The Boy I Forgot to Hate
"I’m doing you a favor, Vega. I hate seeing a shallow guy like you."
With one cold, swift motion, Elena tossed the heart-shaped stone—the sole remaining token of their childhood friendship—straight into the trash bin right before Julian’s eyes.
To Elena Castillo, Julian Vega was the one piece of her past she had desperately wanted to hold onto forever.
Yet, every beautiful memory of him shattered completely on her very first day at San Aurelio University.
The man standing just across her dorm room was no longer the Julian she once knew. He had grown into someone completely unrecognizable; tall, broad-shouldered, breathtakingly handsome, and adored by the entire campus.
What truly broke Elena’s heart, however, was that he now belonged to the exact same world as Valeria Montes—the popular girl who had made Elena’s high school years a living hell.
Elena chose to pull back, maintain her distance, and treat Julian like a complete stranger. To her, the Julian she used to miss was already dead.
What Elena didn't know was that Julian had returned to Solverde and chosen the exact same university for one reason only: her.
Julian still treasured every little thing Elena had ever given him, and he had considered her the most beautiful girl in the world since the very first day she stood up for him.
As misunderstandings piled up, the wall between them only grew taller.
Then, an impulsive act at a college party stripped away the masks they had both been wearing for so long.
With the threads of their past tangled in ego and insecurity, can they ever find a way forward or are they destined to live forever as strangers who secretly long for one another?
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Chapter: 27. The Apology That Was Not"Julian."Elena said his name quietly, and that was worse than if she had shouted.He put the two paper cups on the windowsill because his hands would not stay still."She said..." He stopped. Started again. "She said, 'Ask yourself why your brother has not stopped staring at her.'"Elena looks him dead in the eyes.Her brain was quietly taking in small details that she had previously overlooked, quickly and against her will: When Arthur's eyes held a little too long on the dance floor, when he asked, Is it? And surely, a stack of Borobudur notes on Professor Santiago's desk."And you told me it was only threats," she said."Yes.""Why?""Because I did not want it to be true." The words spilled like a bullet, like whenever he was afraid. "I thought if I said it out loud, it would become real. I thought I could watch him and make sure.""Watch your brother in secret, and leave me to guess?" Her voice shook. "Julian, this is not about Arthur. We made one rule. You decided what I could h
Last Updated: 2026-10-26
Chapter: 26. What He Did Not SayValeria's words followed Julian out of the ballroom like a splinter.Ask yourself why your brother has not stopped staring at her.He pushed them away. It was past midnight, his knuckles hurt, and the girl beside him had just stood in front of three hundred people and not broken. Valeria could keep her poison.Outside, the cold hit them hard. The hotel steps were empty, lit by one yellow lamp. Elena sat down on the second step, took off her heels one at a time, and let out a long sigh."I have wanted to do that for three hours."Julian sat beside her. His jacket hung from her shoulders, too big, the sleeves covering her hands. She looked small in it. He tried not to notice."Can I ask you something?" Elena said. "When did you decide to pull the cable?"His ears went warm. "At forty-seven.""Julian." She turned to face him. "You could have pulled it at ten."He looked at the street. "You said you were not ashamed. I wanted to hear the rest."For a moment, there was only the wind. Then
Last Updated: 2026-10-22
Chapter: 25. Forty-Seven Second of Torture00:03.Elena could not move. Her feet felt stuck to the marble floor, and every sound in the ballroom quietly disappeared.On the giant screen, a girl leaned toward a boy and closed her eyes. She looked content. She looked like someone who did not know the world was watching.00:09."Elena." Arthur's hand tightened around hers. "Come with me. We can leave through the side door."She looked at him, and then at the people around them. Three hundred faces. Some were shocked. Some smiled behind their hands. Some were already lifting their phones. In the crowd, Ingrid stood with her mouth open, her eyes wide and worried.If I run, they will remember me running.00:14."No," she said."Elena—""No." She pulled her hand free. Her fingers were cold, but her voice was steady, and that surprised her. "If I leave now, this will be the only story they tell."She walked toward the stage.The crowd opened in front of her. Her emerald dress whispered across the floor. She could hear her own heartbea
