Chapter 2

I didn't know what time it was. All I knew was that I woke up to a harsh knocking sound against my bedroom door.

“Who is that?” I called out, rubbing my groggy eyes as I sat up in bed.

“It’s almost noon! Are you planning on attending your classes or what?” Damon’s loud voice echoed from the hallway, causing me to snap wide awake and bolt out of bed.

I glanced at the wall clock—it was nearly eight in the morning.

Shit!

“Wait a minute, Damon! I’m taking a quick shower!” I shouted back, hurrying straight into the bathroom. I stripped off my clothes and hopped into the shower. While lathering soap onto my skin, that familiar, prickling sensation crept up my spine again—that eerie feeling of eyes watching my every move, even though I was completely alone. I shook my head, brushing off the paranoia, and quickly finished up.

After dressing up in a simple outfit, I rushed out of my room. “You’re going to school like that?” Damon asked, eyeing my unbrushed hair.

“I’ll do my hair and makeup in your car. Did Mom and Dad leave already?” I asked, following him down the hallway toward the garage.

“Yeah, around 4:00 AM. Lion drove them to the airport,” Damon replied as we walked out to the parking area.

“Ah... so, are Mom and Dad really moving to Australia for good?” I sighed quietly.

“Yeah. They’ve been planning to settle in Australia for a long time. Now that they know Lion can handle the family corporation on his own, they’re at peace,” Damon explained as we both climbed into his car.

“So we’re free to do whatever the hell we want with our lives now. With limitations, of course,” he added, glancing at me. I nodded silently in agreement.

“Which means you’re still not allowed to get a boyfriend,” he suddenly interjected. I rolled my eyes at him, drawing a low chuckle from his lips.

“What about... Jewell? Where did she sleep last night?” The question slipped out before I could stop myself, a bitter taste lingering on my tongue.

“Obviously in Lion’s room. Besides, you should start practicing calling her Sis Jewell from now on. I’m pretty sure Lion intends to marry her. Out of all his past girlfriends, she’s the only one he actually introduced to Mom and Dad.”

My nails dug sharply into the palms of my clenched fists. He was right. His ex-girlfriends in the past were only brought home in secret, snuck in and out through the side doors away from Mom and Dad’s eyes. Whenever our parents went out of town, he would bring those women home, letting them stay in his room for as long as Mom and Dad were gone.

Back then, as a naive kid who viewed Lion strictly as a brother, I didn't care about his lifestyle. But now? It felt like a blade slowly twisting in my chest.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Damon remarked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I merely offered him a faint smile and turned my gaze toward the passing view outside the window. When we finally pulled up in front of the school gates, I reached for the door handle to get out, but Damon’s firm grip caught my wrist.

“Where’s my kiss?” he murmured, leaning his cheek closer to me with a playful smirk.

“Ugh! Stop acting stupid!” I snapped in annoyance, which only made him laugh harder.

“You’re really not my sweet little baby girl anymore, huh?” he chuckled, reaching over to mess up my hair.

“Whatever. Just text me later so I can pick you up,” he instructed. I nodded briefly before stepping out of the car.

Right on cue, Jobel was already waiting by the gates. Ever since Damon started driving me to school, she had made a habit of waiting here—mostly because she harbored a massive crush on him.

“Was that Damon who dropped you off?” she asked eagerly as soon as I reached her. I gave her a simple nod.

Damon honked his horn, leaning out of the driver's window to give us a brief wave before speeding off, sending Jobel into a quiet fit of squealing.

“God, he is so freaking hot! Would you mind if I became your sister-in-law, Frenny?” she asked out of nowhere, making me cringe.

“The real question is, would Damon ever agree to make you his wife?” I retorted with a chuckle.

“Ouch! That hurts!” she gasped dramatically, rolling her eyes as we walked into the campus.

When we entered the art studio, the familiar scent of oil paint and varnish immediately enveloped us. This was my world—the only place where I could actually breathe.

“Bes, seriously, your Damon is such a eye candy. Do you think his type is petite girls?” Jobel rambled while pulling out her charcoal pencils.

“I don't know, Jobel. He’s way too busy running his businesses to think about romance right now,” I answered, setting up my blank canvas on the wooden easel.

Is he really going to marry Jewell?

The thought consumed me. I picked up my brush, mixing paints onto my palette. Instead of working on the landscape or abstract piece assigned by our professor, my hands moved entirely on muscle memory. I started sketching a face.

Lion.

The sharp, commanding cut of his jaw, his intense, brooding glare, and the coldness that always haunted his dark eyes. “Wow, frenny. The details are crazy,” Jobel commented, passing behind my easel. “Who’s that? Your new muse?”

I instinctively stepped in front of the canvas to block her view. “N-nothing... just practicing for another subject.”

She shot me a skeptical look but refrained from pressing further. Deep down, a suffocating weight rested heavy on my chest. Art school was supposed to be a place for self-expression, but what if my art was made of dirty secrets? What if every stroke of color I laid on this canvas screamed the name of the one man I was never supposed to love?