LOGINSera PovI waited until the dorm was a silent, no footsteps in the hall or muffled laughter from the common room. I counted to three hundred after the last door clicked shut. Then I slipped out of the room with the towel slung over my shoulder as the chest binder already itching under my hoodie. The straps had been digging into my ribs all day and every breath was a reminder that I was living half a life.When I entered in the bathroom I locked the main door behind me with a click. I peeled off my clothes fingers trembling as they worked the binderâs hooks. When it finally gave, I exhaled freely for the first time in hours.Cool air kissed my skin. My breasts were small but still visible. They ached from the compression. I rolled my shoulders, let my head fall back, and stepped under the spray.For one minute, I wasnât Seth. I was just me. Sera, tired, terrified, and finally free of the lie for sixty seconds.I shouldâve known the peace wouldnât last long when I heard the lock I
Sera POVI pressed my forehead harder against the door, the cheap wood cool against my skin, like it could soak up the panic that was invading my mind. Inside, Kaelâs pacing had stopped it was silence now. Heavy, waiting silence that felt worse than the stomping or screaming.My hand hovered over the knob. One twist and I would be face to face with the guy I spent weeks pretending wasnât existing. One twist and I will have to look at him after the hallway incidentâafter the way his eyes had stripped me bare without even touching me.I couldnât do this.The phone in my pocket was a enough reason to make me talk with Kael to prevent things from going too far. Julietteâs photo. Her threat.Back off, Seth. Or this goes everywhere.If I walked in there and told him, he will surely lose it and If I don't, she is gonna send it anyway. Either way, the fuse was lit.I sucked in a breath surpressing my fear, then pushed the door open. Kael was sitting on the edge of his bed with elbows on hi
Sera PovI couldnât breathe. Not since Kael had me pinned against the wall, his hand beside my head like a cage I didnât want to escape from. His voice was low, broken, and desperate that still echoed in my ears and haunted my mind.Why him? Why Luca?I pressed my back harder against the cool plaster of the hallway wall long after he stormed off, as if the wall could help me. My pulse was beating frantically like a drum in my throat, my wrists. My skin still burned where his fingers had brushed mine.River stood a few feet away, with his arms crossed, watching me like I was a bomb about to go off.âYou okay?â he asked, his voice softer now.I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I wasnât okay; I was wrecked.Kael looked at me like I was the only thing in the world, like I was hisâlike I had betrayed him by existing near anyone else, and the worst part that made me want to scream was that I liked it. His possessiveness,the heat in his eyes. The way his voice cracked when he said my
Kael povI shouldnât be feeling this way.And yet⌠I couldnât stop it.Seth. That boy; my roommate, the one I told myself I could ignore, the one I insisted didnât was the one I kept thinking about all the damn time. He was⌠infuriating charming in ways I didnât understand. Always flustered, always scrunching his face in a way that made my chest tighten without warning. And the worst part? I didnât even know why I cared so much.I knew I was straight. Iâd always known. Girls didnât make me feel like this and yet, Sethâs smile, his subtle confidence, the way he leaned over his books, pretending to study but somehow catching my gaze made me want things I shouldnât want.The amount of jealousy I felt every time Luca lingered too close, or even glanced at him with that sly smirk, something inside me burned. I hated it. Hated it, hated it, hated it.I caught myself wanting toâno, needing toâassert my claim, show the world that Seth wasnât just anyone. He was mine. I should be the one teas
Sera POVâHey, Seth⌠did you see that?â Lucaâs voice cut through the chatter of the cafeteria, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his presence.I looked up from my tray, forcing a neutral smile. âUh⌠what?âHe leaned casually on the edge of the table, eyes sparkling with mischief. âNothing. Justâ wondering why Kael keeps glaring at us.âI froze mid-bite. My heart thudded painfully against my ribs. Kael glaring⌠at us? At me? I swallowed hard and shook my head, trying to focus on my lunch. âI⌠donât know.âI knew why he kept glaring at us. After what happened last night,I bet he was still furious about my actions.Luca smirked, clearly not buying it, but he didnât press further. Still, his presence was impossible to ignore. He always had this way of closing in without making it feel like he was, until suddenly you were painfully aware of him being near.I looked down, trying to concentrate on my fork, but my mind was elsewhere. Kaelâs absence. The way he hadnât spoken to me
Chapter 38 Sera POVI couldnât breathe my chest felt tight, my stomach kept twisting uncomfortably with every thought about how Juliette came to know about my secretâWhat if⌠what if she tells everyone?â I whispered, pressing my trembling hands to my face. My voice was barely audible and my knees were drawn up to my chest, the blanket bunched in my shaking hands. âWhat if Kael hates me⌠what if...âI didnât even finish the thought. The memory of Julietteâs smirk flashed behind my eyes. The way she had held my things,pads, tampons were the complete proof of my secret. Proof that I wasnât the boy everyone believed me to be. A proof that could ruin everything I had fought for since stepping foot in Virelade Academy.Alexanderâs warning to Juliette was supposed to make me feel safe. I should have felt relief but I didnât. My hands shook more violently now, and I clutched the blanket tighter, imagining Juliette standing there, holding it all over again, trying to humiliate me.I curled m







