golden girl, and Nicolas is Starlight's heir. If he gets involved, plus the Hammond family and the Delaney family pulling strings for her, Alicia could seriously get iced out of the industry.] Anonymouse: [So is Alicia basically quitting the scene now?] Otherwise, Alicia wouldn't have posted something like that. She didn't just go head-to-head with Nicole, but she made enemies of all the power players behind Nicole too. Then Nicole's fans swooped in, starting a whole new round of roasting Alicia all over the place. They even dropped: [Just waiting for Alicia to get blacklisted and iced out.] Alicia replied: [Same here. I'm waiting.] Nicole's fans were left speechless. They thought, 'Seriously, what exactly are you waiting for? She's out of her mind.' Seeing Alicia's clapback, everyone watching the drama couldn't help but crack up. No one realized Alicia was so hilarious before. Nicole always kept an alt account with notifications on for Alicia, so she could keep tabs on her every move. Whenever Alicia dropped a post on X, Nicole got the alert instantly. Nicole never saw it coming that a single group photo was all it took to send Alicia off the rails. Back in the day, Alicia would just ignore Nicole in private, out of respect for the Hammond family. But now? She dragged Nicole out in public, no holds barred. Nicole couldn't help but wonder if she'd pushed Alicia totally off the deep end. That last post really got under Nicole's skin. Alicia actually had the nerve to straight-up call Nicole a bitch and even dared Nicole to blacklist her for real. Alicia obviously put Nicole on blast, making her look bad in front of everyone. Nicole would love nothing more than to blacklist Alicia and totally ruin her, but she knew she just didn't have that kind of power. After all, ever since she joined the Hammond family, Nicole knew exactly how she'd snatched all the attention and favor that used to go to Alicia. Sure, she played the pitiful victim at first to get their sympathy, but after that, she switched gears. She always acted like the perfect, considerate girl and constantly made it seem like she couldn't do anything without them. Sure enough, it worked. They started favoring her more and more. But that didn't mean the family had stopped caring about Alicia altogether. So now, with Alicia roasting her on social media, Nicole was stuck. Responding would just make things worse, but ignoring it would make her look weak. After thinking it over, Nicole told her agent, "Call Haley and drop her a hint to rein Alicia in before she goes totally off the rails. "Try to convince Alicia to take down all her posts from today right away. "If she won't do it, just log into her account and delete them." Starlight Entertainment was legendary for its PR and marketing game. They had deals with all the top influencers and even kept a whole army of paid trolls on standby. She paused, then added, "Once the posts are gone, get her agent to post an apology from Alicia's account, claiming her account was hacked." Nicole knew Alicia's personality all too well. Alicia would never agree to delete the posts or post an apology herself. Thus, Alicia's agent would have to handle it instead. Not only would this make Alicia get dragged even harder online, but if she ever tried to go off the rails again, no one would believe her. It would also get Nicole out of the impossible spot she was in. If everyone thought Alicia's account got hacked and it wasn't really her posting all that drama, Nicole could just sit back and ignore the whole mess. She could even drop a post, acting all sympathetic toward Alicia, playing the gracious queen for everyone to see. Then she'd unleash her army of influencers and trolls to stir things up. They'd start whispering that it wasn't a hack at all. Alicia probably just totally went crazy after seeing that photo Nicole posted. People would say Alicia was just jealous of how blessed Nicole was, so Alicia totally snapped. But once she cooled off, she freaked out about crossing Nicole and her powerful backers, so she pretended her account got hacked and deleted her posts. That way, Alicia would get roasted all over the internet, lose fans for chickening out and not owning her words, and her reputation would tank completely. If the Hammonds caught wind of this, they'd just think Alicia was being super petty. After all, it was not like Alicia didn't have group photos with them. Posting on social media, then deleting and apologizing? That would just make the Hammond and Delaney families look bad. Thinking about it, Nicole thought that Alicia going off and posting all that drama on X wasn't even a bad thing. Nicole's agent instantly got what she meant. Nicole was totally throwing Alicia under the bus. Her agent gave a sly, knowing grin and replied, "Alright." ***** Meanwhile, Alicia's agent, Haley Waters, looked absolutely grim. She never expected Alicia to cause such a huge mess behind her back. 'Does she even take me seriously?' Haley thought to herself. As soon as Alexandra's agent called her, Haley tried calling Alicia right away. But every single time, the line was busy. After hanging up with Nicole's agent, Haley was practically ready to explode. 