Last Updated: 2026-10-20
Chapter: 24. Don't Wake Me UpJulian knocked on Elena’s dorm at six in the morning. She opened it with messy hair and red eyes. She had not slept all night. Busy thinking about Lucia’s offer."I changed my mind," Julian said out of the blue while holding out a paper cup. "Hot chocolate and an unhealthy amount of marshmallows."A grin formed at her lips, she took it slowly and whispered. "You remember that?""What? Of course." He faked a cough. "I mean, you have a very particular taste in everything, especially if it's about your hot chocolate."Elena almost smiled, she sipped it while savoring the lingering taste at her palate. "Why now?""Because I read that forum thread all night." His voice was rough. "I can say no and watch her hurt you. Or I can say yes and stand next to you when she tries. But I have three rules.""Three what?""One, you can stop this at any time. Two, nobody says a bad word about you near me. Three..." He looked at the floor. "I will end things with Valeria. I never said yes to her. I only
Last Updated: 2026-10-20
Chapter: 23. The Uninvited GuestElena was too shocked to move.On the other side of the glass, Valeria Montes lifted her phone and waved it like a small flag. Then she stepped back into the dark garden and was gone."Elena?" Lucia gently took the phone from her hand and read the screen. Her face did not change, but her fingers tightened around the case. "I see. As expected. What a bitchy little woman she is.""Aunt Lucia, I'm sorry. I never wanted to bring trouble into your home—""Hush." Lucia gave the phone back and held Elena's cold hands between her own. "You are a guest in this house. Nobody will hurt you here."She was out there the whole time, Elena thought. She watched everything.DING-DONG.Both women turned toward the front of the house."Ah," Lucia said softly. A small, polite smile appeared on her face, one Elena had never seen before. "It seems we have another guest."***Valeria walked into the dining room like a movie star.She wore a cream coat and carried a bouquet of white roses. Her blonde hair wa
Last Updated: 2026-10-18
Chapter: 22. A Surprising ThanksgivingThe Vega estate looked exactly like the kind of place Elena Castillo had spent her whole life walking past.Wrought-iron gates. A circular driveway lined with maple trees burning copper in the late November light. A front door so tall it could have swallowed her entire dorm room.She stood on the porch clutching a box of cookies tied with a plain ribbon, her heart pounding far louder than the doorbell she hadn't dared to press.It's just dinner. You're just a girl bringing cookies to her dad's old friend.Her dad hadn't helped. "Eat everything they put on your plate," Robert Castillo had ordered over the phone that morning, his cleaning crews booked solid with holiday deep-cleans. "And wash your dishes. If not, Dominic will think I raised a princess."Elena lifted her hand toward the bell.The door swung open first."Elena!"A petite woman in a cream cardigan pulled her into a hug that smelled of cinnamon and cedar. Elena stiffened for half a second, then melted into it, her throat su
Last Updated: 2026-10-18
Chapter: 40. The Crack in the AllianceInside the grand, echoing hall of Stormsurge Castle, voices clashed against cold stone walls. Alpha Krugan sat upon his high throne—carved from black stone veined with silver. In front of him, three massive chairs were occupied by Alpha Maeron of the Woodstorm Pack, Alpha Selrik of the Nightshade Pack, and Alpha Thorne of the Shadowbrook Pack.A sprawling map of the territories lay atop the central stone table, surrounded by pulsing magic crystals. On the map, each pack’s insignia was marked. At the heart of the meeting, their final plan was being forged: a full-scale assault on Umbra.“We all know victory is within reach,” Krugan said loudly, his voice brimming with conviction. “Once Umbra falls, we not only end the threat of Mina, but we open the path to lasting order.”“But wh
Last Updated: 2025-07-13
