FIVE : OLIVIA

OLIVIA

The ride was thrilling, spending time in my new car. I always thought I would get my first car in college—something secondhand, maybe scratched, definitely earned. Who knew it was going to be now? Who knew it would look like this?

The engine purred beneath my hands, smooth and responsive, like it was waiting for me to tell it what to do. I eased out behind Adrian’s car, my pulse jumping with every turn of the wheel. He drove ahead at an unhurried pace, considerate, like he knew I was still getting used to the feel of it.

“Take it easy,” his voice came through the speaker, calm and steady. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

“I’m fine,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Just trying not to fall in love with it too fast.”

A soft laugh answered me. “Too late for that.”

We drove through winding roads lined with trees so tall they formed a canopy overhead. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the pavement in gold. The estate stretched endlessly, manicured lawns giving way to lakes, gardens, and quiet stretches that felt untouched by the outside world.

“This place is unreal,” I murmured, more to myself than to him.

“You’ll forget that eventually,” Adrian replied. “It becomes… normal.”

I couldn’t imagine that. I couldn’t imagine any of this ever feeling normal.

We turned down a narrower road, the scenery shifting subtly. The buildings were just as extravagant as other houses in the estate, there were four in total, standing together, then I noticed the name on the body of one of the buildings.

“Is this…?” I started.

“Yeah,” Adrian said. “Your school.”

My foot eased off the accelerator as I stared.

The campus sat nestled into the landscape like it belonged there—wide lawns, tall glass-front buildings, a clock tower rising at the center. It was quiet, understandable, it's the weekend.

“It’s inside the estate,” I said slowly, disbelief curling in my chest.

“Private institution,” he explained. “Mostly kids from families who live here or nearby. Smaller classes. Strict rules.”

I swallowed. “Of course it is.”

He pulled over near the entrance, and I followed, parking beside him. For a moment, neither of us got out. I just sat there, hands resting on the steering wheel, staring at the place that was about to become my new reality.

“You nervous?” Adrian asked gently.

I exhaled. “Terrified.”

He smiled, not teasing—understanding. “You’ll be fine. It is not as intimidating as it looks.”

I glanced at him. “You went here too, didn’t you?”

“From middle school till graduation,” he said. “Same routes. Same halls.”

The thought of walking the same corridors he once had sent a strange flutter through me.

“Guess you’ll have to show me around again,” I said lightly.

“Guess I will.”

We stepped out of the cars, standing side by side as

I looked at the school once more, then at Adrian.

My new car. My new home. My new school.

And him—already woven into all of it.

Back home, I retired to my room and dropped onto my bed. I picked up my phone and insert the name of my new school on the Internet. Rich kids, every thing is so different from normal school, uniform, outing, crazy expensive excursions. I dropped my phone with a sigh.

The air in the room felt heavy, charged with a heat that had nothing to do with the thermostat. Adrian was there, his presence overwhelming and solid, a stark contrast to the quiet halls of the school they had visited. He leaned in, his hand sliding from my waist to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him until I could feel the steady, rhythmic thrum of his heart against my own.

​When he kissed me, it wasn't the polite, guarded version of the man who had guided me through the estate. It was possessive and sure. I reached up, my fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer as the world outside the room ceased to exist.

​He pulled back just an inch, his breath ghosting over my lips, his voice dropping to a low, gravelly timber that made my knees weak. "That's it," he murmured, his eyes dark with something unreadable and intense. "Such a good girl."

​A shiver that was part fire and part ice raced down my spine. His hand moved with slow, agonizing deliberation, hooking into the lace edge of my underwear, the friction of his skin against mine sending a jolt through my entire system. My breath hitched, my eyes fluttering shut as I braced for the touch—

​I bolted upright, eyes snapping open from the very vivid dram, my heart hammering against my ribs like a drum.

I let out a shaky breath, staring at the ceiling. "It was just a dream." But my body wasn't listening, I felt hot all over and overwhelmed. I took of my trousers and turned off all the lights in the room.

I went into the closet to the travelling bag I brought with me. In one of the zips was my secret, a vibrator. When I took it, I turned it on, it was charged.

I settled back in bed under the blankets, everything I was wearing from my waist down was discarded.

I clicked the device on. The low, steady hum filled the silence, sounding hauntingly like the purr of the engine from our drive earlier.

​I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately trying to summon the dream back. I pictured his eyes, the way he looked at me, the way he whispered that name.

​Good girl.

​I moved with the rhythm, my hips arching off the mattress as I chased the memory of him. Every pulse of the motor was a surrogate for his touch. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, my thoughts spiraling around the image of Adrian leaning over me in the dark. The tension coiled tighter and tighter, a spring wound to the breaking point, until finally, it snapped.

​A wave of intense heat crashed over me, leaving my muscles weak and my mind a hazy blur. I sank deep into the pillows, my chest heaving as the aftershocks slowly ebbed away.

As I laid there in the dark room, breathing heavily. I knew one thing, I was not getting over my stepbrother and I wanted him.