'Since Alicia doesn't respect me, don't blame me for playing hardball,' Haley thought. She had the X account logins and passwords for all five members of LUMIA, so she just logged straight into Alicia's account. Her plan was exactly what Nicole's agent had hinted at. She was going to delete all of Alicia's posts from today, then post an apology claiming her account had been hacked. Of course, hardly anyone would actually buy that excuse. But at least it would let Nicole and Alexandra off the hook, pulling them out of the drama. Plus, Nicole would end up owing her a favor. And if Alicia got dragged even harder and roasted by the whole internet, that just played right into Haley's game plan for LUMIA. She was basically making Alicia take the heat to prop up the other four girls. One superstar could never make as much money or rack up the numbers as four superstars. However, every time Haley tried to log in, it just kept telling her the password was wrong. Then she realized that Alicia must've already changed her password. That was absolutely unacceptable to Haley. She kept trying to call Alicia, but the call still couldn't get through. After a moment, she grabbed someone else's phone and dialed Alicia again. This time, the call actually went through. Clearly, Alicia had blocked her number. Haley's expression soured even more. Chapter 6 Dream On It Alicia's phone lit up with an unknown number. She didn't even have to think about it. She knew it had to be Haley. This time, she actually picked up. "Hello?" She hit the record button at the same time. Haley's voice came through, sounding a little frantic. "Alicia, what are you doing?" She demanded, "Why did you suddenly post those updates on X? And now you're getting into fights in the comments. Why didn't you check with me first?" Alicia shot back, "It's my account. Why can't I post what I want?" She added, "I never said any of that, and I wasn't trying to get clout from those big shots. "Alexandra's been pushing me around. Am I just supposed to put up with it?" Haley was stunned for a moment. Then, she siad, "But you can't just go around scaring people with talk of calling the cops or suing them." She added, "And it was Alexandra who tagged you first. Why are you picking a fight with Nicole now? You're just asking for more hate." Alicia scoffed, "Why is Alexandra targeting me? She's just trying to butter up Nicole." She continued, "Why am I getting called a clout chaser all over the internet? Nicole's fans started the whole mess, and they've been after me ever since. "Just because Nicole's hiding behind all these people, does that suddenly make her innocent? I'm not an idiot. Of course I gotta target her." Haley took a deep breath, forcing down her anger. She softened her voice, trying to coax Alicia, "I know you've been treated unfairly, but the company's really hyping Nicole up right now. Going head-to-head with her isn't the smartest move." She added, "I can talk to the higher-ups and get you a better gig. So let's back off for now, okay?" Alicia was baiting Haley for this exact response. She asked, "What do you mean by backing off?" Haley said, "Delete all those posts you made on X, then post an apology. "Just say your account was hacked earlier, and none of those posts were actually from you." Alicia shot back, "You really think anyone's going to buy that excuse? Do you think people are that gullible?" Haley replied, "It doesn't matter if anyone actually believes it. Just put out the statement, so Nicole and Alexandra can have an easy way out." Alicia let out a cold laugh. "So you really do think I'm an idiot, huh?" She added, "If I post something like that, forget their fans, even the haters and onlookers would be telling me to get lost from the entertainment scene. Even my own fans would probably want me out. "You already made me take the fall for the other four in LUMIA, and now you want me to take the heat for Nicole and Alexandra too? Just dream on it." Haley hadn't expected Alicia to come back at her like that. She wondered if Alicia had known something. She couldn't help but say, "I'm not just your agent, you know. I'm older than you. Everything I do is for your own good." She pressed, "Don't you even trust me a little anymore?" She'd noticed lately that Alicia was trying to slip out of her grip, but she wasn't about to let that happen. Alicia let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, for my own good, huh?" She added, "If it wasn't for you, Nicole, and the company stirring things up, with the other four in LUMIA playing along, do you think the whole internet would be out to get me?" She went on in a meaningful tone, "You were my mom's college friend and roommate, remember? "Back then, your ex-husband set you up. You walked away with nothing and got stuck with a mountain of debt. "You had to keep dodging debt collectors and couldn't land a job anywhere. "It was my mom who lent you the money to pay off those debts and helped you land that agent job at Starlight Entertainment. "And when you asked, she even stepped in and handled your ex's family for you, so they'd finally stop messing with you." Alicia let out a cold laugh. "My mom saved your ass when you were at rock bottom, and now you want to shove me right back down? Is that what you called 'for my own good'? "Sorry, guess I have to let you down." After Alicia's mom helped Haley get into Starlight Entertainment, Haley managed to bring up a second-tier starlet. But before Haley could help her climb any higher, that starlet married a wealthy businessman