Chapter: 39. The Path to the NadirThe path to Nadir wasn’t a mere road. It felt like a wound carved between dimensions—gaping wide, pulsing with whispers not of this world. Mina walked slowly, tracing a path almost invisible to the eye, marked only by dark fractures of light crawling along the ground. Beside her, Halvar moved in silence, his axe strapped to his back, his gaze fixed straight ahead. No more jokes. No room left for sentiment.The air within Nadir’s corridor was thick and cold, tinged with the scent of metal... and something older than time itself. Even Thora, in the back of Mina’s mind, didn’t try to crack a joke.“I don’t like this place,” she whispered. “Everything here… feels wrong.”“I know,” Mina replied. “But we have to keep going.”Step by step, they delved deeper. The walls around them shifted—from roots and dirt to solid shadows, like
Last Updated: 2025-07-12
Chapter: 38. Seeds of DoubtThe wind in the Umbra region stirred uneasily. Fog rolled like the breath of an ancient creature, shrouding the dead forests and giant roots that reached upward like claws from the earth. Yet beneath the hanging gloom, the wheels of fate had begun to turn.Armies from distant regions—once separated by vengeance and ambition—were now marching toward a single target: Mina Everyn.To the north, the heavy steps of Woodstorm Pack’s guards shook the frozen ground. Alpha Maeron, his silver hair loose and his eyes like shards of ice, stood atop a high stone overlooking the blackened forest ahead.“You know who we’re hunting,” his voice was sharp. “And you know why this is more than just a chase. If the girl falls… if the Knot explodes… there’ll be no land left for us to protect.”No one answered. But the warriors gripped their weapons tighter. Their auras were te
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: 37. The Gathering StormIn a grand chamber at the heart of an ancient stone castle, Alpha Krugan sat upon his high throne—black stone veined with silver, towering above the room like a monument to power. Before him stood three large chairs, prepared for guests who were far from ordinary.Tonight, Krugan hosted Alphas of the three largest packs from beyond the Umbra borders:Alpha Maeron of Woodstorm Pack, Alpha Selrik of Nightshade Pack, and Alpha Thorne of Shadowbrook Pack.The firelight crackled in the hearth, casting sinister shadows across the granite walls. Krugan rose slowly, his massive form cloaked in wolfskin fur that trailed along the floor like smoke. His eyes, hard as frozen steel, swept across his guests as they arrived.“Brothers,” Krugan said, his voice low and cold like tempered iron. “Thank you for coming in these urgent times.”Alpha Maeron—tall and proud, his thick silv
Last Updated: 2025-07-10
Chapter: 36. The House that Time ForgotWe found shelter in a small cave not far from where we’d rescued Lyreth—its walls veined with silvery moss that shimmered faintly under firelight. A flickering flame glowed in the center, casting fragile warmth across the stone floor. Zehra was still fast asleep, her body wrapped in salve-soaked bandages Halvar had crafted to speed up the healing of the lash wounds on her shoulder.I sat across from my aunt. The firelight danced across her face—exhausted, yes, but peaceful. For the first time, I saw Lyreth without the veil of darkness chaining her. Her face was wrinkled but beautiful, and her eyes held far too many memories.“You want to know about your mother,” she said, before I could even ask.I nodded. My throat tightened too much to speak.Lyreth took a deep breath. “Lyaria… she isn’t dead, Mina. But she’s not truly alive, either. When they tried to use me as a bridge, I felt her presence. She’s trapped—caught between this world and the Umbra. They s
Last Updated: 2025-07-09
Chapter: 35. Strike Before the ShadowsDawn greeted us with a biting chill and air so heavy it felt like it hung with unsaid warnings. Fog still clung to the cliffs of Umbra, loyal and thick—but somewhere within that frozen mist, our resolve began to burn.We sat around the dying remains of last night’s fire. No one spoke for several minutes. Then Halvar broke the silence, his voice deep and steady.“Waiting isn’t a strategy,” he said. “Last night, they sent a resurrected former Alpha. That was just a warning. The real strike is coming.”Zehra nodded, brushing some of her hair back as she stared toward the fog-veiled trail. “We know where they’re keeping Lyreth. We’ve mapped parts of their patrol routes. This is our opening.”I stared at the fire’s last flickers. “Then we strike first. Not as fugitives—but as a force. I won’t wait until they bind me to an altar the way they bound my aunt.”Ha
Last Updated: 2025-07-08
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