Fatal Game of Hearts

Keira Johnston froze for a split second, then her smile turned even softer as she shoved the bouquet of roses into my arms. "Then come back with me tonight—""I don’t like roses. Bring me sunflowers next time." Before she could finish, I tossed the bouquet straight into the trash.Her expression tightened, irritation flashing across her face like she was about to snap.[Keira Johnston’s affection level: negative. Increase immediately.]I beat her to it, my own face turning cold. "You said you like me. Don’t tell me you’re just fooling around?"She instinctively opened her mouth to argue.I looked her up and down, eyes narrowing slightly. "You were the one who confessed, which means you’re the one chasing me. Naturally, you should be giving me what I actually like. If it’s not sunflowers next time, we’re breaking up."With that, I turned and walked off.[Affection falling. Recalibrate.]At the program’s urging, I let out a quiet, mocking laugh.'Women are predictable. The bett

"I want to go back and change, though. Can you wait for me? Half an hour, tops."She stared at me for a long moment before finally saying, "Hurry."[Affection at 30%. Intimacy projected to increase by 20%.]I let out a soft laugh. "Who said I was going to sleep with her?"[Action already approved.]I smiled faintly. Who said something “exciting” had to mean sex?She had approached me with an agenda from the start. If I actually slept with her, her affection wouldn’t rise; it would drop.By the next day, my nudes would probably be circulating all over the city.Besides, someone like her disgusted me. Just being around her was already pushing it, let alone anything more intimate.Half an hour later, the roar of an engine approached from a distance. I pulled off a clean stop, the motorcycle coming to a halt just a step away from her. I took off my helmet, tilting my head slightly, revealing my face.She stared, eyes wide, completely stunned. Even without looking at her expressio

Her face went deathly pale.The moment I looked at her, the guilt in her eyes was almost tangible. She tried to push Archer away in a panic, but he only doubled down, his voice turning vicious."Tell me, where did he get the energy to take the exam? Didn’t you wear him out enough?"That was the final straw. She shoved him hard.Caught off guard, he stumbled and crashed to the floor, his arm scraping open as blood seeped out."Keira!" He sounded genuinely hurt.However, she looked at him coldly, her voice sharp. "Stop talking nonsense. The night before the exam, we only went to watch the sunrise. And we’ve been together for a month now. I confessed to him in public. Everyone at school can all confirm it.""If you say one more thing to smear him, I won’t let it slide."He froze. He had never imagined she would turn on him. When it finally sank in, he snapped completely, lunging at her with his fists flying.Even as the bodyguards pinned him down and dragged him away, he kept sho

A flicker of delight flashed in her eyes.I bit down on my lower lip, slipping back into the version of myself that used to love her."I’m jealous… jealous of how good you used to be to him. I don’t believe you never had real feelings for him, unless…"She leaned in, impatient. "Unless what?""Unless you can prove it. Prove to me you don’t feel anything for him anymore."She hesitated. "Zane, what do you want me to do?"My voice dropped, low and coaxing, like a whisper from a devil. "You already know, don’t you?"Of course she did.With that darkness in her, she knew exactly what I meant.Ever since his status as the adopted heir had been exposed, he’d been pushed out of high society. He tried reaching out to her a few times, but she ignored him completely.So when she suddenly invited him to a party, he was overjoyed.Before leaving, he even came to brag, "I told you. She was never into you. Just wait. I’ll crush you again."With that, he headed off, full of excitement. Un