Novels by SCIARTIST

Nicole’s POVAs soon as the doors opened, the music changed.I stood at the end of the aisle in a simple white dress that swept the floor as I walked, heart hammering so hard I was half convinced the entire garden could hear it. Nicolai’s arm was steady under my hand. We had only known each other a handful of months, but the quiet certainty in the way he looked at me made the moment feel less strange than it should have.“Although I just met him,” I thought as we took the first step, “I still have time to get to know him.” The idea settled warmly in my chest. There would be years for awkward dinners and slow conversations and learning the shape of a father I never knew I had.The aisle stretched ahead, lined with fairy lights and the people who had somehow become my whole world.Leah stood at the front in a soft sage dress, already crying and not even trying to hide it. Bella was right beside her, grinning so wide it looked like it hurt. Across from them, Jack waited as Zach’s best ma

Nicole’s POVGraduation day wasn't just a ceremony, it was a grand theatrical production staged for the benefit of high society parents, alumni donors, and local newspapers. Thousands of dollars worth of white and blue hydrangeas lined the aisle of the grand amphitheater, their sweet scent competing with the collective cloud of designer perfumes worn by girls who had spent four years pretending to like each other."If I have to listen to Dean Sterling drone on about 'the leaders of tomorrow' for one more second, I am going to legally emancipate myself right here on this stage," Bella hissed, leaning slightly towards me while keeping her posture stick straight for the benefit of the faculty seated in the front rows.I smirked, adjusting the folds of my navy blue graduation gown. "Relax, Bells. We’re twenty minutes away from tossing these ridiculously oversized caps into the air and never stepping foot on this campus again.""Easy for you to say," Bella muttered, smoothing down her hair

Zach’s POVI stood in the living room with the phone still warm in my hand, staring at the ring box I’d left on the counter like it could somehow make the last twelve hours feel real. Jack and Leah were on the other end of the group call, both of them talking at once.“You’re serious?” Jack’s voice cracked with laughter. “You actually did it?”“I did.”Leah squealed so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Oh my god, Zach! Congratulations! Where’s Nicole? Put her on!”“She’s asleep,” I said, glancing towards the bedroom hallway. “Passed out hard after… everything.” By everything, I meant the steamy sex we had last night. But of course I wouldn’t tell them that. “I’ll check if she’s awake.”“Go get her,” Leah demanded. “We need details.”I smiled and headed down the hall. The bedroom door was half open. I pushed it the rest of the way, surprised to find out it was empty. The sheets were still tangled from last night. Her phone was gone. Her shoes were gone. The window was lo

Zach’s Pov It was past two in the morning when I woke up hard and restless. The hotel suite was quiet except for the occasional distant sound of a car far below. Nicole lay half on top of me, one leg thrown over mine, her cheek pressed to my chest. The sheets were still tangled from earlier, kicked down around our hips, damp in places, smelling like sex and her perfume and the faint sweetness of champagne.I should have let her rest. We had already gone at each other like we were trying to make up for lost time. Twice before the day even ended in our heads, once the second we got through the door, and again somewhere around midnight when she woke me with her mouth. My body should have been spent. Instead I was aching again, cock already heavy against her thigh.I turned my head and pressed a slow kiss to the corner of her mouth. Then another, deeper, letting my tongue brush her bottom lip. My hand slid down her back and settled on her ass, squeezing once.She stirred. A soft, confu

Nicole’s POV“Marry me.”As I turned around, Zach was already propped on one knee in front of me, the simple gold band resting in his palm, his eyes never leaving mine.I stared at him, trying to take in everything. When had he decided to do this? And how did he even secure a ring already?“We only started dating a few weeks ago,” I said, the sentence coming out harder than I intended.Zach’s mouth curved into a sheepish smile. “I know. Believe me, I’ve done the math. Repeatedly. My brain has been screaming the same thing at me for days.”“This is huge.”“I know it is.” He shifted slightly on his knee, but he didn’t get up. “I know how fast this is. I know we haven’t even figured out whose turn it is to buy groceries half the time. But I’d really like your response. There’s no pressure. You can say no. You can say you need months. You can tell me I’m out of my mind. I just… I needed you to know this is where I am. I want to be with you, Nicole.”My heart was hammering so hard I could

Nicole’s POVIn the weeks that followed, our lives became normal again. Monday through Thursday belonged to the university. Alarm at five thirty. Track practice, lungs burning, spikes biting into the rubber track. Lectures that followed each other, economics, statistics, the endless drone of professors who never seemed to notice when my mind drifted. I took notes. I ran. I ate whatever was fastest. I slept hard and woke up already calculating the hours until Friday.Tuesday afternoon came with its own surprise. I sat through my three o’clock economics lecture with my chin in my hand. The professor’s voice echoed faintly while I stared at the same paragraph for ten full minutes without absorbing a single word. My phone sat face-down on the desk. I had promised myself I wouldn’t check it until class ended. Zach had texted twice during lunch. Nothing urgent. Just the usual ‘miss you already’ message, and a photo of the coffee mug he claimed was lonely without me.When the lecture finally