Chapter 1

Elena's POV

Everyone was celebrating.

Music blasted through the university courtyard, people were hugging, taking pictures, throwing their graduation caps into the air, and screaming like they had just won the lottery.

I was doing the exact opposite.

I was packing my bags.

I shoved another blouse into my suitcase and pulled the zipper halfway before stopping.

My fingers were trembling.

I stared at the suitcase in front of me, but all I could see was what had happened in the female restroom less than an hour ago.

"Elena!"

A blonde hurricane launched herself into my room and around my neck. She burst out laughing, vanilla perfume everywhere.

"Sophie! Holy shit, let me breathe!"

Sophie Bennet dragged me out of the bed, blue eyes sparkling, looking flawless in a cropped SPU crewneck and denim shorts.

"I've been waiting at the graduation hall for an hour!" She bounced, gripping my hands. "We've finally graduated. Officially college graduates. No more note, assignments, and preparing for exams."

"Yeah, you're right." I managed to mutter, the anxiety in my chest grew worst. I just couldn't bring myself to pretend any further. 

Looking at her after what I've seen, hit harder than I expected.

Sophie was my best friend in the whole world. The only friend I've managed to have. 

I swallowed hard.

No matter how many times I tried to push the image out of my head, it came back.

Sophie pressed against another man, his hands around her waist and her lips against his.

And the worst part? She looked completely happy.

Like she wasn't currently dating Adrian. My stepbrother.

I shut my eyes. "Maybe I should tell him." The words left my mouth quietly, then I laughed bitterly.

“Tell who what?” Sophie asked, looking confused. 

I snapped back into reality, realizing I'd actually said those words out loud. 

“I… Never mind, that just came out wrong..” 

Holy fuck! What was I doing? What do I want to tell Adrain? That his girlfriend had been kissing another man in the bathroom?

What proof did I have?

Nothing. Not even a picture.

If I walked up to Adrian and told him what I had seen, he would probably stare at me like I had lost my mind. And honestly, who would he believe?

Me? Or Sophie?

The girl he had been seeing for months? His beautiful, charming girlfriend who everyone loved?

I already knew the answer.

My chest tightened. Besides, there was another problem.

I was in love with Adrian. I had been for years since my mother got married to his father. Roughly four years of utterly pathetic, unrequited yearning.

And nobody knew. Not even Sophie. Especially not Sophie.

I had buried those feelings so deeply that sometimes I convinced myself they didn't exist.

Adrain was my stepbrother. And he was completely out of my league.

He was the legendary hockey captain now, a campus celebrity, a projected first-round NHL pick, and the almighty heir of the Blackwood empire. A literal god on campus, the guy everyone knew by name before they'd even met him.

And me? A regular psych student who just graduated. A face in a crowd of thousands. I was nothing compared to him. 

A loud cheer suddenly erupted outside. I froze.

I already knew who it was before I even heard the whispers.

"Adrian is here!"

"Oh my God!"

"Where?"

"He's coming this way!"

I slowly turned toward the courtyard and there he was. Adrian Blackwood. 

The second he stepped into the courtyard, it was like someone had flipped a switch.

Heads turned. Girls whispered.

A few even pulled out their phones, and he didn't seem bothered by any of it.

He simply walked through the crowd with that lazy confidence he always had, lifting an oversized gear bag like it weighed nothing.

He was wearing a faded charcoal SPU Hockey hoodie, sleeves shoved up over thick forearms marked with faint, pale scars. He moved with a quiet, lethal kind of grace that owned the whole sidewalk without trying.

His dark hair was slightly messy, like he had run his fingers through it one too many times.

"Adrain! Babe!" Sophie yelled, waving her arm as she dragged me forward.

"You're still here! I thought you had team meetings or some shit."

Adrain's steel-blue eyes finally blinked, breaking the trance holding us both captive.

The intense, burning gaze vanished, replaced by something calm and neutral. He wiped his hands on his jeans and stepped toward us, his heavy boots clicking against the pavement.

