LOGINMy mind raced at breakneck speed, searching frantically for any bullshit story that wouldn't trace back to Damien or even Sterling Academy at all.If I uttered his name right now, my mother’s protective instincts would flare up instantly. She'd jump straight to the conclusion that I was getting mistreated by those rich bastards at school—and the last thing I needed was her storming down to the school board, demanding answers.That kind of noise would blow my secret wide open before I even had a chance to fix it. "Uhm—I—I dropped a damn glass jar at the convenience store down the street," I blurted, forcing my voice into a flat, mildly annoyed tone as I yanked my wrist out of Maya's grip. "Tried to catch the stupid thing before it smashed, and a sharp edge grazed my palm. It's really no big deal."Maya squinted at me, her sharp brown eyes searching every line on my face for the tiny micro-expressions she’d learned to read over years of friendship."A glass jar?" She crossed her arms,
Damien's POV After lots of sighs and mumble, I finally picked up my phone from the bed, my thumbs moving in a feverish, sweaty rush. I needed to call Maya right away.I had to tell her not to come home this weekend, maybe to stay at her aunt's house or do literally anything else. If she came back today, I was very sure she would ruin every single part of my plan. She had been my day-one bestie for as long as I could remember, but right now, her presence was the absolute last thing I needed.I tapped her name, bringing the phone to my ear, praying she'd pick up so I could invent a lie… just anything to keep her away.“Leo! Come down! Maya is back!”My mom's voice boomed up the stairwell, sounding like a death sentence. The phone almost slipped right out of my hand. My heart didn't just drop; it hit the floor and shattered into pieces.Tears of sheer, overwhelmed frustration pricked at the corners of my eyes. A desperate, heavy sob caught right in the back of my throat. Are you actuall
Leo's Pov By 4:00 AM, the suffocating heat inside the club had finally begun to thin out. My head was spinning in slow, heavy circles, the floor beneath my shoes feeling far too soft.I was slumped against the edge of the velvet VIP booth, my denim jacket discarded beside me, trying to catch my breath as the room hummed with a low, dull buzz.Sebastian slid past the VIP rope, tossing a set of silver keys up into the air and catching them with a lazy, effortless smirk. He looked completely untouched by the alcohol—cool, composed, and infuriatingly charming.“You're up?” he asked, leaning down and clapping a warm, reassuring hand over my shoulder, his voice dripping with smooth, teasing warmth. “I think this should do for some time. My driver is waiting outside. I'd offer to drop you right at your doorstep, but if Damien finds out I kept his assistant out past midnight, he'll probably have my head on a stake.”He chuckled softly, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze that made my heart a
Leo's Pov I couldn't remember the last time I'd practically sprinted past the kitchen table on a Saturday night.My fingers were hovering two inches from the cool brass of the front doorknob when my mom's voice cut through the quiet passage, sharp enough to pin me right in place.“Going out?”She stood in the archway of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a worn dish towel, her eyes narrowing with that terrifying, quiet intuition mothers only get when something is wrong.“Since when do you leave the house at eight o'clock on a Saturday, Leo? You've been pacing in your room like a caged animal all afternoon, and now you're... what, dressed up?”I froze, my throat going completely dry. I reached up, tugging nervously at the collar of my dark denim jacket just to give my hands something to do—and to hide the pulse hammering violently against my neck.“Uhm... just—catching up with someone from school,” I mumbled, keeping my body half-turned toward the door so she couldn't read the gu
Damien's POVCelebrations in my grandfather's penthouse were always a suffocating ordeal. I despised every single second of it. But my father had made it abundantly clear that as the sole heir to the Sterling family, my attendance wasn't optional—it was mandatory.I hated seeing all those fake, greedy old men my father called friends, parading their wealth while exchanging rehearsed lies over expensive alcohol. But since everything I did was always tied to my father's will… I had no choice.The bass from the sound system kept pulsing through the floor, vibrating up through the soles of my shoes, while the chandeliers threw fractured light across a room full of people—investors, board members, and a senator's daughter who kept trying to catch my eye from across the bar.I held a glass of something amber I hadn't touched, using it as a prop, something to keep my hands occupied so nobody would notice they were shaking.I backed further into the shadowed corner of the lounge, completely
"Oh my! Why on earth must it be now? My only free time!” I mumbled as the high-pitched chime of the PA system died out, leaving a suffocating silence in the library before the entire building erupted into noise.Chair legs scraped violently against the hardwood, and within seconds, hundreds of footsteps were thundering down the corridors toward the Grand Auditorium. Students grumbled back and forth, visibly annoyed by the impromptu assembly.I stood up on legs that felt like wet cardboard, my fingers instinctively clutching the straps of my bag so hard that the coarse canvas bit right into my bandaged hand. Fresh, sharp pain shot up my wrist, but I welcomed it. It was the only thing keeping me grounded as I was swallowed by the tide of students pushing through the double doors.Of course I knew it was about the security breach from yesterday, but it had nothing to do with me. As long as Chloe kept her promise, I was completely safe.When I stepped into the auditorium, the sheer weight







