Mag-log inWren’s POVIf feelings had a volume knob, mine got twisted all the way up and then snapped off somewhere around my ribs.I tried to act normal. I really did. I nodded when people talked, laughed when something vaguely sounded like a joke, even unwrapped one of Lucas’s chocolates like I hadn’t just walked back into the group holding Kai’s hand like it had always belonged there.Like it didn’t change everything.But my brain? My brain was a crowded room with too many voices.Kai’s voice, low and steady: Yeah.The way he said it. No hesitation. No shame. Just… truth.And Lucas—quiet now. Not defeated. Not gone. Just watching in that way that made me feel like I was standing under a spotlight I didn’t ask for.I glanced at him once.Big mistake.Because he was already looking at me.Not angry. Not even upset, really. Just… aware. Sharp in a way that made my chest tighten. Like he was recalculating, reshuffling, deciding his next move.And somehow, that made everything worse.Because this
Kai’s POVI knew exactly what Lucas was doing.That was the problem.If it had been random, careless, just him being his usual loud, attention-hungry self, I would’ve ignored it. Would’ve brushed it off like background noise. But it wasn’t random. It wasn’t careless. It was deliberate. Every move he made today had intention stitched into it, clean and precise, like he’d planned it down to the second.The ball.The touch.The note.The roses.The chocolates.Each one landed exactly where it was supposed to.And Wren noticed.That was the part that sat wrong in my chest.Not because she did anything wrong. She didn’t. She wasn’t encouraging him, not really. But she noticed. She reacted. She smiled. And Lucas… he fed off that. I could see it in the way his shoulders straightened just slightly every time her attention shifted toward him, like he was collecting wins in a game I hadn’t agreed to play.But now we were here anyway.Standing in the park just outside school, the air still damp
Lucas’ POVI’d been trying to blend in, laughing with the guys, tossing the ball around like I wasn’t thinking about anything serious. Like school wasn’t a chessboard and I wasn’t three moves behind what was happening between them. But of course, I noticed. I always notice.The subtle way Kai’s eyes followed her hand when she adjusted her sleeve. The small tilt of her head whenever he leaned in slightly. I caught the almost imperceptible shift in her posture—the little pauses, the little sighs, the way she let him occupy space around her. And it was driving me insane.Not that I wanted her. Not like that. At least… not that way. Wren was Wren. Dangerous, brilliant, chaotic, and completely not mine. But right now? I had to stake a claim. Had to remind everyone in the room that I was still part of the picture. That I still had a place in her orbit.And so I waited. Patiently. Or tried to.The ball flew toward me, careless, reckless. I caught it with one hand, spun it slowly, letting it
Kai’s POVI knew that name before I even saw the screen.Lucas.It didn’t matter that she hadn’t said it yet. I felt it. The shift. The way her body went just slightly tense under my hands. The way her breathing changed like something delicate had just been dropped into the middle of the room.And I hated how fast I noticed.Hated how fast I reacted.My hands stayed on her waist.I didn’t even think about moving them.Didn’t want to.She hesitated.Of course she did.Because now there was a choice sitting right there in her palm, glowing back at her.Me.Or him.Not fully. Not yet. But close enough to make my chest tighten.“I should… answer,” she said softly.Careful.Too careful.Like she was trying not to set something off.My jaw tightened before I could stop it.I didn’t like how that sounded.Didn’t like that she felt like she had to tread lightly with me.Still…“Yeah,” I said.Calm.Too calm.“Answer him.”Because I wasn’t going to be that guy.I wasn’t going to cage her.Even
Wren’s POVMy brain was short circuiting every five minutes.I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, textbook open in front of me, staring at the same paragraph for what had to be the fifteenth time.I hadn’t read a single word.Not one.Because all I could think about was—His hand in mine.His mouth on mine.The way he said you’re mine like it was the most obvious thing in the world.“God,” I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Get it together, Sinclair.”My phone buzzed beside me.I didn’t even hesitate this time.Kai.My stomach flipped before I even opened it.Kai:You alive?I rolled my eyes, but I was already smiling.Me:Barely. I’ve been trying to read the same page for 20 minutes.Three dots.Fast.Kai:Yeah? What’s it about?I glanced at the book like it might suddenly cooperate.Me:No idea.His response came immediately.Kai: Come over.My heart stuttered again.It was getting ridiculous at this point, I should definitely get checked.Me:Kai…The three dots danced on
Wren’s POVYou'd think that this morning would be celestially different, but it wasn't, no brighter skies, no heavenly orchestra singing or slapping me fir my crazy decisions, considering I had practically lost my mind in Kai’s room last night. Considering his hands had been on me, his mouth on me, his voice in my ear saying things that still made my stomach flip just thinking about them.And his mom.Oh my God.His mom.I dragged a pillow over my face and groaned into it, legs kicking against my bed like I could physically shake the memory out of my body.“Why am I like this?” I muttered into the fabric.Because I went to his house sex crazed, climbed onto his lap, and...I stopped the thought right there.Nope.We were not replaying that. Not at 8:12 in the morning when I still had to function like a normal human being.I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.My phone buzzed beside me startling my little heart.Stupid. So stupid.I reached for it anyway.Kai.Of course it was
Wren’s POV“Whatever this is, I don’t want it. I don’t. I don’t—then why am I shaking?”---The sky was already inky when the doorbell rang. I didn’t move. Not even a flinch. I sat in the middle of my bed, legs folded, textbook open but ignored, chewing the inside of my cheek raw.I knew that sound
Wren’s POVThe street felt different the moment we turned the corner.Quieter. Lonelier.Like the world itself was holding its breath, waiting to see what we would say to each other after everything that had happened.Lucas walked beside me, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, his shoulders s
I woke up to the faint smell of something warm. something like vanilla and… was that syrup?I blinked against the sunlight streaming through oddly familiar curtains, my head pounding softly behind my eyes. For a moment, nothing made sense. Then I registered the soft cotton brushing against my thigh
My heart slammed against my ribs.“Kai…” I breathed, though I didn’t even know what I was trying to say. A warning? A plea?His hand moved again, down, down, sliding past my hip to the top of my thigh. This time, he didn’t stop.His fingers brushed the hem of my skirt and slipped beneath it, inch b