"Meetings aren't for another hour," he said, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone that seemed to vibrate through the soles of my sneakers.

He stopped right in front of us, looming over me like a mountain, his eyes scanning my face for a second before a small, polite smile touched his lips.

"And I wasn't going to miss my sister's graduation."

"Yeah." I choked the words out, trying to keep my voice from squeaking, clutching my hands behind my back so he wouldn't see them shaking. "Yeah, I was going to kill you if you did."

"Good?" Sophie snorted, elbowing my side. 

“Yes.” I muttered. 

Adrain glanced at his watch. "I've got about twenty minutes before I have to be at the rink. I'll carry this up first."

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" I blurted, my face flushing hot as I held back the bag I've packed. 

"Seriously, I can handle it. I won't let you carry something that heavy.” 

He paused, holding the box easily against his chest, and looked down at me, a shadow of annoyance crossing his face. "And Dad will have my head on a spike, if he ever found out I let you moved out of campus by yourself."

Family.

The word landed like a slap. A cold bucket of water dumped straight over my pathetic, simmering thoughts.

Right. That's all I was to him. His little step sister. A charity case to keep safe.

"Fine. whatever. thanks." I muttered.

keeping my eyes glued to the concrete as we walked back inside Maple Hall.

Adrain led the way, his shoulders clearing a path through the chaotic hallway.

Students scrambled out of his way the second they clocked the SPU Hockey logo on his hoodie, and a few girls stared at us unashamedly as we passed.

"That's Elena, right?" One girl whispered.

"Yeah."

"She's so lucky."

"To have Adrian as her stepbrother?"

"I would literally die."

I looked away. Lucky.

That word always made something inside me ache.

They didn't know what it was like living in the same house as someone you could never have.

He ignored all of it, completely locked into his task, and dumped the box by my car before leaning his frame against the car.

"Did you get everything sorted?" His voice dropped into that protective tone he always used when he was looking out for Sophie and me. "If there's anything left, I could talk to my boys to get it done for you."

"No, I'm good, totally sorted." I flashed a bright, fake smile while internally screaming. 

"Good." His gaze lingered on my face a second too long.

"Adrain, oh my god, stop being such a dad." Sophie rolled her eyes and pushed past me to meet him. "She's old enough to take care of herself. But I? I need you right now in the bathroom. I've got a few tricks I want to show you."

He caught her easily, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled, then she kissed him right there, in front of everyone.

The crowd immediately erupted into whistles and cheers.

I stood completely still, my fingers tightened around the handle of my suitcase.

I couldn't look away. Sophie pulled back and rested her forehead against his.

"I love you," she whispered.

Adrian smiled. "I love you too."

My stomach turned. Hard. I quickly looked away, because all I could see was Sophie in that bathroom. And now she was standing here, kissing Adrian like she was the most faithful girlfriend in the world.

I pressed my lips together, I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Elena?" I looked up, Adrian was staring at me.

My heart jumped. "Yeah?"

He smiled. "I have something for you."

My heart skipped. "What is that?"

Adrian reached into his pocket. "Here." He held out a small black box.

I blinked. "What's this?"

"Open it."

Sophie looked at him suspiciously. "You didn't get her something expensive, did you?"

We all laughed. I slowly lifted the lid, my breath caught. Inside was a delicate necklace. A small infinity pendant rested in the center. It was simple, beautiful and somehow perfect.

I stared at it. “Thank you.” I muttered breathlessly. 

"Turn around, I'll put it on."

I hesitated, then I turned around. A second later, I felt his fingers brush against the back of my neck.

My entire body went still. His fingers were warm, and my heart started pounding so loudly I was convinced he could hear it.

"There. Happy graduation sis."

I touched the pendant and smiled."It's beautiful."

"Anyway," he said, picking up my suitcase again, "Mom told me to bring you home as soon as you're done."

"Why?"

He gave me a strange look. "The family prepared a graduation party for the both of us."

I froze. "What?"