Chapter 1

On the first day of school, I practically bounced out of the luxury car, more excited to attend class than I had ever been in my life.

The reason was simple. Thanks to my mom’s efforts, my good days were finally about to begin.

Half a year ago, she said she wanted to go overseas for a break. She transferred me a sum for living expenses and left without hesitation.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it.

Who would’ve thought my mom was actually that capable? The moment she made her move, she landed herself a billionaire husband—the richest man in Kingsford.

The day after my sophomore final exams ended, my mom shockingly woke up early just to call me.

“Sweetheart, pack your bags. Mom’s about to upgrade our entire lives.”

And just like that, I transferred from some nameless high school on the outskirts of Kingsford to the city’s top international academy.

I ran my fingers over my brand-new uniform and couldn’t stop grinning.

A blue cropped blazer paired with a pink-and-red plaid skirt. Every piece was custom-tailored. The whole thing looked straight out of a teen drama.

No wonder this school had such insane funding.

I marveled silently.

The roads were immaculate, the campus was massive, and even breathing here felt less stressful.

I craned my neck around, staring everywhere in fascination.

The downside of that was…

Bang!

I slammed straight into someone walking toward me.

Clutching my head, I saw stars and instantly knew I was going to end up with a huge bump.

“You okay?”

A warm, gentle voice drifted down from above me.

I grimaced and looked up, only to freeze on the spot.

Holy hell.

He was ridiculously handsome.

The guy had pale skin and sharply defined brows, the kind of face that screamed campus heartthrob.

I suppressed my dizziness and waved frantically. “I’m fine! Totally fine! Nothing happened!”

The next second, warm liquid streamed from my nose.

I touched it instinctively and nearly died from embarrassment.

Great.

Apparently, I had so little self-control that seeing a handsome guy gave me a nosebleed.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

“You probably hit your nose. Hold this first. I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

He handed me a handkerchief.

I accepted it automatically, but the moment it touched my fingers, the sensation was impossible to ignore.

The silk-like texture, the impossibly smooth feel, using something this luxurious to stop my nosebleed felt like an absolute waste.

When I didn’t move for a long moment, he reached over, guiding the handkerchief against my still-bleeding nose himself.

His movements were quick, yet surprisingly gentle.

“Don’t worry about staining it. It’s washable.”

Thump.

I heard my own heartbeat.

Was it love at first sight?

No.

It was cardiac exhaustion.

Nobody told me the infirmary was this ridiculously far from the teaching building.

After cleaning the blood off my face, the doctor checked my nose again. The bleeding had mostly stopped, though the tip was still a little red.

“It’s nothing serious. Just don’t touch it for the next couple of days.”

I nodded repeatedly. The moment I looked up, I spotted the clock on the wall.

Eight o’clock sharp.

“Um… excuse me, what time does class officially start?”

“Eight ten.”

I shot to my feet instantly and bolted out before even returning the handkerchief.

“Oh no, no, no… I’m definitely going to be late!”

Somehow, sheer determination pulled off a miracle.

A fifteen-minute walk was forcibly compressed into five.

I panted heavily and dropped into an empty seat at the back of the classroom.

“You must be the transfer student!”

The girl in front of me turned around enthusiastically and greeted me with a bright smile.

“Hi, I’m Mandy Lee!”

“I… I’m Arya Barnes… nice… to…”

Mandy couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

“What on earth happened to you?”

I waved my hand, on the verge of tears over that endless trek that felt eight hundred miles long.

“Wait, what’s that in your hand?”

I froze for a second before suddenly realizing that I forgot to return the handkerchief!

I thought back to the handsome guy’s kindness and my conscience immediately started tormenting me.

I should’ve asked for his contact first!

The international academy’s schedule was pretty reasonable. Three classes in the morning, two in the afternoon, and just like that, the day was over.

When I got home, my mom was already waiting for me in the living room for dinner.

Despite being in her forties, thanks to her completely unreasonable dedication to skincare and self-care, she looked no older than thirty.

“Baby, how was school? Settling in okay?”

She rested her chin on one hand and looked at me eagerly.

I tossed down my backpack and lazily collapsed onto the couch beside her.

“It was fine. Other than languages, I’m adapting pretty well.”

God knew how I survived that fully immersive foreign-language class.

The nonstop babbling sounded worse than those listening exam recordings with the guy constantly clearing his throat.

“What’s this?”

I pointed at the two gift boxes nearby.

My mom clapped her hands excitedly.

“Sharp eyes! These are gifts I brought back for you from Moris!”

“Royal chocolates! Hurry and try them!”

I raised a brow. “Why are there two boxes?”

“One is yours, and the other one is for your brother.”

I nodded automatically before suddenly processing her words.

“Wait. Me? Brother? I have a brother?”

My mom looked at me like I was overreacting.

“Oh, come on. A stepbrother still counts as a brother. He’s in the class next to yours. Bring it to him tomorrow.”

I spread my hands helplessly. “But I don’t even know who he is.”

My mom narrowed her eyes with a grin.

“The most handsome one. Go find him yourself.”