MasukDanny's POV I woke up waiting for my life to explode. Seriously, I just lay there staring at the ceiling, clutching my phone like it was a live grenade. I was waiting for the beep that would end everything. Maybe a call from my mum or from Leo. But there was nothing. The silence was actually louder than a ringtone. It was creepy. I checked my signal full bars. I checked my data active. No Leo. No heartbroken mum. Nothing. I had already prepared myself for the drama but it never came. At least not yet. Then, a single notification popped up. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat, but it wasn’t from anyone of them. Noah Sinclair: I hope you slept well, Danny. The lilies should be blooming by now. I stared at it for a full minute. Lilies? Who even talks like that? It was so polite it felt like a threat in a different language. I didn't reply. I couldn't. My thumbs felt like lead. I just swiped the notification away and threw the phone across the bed. I wasn't doing this today. I
Gabriel's POV I left the club feeling like a ghost. Erica was still buzzing, her eyes locked on that mountain of a bodyguard like she had just found a winning lottery ticket, but she hadn’t said a word to me about what they talked about. I didn’t push it. I couldn't. My head was spinning with the bass and the guilt, a cocktail that made me want to throw up on my own shoes. I walked back to my dorm, the humid night air sticking to my skin. Every shadow on the pavement looked like Danny’s face. I kept thinking about freshman year before the secrets, before the Leo's madness. We used to just sit on the roof and talk about the future. Now, I couldn't even look him in the eye without feeling like a piece of trash. I missed my best friend. I missed the version of me that wasn't a bitch. The dorm was silent when I got back. I stripped off my clothes, dropping them in a heap, and headed straight for the shower. I needed to wash the smell of the club and the shame off me. I was standing un
Erica's POV The bass in this place was so thick I could feel it vibrating in my damn fillings. I loved it. I was currently sandwiched between two guys whose names I had already forgotten, but they were hot, they were buying me shots, and they knew how to move. That was all the criteria I needed. I was mid grind, laughing as one of them whispered something uselessly dirty in my ear, when a hand grabbed my shoulder. Hard. "Erica. It’s late. We need to go." I spun around, nearly spilling my drink down my silk dress. Gabriel was standing there, looking like a total wet blanket. He used to be fun, but since he started fucking Leo the sparks in his eyes had totally disappeared. "Gabriel, you are absolutely no fun," I shouted over the beat, pulling my shoulder away. "It’s barely one in the morning. The night is young, and so am I. Go home if you’re tired." I turned back to my two conquests, but Gabriel stepped in front of me again, blocking the view. "Seriously, Erica. The vibe is of
Danny's POV I hit accept. My heart wasn’t just beating, it was trying to punch its way out of my chest. "Hello?" I whispered. My voice sounded like it belonged to someone else. Someone smaller. "Hi, Danny. I missed you." The voice was casual. Too casual. It was the same arrogant, smooth tone he used when he was cornering me in the guest room. There was no trauma in it. No fear. "Leo?" I choked out. "Where are you? Everyone’s looking for you. They said you were kidnapped, they said..." "I have been released," he interrupted, and I could practically hear the smirk through the speaker. "Surprisingly, lol. I guess my luck hasn't run out yet." He laughed. A short, dry sound that made the hair on my arms stand up. I just played along. I didn’t know what else to do. My brain was short circuiting, trying to figure out how a guy goes from a Missing poster to lol in two weeks. "That’s... that’s good, Leo. I am glad you are okay." "Come to campus, Danny. Now. I am back in my dorm."
Danny's POV Elena didn’t even wait for me to reach the door. She pushed past me, her silk robe fluttering like a moth’s wings, and snatched the card out of the massive pink cloud of flowers. I stood there, my hand still on the door handle, feeling like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar in my own house.The delivery guy looked awkward, holding out a gold wrapped box of chocolates while Elena squinted at the handwriting."‘Sorry for yesterday,’" she read out loud. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet hum of the lobby. She flipped the card over. "‘From Noah.’"I grabbed the chocolate box and scribbled a signature on the guy’s electronic pad. I didn't say thanks. I just wanted him to leave before the air in the room caught fire. The door clicked shut, and the silence that followed was heavy enough to crush my ribs."Who is Noah?" My mom stepped forward, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked from the flowers to me, her eyes narrowed. "Danny? Since when do you have
Danny's POV I cried until my throat felt like I had swallowed a handful of thumbtacks. I cried until my eyes were so swollen I could barely see the cracks in the dorm ceiling. Eventually, the world just went gray, and I fell into a heavy, suffocating sleep.When the sun hit my face the next morning, I didn’t feel refreshed. I felt like a bruise.My phone was vibrating against the floor. Mom. I stared at her name on the screen. “Danny, please come home. We need to talk about the baby. I am worried about you.” Then another: “I am sending Chadwick to get you. Be ready.”I didn’t even have the energy to delete them. I just sat there, staring at the door.Thirty minutes later, the heavy, rhythmic thud of knuckles against wood started. It wasn’t a request. It was an order.I stood up, my legs feeling like lead, and pushed the desk away from the door. I turned the lock.Chadwick stood there. He looked perfect, as usual. Not a hair out of place, his suit crisp, his face a mask of cold, acade
Chadwick's POV The burner phone on the nightstand didn't just wake me up, it set a match to the gasoline in my veins. It was a low, ugly vibration that made the mahogany wood hum. I was upright before my brain even processed the sound, my Professor act I had been playing for months falling away li
Danny's POV "Give me my book, Erica! And how the hell are you even in here?"I didn't wait for an answer. I scrambled off the bed, my face burning with a mix of shame and pure, unadulterated rage. I moved fast, clicking the lock on my bedroom door with a sharp thud that felt way too loud in the mi
Danny's POV My fingers were still buried in the expensive wool of Chadwick’s lapels, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird as I was being consumed by a lust that felt more like a fever. I had wanted this. I had wanted to snatch the mask off his face, to prove that the Perfect Prof
Danny's POV The sun came up the next morning like it hadn't just witnessed the total collapse of my sanity. It was disgusting. The birds were chirping, the kettle was whistling, and the house smelled like expensive coffee and my mum's favourite cinnamon rolls.I stood in the kitchen doorway, leani







