LOGINMy heart hammered against my ribs as Lucian gently tugged me down the quiet back staircase. The school was emptying fast, the usual loud chatter fading into distant echoes. His hand was warm around mine strong, confident. I knew I should pull away. Every logical part of me screamed that this was dangerous. Mia’s warning note still burned in my mind. But my body… my body wanted to follow him.
We slipped into a dimly lit hallway on the old wing of the building, the one rarely used after classes. Dust danced in the slanting afternoon light coming through the high windows. Lucian pushed open the door to an empty classroom at the end and pulled me inside, closing it softly behind us. “Lucian…” I started, my voice barely above a whisper. He turned to me, his green eyes darker than usual in the low light. Without saying anything at first, he stepped closer until my back gently touched the cool wall. His tall frame towered over me, making me feel small and strangely protected at the same time. Slowly, almost reverently, he lifted his hand and traced my bottom lip with his thumb. The touch was feather light, but it sent electricity shooting through me. My breath hitched. “You’re so soft,” he murmured, his voice husky. “Everywhere.” His fingers trailed down, brushing along my jaw, my neck, and then lower. When his palm cupped my full breast through my uniform blouse, I gasped. The heat of his hand seeped through the fabric. My nipple tightened instantly under his touch. “Lucian…” I almost moaned his name, my breath coming quicker now. My chest rose and fell rapidly against his hand. A warm, aching pulse started between my thighs. “Please, Lily,” he whispered, leaning in so his forehead rested gently against mine. “Let me touch you. Just for a little while. Every time I look at you, you make my heart race like crazy. Those curves… your soft body… I can’t stop thinking about holding you. I like you, Lily. I really like you. And I know you like me too. You’re such a quiet, shy girl, but I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching.” He squeezed my breast gently, thumb circling over the hardening peak. I bit my lip to hold back another sound. It felt so good too good. No one had ever touched me like this. Not with this kind of hunger. “I want you,” he continued, voice dropping even lower as his other hand settled on my wide hip, pulling me closer. “I want to feel every inch of you. The way your thick thighs would wrap around me. How soft and warm you’d be pressed against me. I’ve been going crazy imagining it. Let me show you how much I crave you, curvy girl.” His words wrapped around me like smoke. For a moment, I let myself lean into him, my hands coming up to grip his shirt. His mouth hovered so close to mine. I could almost taste the kiss I knew would be explosive. But then reality crashed back. Mia’s face flashed in my mind her hateful glare, her threats, her promise to ruin me. I couldn’t do this. Not like this. Not when it would give her more ammunition to destroy me. I pushed against his chest, harder than I meant to. “No… Lucian, stop. We can’t.” He stepped back immediately, though his hands lingered for a second longer, reluctant to let go. Confusion and desire warred on his handsome face. “Lily, wait” “I’m sorry,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes. “I can’t. My sister… she’ll kill me. She’ll destroy everything.” Before he could say anything else, I slipped past him and ran. I burst out of the classroom, my legs carrying me down the hallway as fast as they could. My breasts bounced heavily with each step, my skirt swishing against my thick thighs. My face burned with a mix of shame, arousal, and fear. What had I almost done? I didn’t stop running until I reached the side exit near the parking lot. Leaning against the wall to catch my breath, I tried to calm my racing heart. That’s when I felt it eyes on me. I turned my head slowly. Mia stood partially hidden behind a pillar a short distance away, her arms crossed. Her expression was pure ice-cold fury. She had seen everything. Or enough. A slow, dangerous smile curved her lips as our eyes met. “I will destroy you, Lily,” she mouthed silently, the words clear enough to freeze my blood. Then she turned and disappeared around the corner, leaving me standing there trembling.Mia’s POVThe door was only open a few inches, but it felt like the entire night had rushed inside with him. Lucian stood there in the dim hallway light, taller than I remembered in that moment, shadows cutting sharp lines across his face. His eyes were the worst part dark, unblinking, burning with something I couldn’t name yet. Not quite rage. Not quite grief. Something colder. Something that made the air between us feel thin.My fingers tightened around the edge of the door.“Lucian… why are you here?”The question came out softer than I meant it to. Almost careful. I hated how my voice sounded small, uncertain. I had practiced a dozen versions of this conversation in my head over the past hour, ever since that text from his mother had landed like a slap. None of them started with him standing on my doorstep looking at me like he already knew every lie I’d ever told.He didn’t answer.He just stared.The silence stretched. One second. Two. Five. Long enough for my pulse to climb int