and dropped out of the spotlight. Right around then, Starlight was gearing up to create a top girl group, and Haley jumped at the chance to take charge of the group. Knowing Alicia wanted in on the entertainment scene, Haley asked her to join LUMIA. After Alicia's mom passed away, Haley didn't pull away. In fact, she always cared about Alicia. Back then, Alicia didn't know the first thing about showbiz, and she trusted Haley. Plus, since Starlight belonged to Nicolas's family, she figured it was safe and agreed to join. But she had never guessed that one choice would land her in a pit that she couldn't climb out of. After all, she never thought that the sweet, gentle woman everyone saw was actually a backstabbing wolf. In her last life, Alicia had already gotten her revenge. She exposed Haley's true colors and brought her crashing down. But when it came to a backstabbing, ungrateful snake like Haley, Alicia wouldn't mind giving her a lesson again. And this time, she'd do it sooner. Haley's eyes widened for a moment. A rare flash of panic flickered across her face. She couldn't help blurting out, "Alicia, has someone talked to you? Trying to stir things up between us?" Haley absolutely hated it when anyone brought up that embarrassing chapter from her past. Haley thought, 'Alicia's mom did help me out, but with her status, it was just a casual favor. Am I really supposed to be forever grateful for that? 'Besides, I've already paid back every cent I borrowed. 'Now, Alicia is actually throwing that in my face. It's really embarrassing. 'This is just one more reason I can't stand Alicia.' Every time Haley saw Alicia, all she could think about was how embarrassing it had been, having to beg Alicia's mom for help back then. When LUMIA first debuted, Alicia was the hottest topic. She had the most fans and all the online attention. Alicia was born with a silver spoon, already living the high life. Yet since she entered the industry, she blew up overnight. Haley was just jealous that Alicia was blessed from the start. Then someone hinted that if she wanted to hype up the other four in LUMIA, all she had to do was drag Alicia through the mud. Haley went for it, and sure enough, it paid off big time. Right now, Alicia was her ace in the traffic game. No way was Haley ever letting go of that. Haley gave a wry smile. "I haven't forgotten what your mom did for me, you know. "After all these years together, I've put in so much effort to help you make it big. I just hope you can see that and trust me." Alicia let out a mocking laugh. "So I'm supposed to be grateful for all your scheming, is that it? "You twisted things around. If I hadn't lived through the hell of being trashed by the whole internet, nearly driven to depression and suicide, I'd almost want to give you a round of applause. "Why not use this little tactic on the other four girls in LUMIA instead? "Just because my mom helped you, just because I once trusted and respected you, I'm supposed to be your sacrificial lamb? "Am I just meant to be the stepping stone for you and Starlight, so you can prop everyone else up at my expense? Isn't that just plain bullying?" Haley was so stunned by Alicia's comeback that she could barely get a word out. She also realized that Alicia had known she used to play both sides. Trying to guilt Alicia into deleting those posts was almost impossible. Haley paused, then tried to warn Alicia, "If your family or Nicolas finds out, they're not going to be happy. No matter what you think, I'm really doing this for your own good." Alicia let out a cold laugh. "I've already cut ties with my family. As for Nicolas, it's not like we're close. Why should I care if he's happy?" When Alicia first set her sights on showbiz, everyone around her figured she was just trying to get close to Nicolas. The truth was, Nicolas was only part of it. She just really wanted to be in the entertainment world for herself. When Nicole first moved in, her body was covered in injuries from her birth father's abuse, and she was in poor health. She deliberately acted extremely dependent on Alicia's family, not only winning their sympathy but also making it seem like she couldn't get by without them. After that, Nicole was constantly in the hospital, pretending she couldn't live without their support. The Hammonds would take turns staying with her at the hospital. Meanwhile, Alicia was left all alone at home, either studying or watching dramas. She'd catch herself copying the actors on TV, wondering how she'd play the part if she were in their shoes. She loved watching people sing and dance, and was totally drawn to the spotlight. So when the chance to join LUMIA came up, she couldn't say no. She was a natural when it came to acting, which was why, in her previous life, she finally made her comeback after quitting the group and going solo as an actress. In her last life, she and Nicolas used to argue and give each other the silent treatment all the time because of Nicole, but she never bothered worrying about whether he was mad or not. Now, Nicolas was just a stranger to her. Alicia of course wouldn't care about his feelings. She added, "If he's really unhappy, then let him bury my career for all I care. I'm done playing nice this time. I won't compromise anymore." With that, she hung up and saved the recording. And sure enough, Haley didn't disappoint Alicia.