Chapter 5 – The Proposal

POV: Elena

Almost instantly, the heavy, dark atmosphere Jace radiated began driving his guests toward the exits. Nobody wanted to be in the firing line of Halden University’s golden boy when he looked like he was about to rip a door off its hinges. Whispering crowds flooded, scrambling to grab their jackets and slip out into the cool night air before the storm completely broke.

I didn't wait around to watch the aftermath. Panic flooded my system, and I spun on my heel, rushing toward the safety of the staircase. My hand gripped the iron railing, my socks sliding against the smooth marble as I took the steps two at a time, desperate to lock myself back inside my room.

I had almost reached the top landing when a heavy, calloused hand wrapped around my forearm.

Before I could even gasp, I was yanked backward, my charger slipping from my fingers and clattering down the stairs. Jace didn't care. He dragged me effortlessly down the upper corridor, his long strides forcing me to stumble to keep up.

"Jace! Let go of me!" I hissed, twisting my arm, but it was like trying to break free from a steel cuff. "What the hell are you doing? Let me go!"

He didn't say a word. His broad shoulders were tense under his black hoodie, his breathing heavy and ragged. He kicked open the heavy oak door to his private wing of the house; a dark, masculine study lined with sports memorabilia and leather furniture, shoved me inside, and slammed the door shut behind us, clicking the deadbolt into place.

The sudden silence of the room was deafening. Jace paced back and forth like a caged predator, his fingers running through his dark hair as he muttered curses under his breath. He was in a total panic.

"You need to shut up and listen to me," he snapped, turning on me. His gray eyes were bloodshot. "Camille isn't bluffing. If she takes those screenshots to the athletic department on Monday, my morality clause kicks in. The board will strip my captaincy, kill my scholarship, and throw me off the team before the first game of the season. Plus, dad isn't going to help matters as he thinks 'I need to make it for myself'."

I pressed my back against the locked door, my heart hammering. "And what does that have to do with me? Your toxic relationship drama is your own fault, Jace. You brought this on yourself."

"My father will disown me, Elena!" Jace shouted, stepping into my space, his massive frame completely towering over me. The smell of cheap beer and raw adrenaline rolled off him. "Richard cares about one thing: the family brand. If I get dragged into a public cheating scandal that ruins his clean corporate image, he will cut me off without a dime. My career will be dead before it even starts."

"Good!" I barked back, a sudden surge of defensive anger overriding my fear. I glared up into his handsome, furious face. "Maybe you'll finally learn that you can't just act like a monster and get away with it. You think because your dad is a billionaire you're untouchable? Welcome to the real world, Jace."

He stopped. His jaw clenched so hard a muscle violently ticked under his skin. A dark, terrifyingly calm smirk slowly replaced his panicked expression, and my stomach instantly dropped.

"The real world?" Jace repeated, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly purr that sent a chill straight down my spine. "You want to talk about the real world, stepsister? Let's talk about yours."

He walked over to his desk, unlocking the bottom drawer with a small key from his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out a battered, dusty notebook with a fading pink cover.

My breath completely left my body. The room felt like it was spinning.

No. No, no, no.

"Recognize this?" Jace asked, holding it up between two fingers. "You gave me this back in middle school when you were confessing your undying love for me."

God no.

Why the hell did he still have it?

It was my private journal from middle school. The one where I had poured out every single ounce of my pathetic, embarrassing teenage soul. The journal contained pages and pages of explicit p**n and deeply humiliating romantic fantasies I had written about him years ago, back when I was just a lonely, awkward girl who secretly, desperately wanted her crush to notice her, instead I got a bully.

"You wouldn't," I whispered, my voice suddenly cracking as the old, familiar shame threatened to choke me.

"I absolutely would," Jace said, stepping closer until he was inches away from me, trapping me against the solid wood of the door. He looked down at me with a toxic, desperate smirk, his gray eyes glinting with ruthless determination. "Here's how this is going to go, Ellie. Monday morning, we go to campus together. You're going to slide a diamond ring onto your finger, and we're going to tell everyone that our parents brought us together, and we fell in love in private. A devoted, sweet fiancée from my new family is exactly the distraction I need to prove Camille's rumors are just a bitter lie."

"I’m your sister now Jace. Plus I'll never help you," I choked out, tears of absolute rage stinging the corners of my eyes. "I hate you, Jace and I will tell Richard."

"Go ahead," Jace whispered, leaning down until his breath brushed against my ear, making me flinch. "Tell him. But remember this: if my career goes down, my dad loses his investments. And if Richard gets pissed off enough to dissolve this new marriage, your mother goes right back to the gutter. No more expensive dresses, no more imported marble. She’ll be broke again, Elena. All because you couldn't play along."

My eyes instantly went wide.

He pulled back, his eyes scanning my pale, trembling face with a terrifying satisfaction. He tapped the pink notebook against my chest.

"Be a good little girl and be my fake fiancée for the season, Elena. Because if you say no, the entire campus reads your little diary tomorrow morning and finds out what a dirty, desperate, fantasizing little slut you really are. Doesn't give a very good first impression, does it? The choice is yours, little sister.”