Fresher's Night

Nyra's pov 

Attending the Blackthorne Heights Freshers Gala was probably a terrible idea, Whiich was exactly why I went. 

     The entire campus had been talking about the party since morning. Apparently it was less of a “welcome event” and more of an elite social parade where rich freshmen showed off designer outfits and fake personalities beneath expensive chandeliers. 

Normally, I would’ve stayed inside my room peacefully, But after days in that penthouse with annoying Kaizen, Seraphina's saga and all, I realized I needed to cool off and feed my eyes.

Even if my reputation on campus already felt dangerously fragile.

The moment I stepped out of my suite, I nearly turned back around, the dress hugged my body too perfectly. Soft black satin draped elegantly over my curves, the fabric shimmering subtly whenever light touched it. The slit along one side revealed just enough leg to feel dangerous without trying too hard, the sleeves were sheer, the back dipped low and the black veil resting over my curls concealed most of my face except my lips and eyes.

Mysteriously Elegant…

Unrecognizable.

Perfect.

I stared at myself one last time inside the elevator mirror.

Nobody would know it was me.

Good.

Because after overhearing girls online planning to “humble the scholarship girl,” at the party, caution suddenly felt necessary.

Music echoed louder the closer I got to the Multipurpose hall, striding to the ballroom.

By the time the elevator opened, the entire atmosphere hit me at once. Crystal chandeliers glowed above crowds of students dressed like celebrities. Soft gold lighting reflected across polished floors while waiters carried drinks through the massive ballroom.

Everything screamed wealth, Laughter, Champagne glasses, Designer heels, Expensive perfume. Even though I hadn't put much effort in my appearance, I still looked better than most of them.

I adjusted the veil carefully before slipping deeper into the crowd unnoticed, exactly how I wanted it.

At least until familiar voices caught my attention.

Seraphina Vale sat near the center lounge area surrounded by girls who looked identical in heavy makeup, glossy lips, and rehearsed laughter.

Campus royalty, I slowed my steps instinctively after hearing my name.

“She’ll definitely show up,” one girl scoffed confidently. “That scholarship attention-seeker loves publicity too much.”

Seraphina crossed her legs elegantly while sipping her drink.

“If she does,” she said coolly, “make sure the guys don’t let her leave alone.”

Another girl laughed.

“Oh my God.”

“No,” Seraphina continued casually. “I’m serious. Humiliate her enough and she’ll disappear from campus herself.”

A cold feeling settled inside my chest.

One of the girls smirked.

“I already told Liam and the others to keep her busy tonight.”

“Busy how?” another asked knowingly.

The first girl laughed harder.

“You know exactly how.”

Rape.

The realization hit me instantly beneath their fake giggles and polished smiles, my stomach twisted violently.

For one second, anger nearly exposed me completely, but I stayed still…..quiet, Hidden beneath my veil.

Because unlike them I came prepared.

Seraphina leaned back against the couch lazily.

“She embarrassed Kaizen publicly. She deserves whatever happens.”

The words burned, Not because of fear, but girls like them treated destruction like entertainment.

Suddenly the crowd shifted near the ballroom entrance…Whispers spread immediately

“He’s here.”. Kaizen Arclair.

Of course, attention followed him naturally like breathing.

Girls visibly straightened around the room the second he entered wearing an expensive black tuxedo tailored perfectly against his broad frame.

Several girls immediately surrounded him, laughing too loudly, touching his arm, flirting shamelessly.

Kaizen barely reacted.

His expression stayed distant and uninterested.

Like his body was physically present while his mind searched somewhere else entirely.

I kept on watching, Then unexpectedly…his eyes began moving slowly through the ballroom crowd.

Searching, my heartbeat stumbled strangely.

Was he looking for someone?

Seraphina noticed too.

Her smile tightened instantly before she stood gracefully and walked toward him with practiced confidence and pride, every eye followed her.

The perfect campus couple.

Except the tension between them felt painfully fake up close.

“Baby,” she greeted sweetly, reaching for his arm.

Kaizen glanced down briefly before calmly moving away from her touch.

Subtle, but obvious enough.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Seraphina continued smoothly.

“I noticed,” he replied flatly.

Ouch.

Even from across the ballroom, I felt that rejection. LoL.

Still, Seraphina maintained her smile beautifully,

“I wanted to apologize about the penthouse incident.”

Kaizen said nothing, she stepped closer anyway.

“I overreacted,” she admitted softly. “I just didn’t like seeing another girl around you.”

His expression remained unreadable.

“I wasn’t trying to cause problems.”

Silence, Long silence.

Then finally, Kaizen looked at her directly.

And somehow his face became even colder….

“You already did.”

Seraphina’s smile nearly cracked.

But before she could recover, girls approached him asking excitedly for a dance.

Kaizen refused every single one.

Politely, But bluntly.

His eyes kept wandering back toward the crowd afterward…Searching again.

Like something irritated him, Or worried him.

I watched from beneath my veil quietly, confused by the strange tension in his face.

Then suddenly, his gray eyes landed directly on me.

Everything inside me froze.

The ballroom noise faded instantly beneath the weight of his stare.

He couldn’t possibly recognize me…Not through the veil, Not in this crowd.

But Kaizen stopped moving completely, like instinct itself had caught his attention. He's is gaze dragged slowly over my dress.

The veil, my exposed shoulders, then back to my eyes.

Just before I could take a step to escape, drunk Liam bumped into me and grabbed my wrist lustfully licking his lip, making an attempt to unveil my face, Kaizen arrived right in time and knocked him off. He stood up angrily, but mellowed the moment he saw Kaizen.

“Sorry we were just talking” he said while scampering off.