Lucian’s POVMy fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles cracked and turned bone-white. I could feel the tendons straining under my skin, the sharp bite of my own nails digging into my palms. My jaw locked hard enough to ache; teeth grinding together until the sound scraped inside my skull. Every muscle in my body was coiled, ready to snap.I stared at my mother across the living room like she was a stranger wearing a familiar face. Sophia sat rigid on the edge of the sofa, eyes wide, hands folded too neatly in her lap. The air felt thick, heavy with the lies that had been floating around us for days.“Mom,” I said, and the word came out low and rough, scraped raw. “I have some questions to ask you.”She opened her mouth, but I didn’t give her the chance.“One. Why did you lie to me?” My voice rose with every syllable. “You said you were in the hospital. Do you have any idea how fast I drove there? How many red lights I ran thinking something terrible had happened to you? I was read
Lucian’s POVI put my drink down slowly, staring at Sam.“What did you just say?”Sam looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck. “I said I found Lily inside the walk-in freezer at my dad’s restaurant. She was freezing, barely conscious. If I had come even a few minutes later…” He didn’t finish the sentence.My blood ran cold.“What the hell was she doing in a freezer?” My voice came out low and dangerous.“That’s what I asked her,” Sam replied. “She said she got lost. She begged me not to tell anyone… especially not you. But I couldn’t just keep quiet, Lucian. Something about it didn’t sit right.”I clenched my fists under the table. The image of Lily locked inside that freezing room made my chest tighten painfully. Someone had put her there. I was sure of it.“Where is she now?” I asked.“She was discharged. She should be home.”I stood up immediately, already pulling out my car keys. “I’m going to see her.”Sam grabbed my arm. “Lucian, wait. There’s more. When I found her,
Lily’s POVI could see the exact moment Mia’s face twisted.Was it fear? She looked like she had just seen a ghost.Before Mom could reach me, Mia rushed forward.“Lily!” she cried, her voice fake and full of forced tears. “I thought… I thought something bad had happened to you!”She pulled me into a tight hug and whispered against my ear, so only I could hear:“Don’t you dare say anything to Mom.”I smirked slightly.“Don’t threaten me,” I replied in an equally low voice.“Lily!” Mom called from behind, her voice breaking. She pulled me into her arms the next second, tears already falling. “My daughter, are you okay? You look so pale. I thought I lost you. Where were you? Where did you go? You left us panicking.”“I’m okay, Mom,” I said, my voice steadier than I expected. I glanced at Mia, who was watching me with barely hidden panic, then smiled at Mom. “I just got lost.”Mom let out a long breath of relief. “Thank God you’re safe. Why are you sleeping on the couch? Go to your room
Lily’s POVThe cold was unbearable.It seeped into my bones like sharp needles, stealing the strength from my fingers and legs. My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I forced myself to stand and search the walk-in freezer for anything I could use to break the door. There was nothing useful only frozen crates and metal shelves that were too heavy to move.I banged on the thick door with both fists until my hands went numb.“Help! Somebody! Please!”No one answered. The heavy insulation swallowed every sound.Will my life end like this?Am I going to freeze to death in here without anyone ever knowing?My phone was gone. Mia had snatched it when she pushed me inside. Panic clawed at my chest as I slid down to the floor, wrapping my arms around myself. The cold was winning. My body felt heavier with every passing second.Mom… Lucian… Nora…I whispered their names like a prayer.Please… someone open the door.It felt like God finally answered.The heavy door was suddenly pulled open. A ru
Mia’s POVLily and Sophia are nothing to me.I just have to get rid of Sophia first. Once Lucian’s mother fully believes me, everything else will fall into place.I thought about going to school, then decided against it. Skipping was better. I went straight home, careful not to be seen by Mom, and succeeded. I locked myself in my room and eventually dozed off.I woke up to the sound of Lily’s sweet, obedient voice greeting Mom downstairs like the perfect daughter she always pretended to be. I almost hissed out loud.“Where’s Mia?” Mom asked, sounding worried.I quickly jumped out of bed and hurried downstairs before Lily could open her mouth and say something useless.“I’m here, Mom. I left school earlier. And don’t ask Lily about me. We don’t go to school together, and we don’t leave together either.”“Mia…” Mom called my name gently, her voice full of concern. Or maybe it was for someone else. Whatever. I waved the thought away and turned to go back upstairs.“Mia… come down here.”