The second Liam and his friends disappeared down the hallway, silence settled heavily between us, My heartbeat still hadn’t calmed.

Kaizen stood directly in front of me, tall enough to block half the light spilling from the ballroom behind him. The music sounded distant now beneath the pounding inside my chest.

His gray eyes dropped slowly toward my wrist where Liam’s fingers had left angry red marks.

Something dangerous flickered across his expression.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

I nodded in affirmation, I couldn't let him recognize my voice.

“You’re shaking.”

Annoying….

Why did he always notice things I wanted hidden?

I folded my arms instinctively, trying to regain some dignity after nearly getting cornered by drunk idiots in a hallway.

he started staring at me strangely, not mockingly this time. Carefully….like he was trying to solve something.

My stomach tightened instantly beneath the veil.

No….Impossible.

The entire point of wearing this dress and veil was to avoid attention tonight, to disappear, to breathe without becoming “the scholarship girl for for one evening.

Kaizen took one slow step closer, then another.

His gaze remained fixed on my face beneath the black lace veil covering the upper half of it.

And suddenly, I realized exactly what he was looking at…My lips, My eyes….

Oh no.

His brows furrowed slightly, recognition flashed slowly across his face. Suddenly he laughed softly under his breath….not cruel, almost impressed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

My heartbeat stumbled violently.

I stepped backward instinctively.

Kaizen tilted his head slightly while staring directly into my eyes now.

“Nyra?”

Damn it.

I should’ve denied it.

Instead, my stupid silence exposed everything.

A slow smirk spread across his face instantly,

“There you are.”

Heat rushed embarrassingly into my cheeks beneath the veil.

“How did you…..”

“ You twitch ur lips whenever you're irritated”

“You roll your eyes before insulting people,” he interrupted lazily.

I blinked..

“What?”

My face burned harder, Kaizen looked entirely too pleased with himself for observing her little trick..

“You’ve been glaring at people all night exactly the same way.”

I crossed my arms tighter.

“Well maybe stop observing me like a psychopath.”

A low laugh escaped him.

That stupid laugh should not sound that good,

Kaizen’s eyes drifted slowly over me again.

And this time, I felt it …The way his gaze lingered longer than necessary.

The black satin dress hugged my body softly, the fabric shimmering beneath the golden ballroom lights whenever I moved. The slit along my thigh revealed flashes of smooth skin with every step while the sheer sleeves wrapped delicately around my arms.

Dangerously hot!!!!!

Nothing like the oversized hoodies and messy buns he usually saw me in.

My mother bought this dress years before she died.. she said it looked like something “meant for unforgettable nights.”

I never had the courage to wear it before until tonight.

Kaizen swallowed slightly.

Then quietly….”You look gorgeous, Nyra.”

The compliment hit me harder than it should have.

Especially because he sounded sincere, Not teasing, not flirtatious,...Just honest.

And somehow that felt sweet.

Warmth spread uncontrollably through my chest before I could stop it, Then it happened.

A small accidental smile, but real appeared which he noticed immediately.

His expression shifted for one brief second…Like seeing me smile genuinely surprised him.

“There,” he murmured softly.

“What?”

“That smile.”

His gray eyes stayed locked onto mine.

“You should do it more often.”

My heartbeat betrayed me instantly, II looked away first.

Big mistake.

Because his attention somehow felt heavier now, Too personal, Too close….

We shouldn't be this cozy, the ballroom suddenly felt suffocating.

“I should go,” I muttered quickly.

Kaizen didn’t stop me.

But I felt his eyes following me the entire way back through the crowd.

And somehow, that awareness lingered painfully beneath my skin.

The party lasted another hour, I barely survived it.

Girls kept staring.

Whispers followed me through the ballroom…

And every few minutes, I caught Kaizen watching me from somewhere across the room like he still hadn’t fully processed the fact that I was the mysterious girl beneath the veil.

By the time I finally slipped out and made my way to the Penthouse exhaustion already weighed heavily inside me as the Cold night air hit my skin the second I pushed open the balcony doors.

Kaizen stood there waiting, Leaning lazily against the railing with both hands inside his pockets.

He'd known I will definitely return early enough since I wasn't comfortable. 

Moonlight silvered softly across his sharp features while distant city lights glowed beneath the Vancouver skyline behind him.

His eyes lifted toward me calmly…

“Took you long enough.”

I frowned immediately.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“No,” he replied smoothly. “I just enjoy standing dramatically on balconies.”

“Jerk.”

“There she is again.”

I rolled my eyes and moved beside the railing carefully.

Kaizen watched me quietly for a second before smirking faintly.

“You really thought nobody would recognize you dressed like that?”

I glanced down at myself defensively.

“What’s wrong with my dress?”

“Nothing.”

His gaze dragged slowly over me again.

Absolutely shameless.

“That’s the problem.”

Heat crawled up my neck instantly.

I looked away toward the city lights before he noticed.

Too late.

He definitely noticed.

Kaizen chuckled softly under his breath.

“So the famous scholarship girl hides behind veils now?”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“You literally covered your face.”

“Because people here are insane.”

“That part’s true.”

Silence settled briefly between us.

Comfortable this time.

Then curiosity finally got the better of me.

“How did you really know it was me?”

Kaizen looked toward me lazily.

“Easy.”

I frowned suspiciously.

“How?”

“ your eyes gave you away immediately.”

Something softened unexpectedly in his expression then,

“You’ve got unforgettable eyes, Nyra.”

My heartbeat completely lost rhythm.

Finally I found my speech…

”My enemy who sleeps opposite my room knows me well enough”

“Get some rest, watching you under the veil was fun” he said with his mocking smirk.

Annoying Kaizen!!!