A New Beginning

The last thing I wanted on my first day at Silver Moon University was attention.

Unfortunately, attention seemed determined to find me anyway.

I stood beneath the enormous stone archway at the entrance, one hand wrapped around the handle of my suitcase while the other held my phone hostage. My mother’s old photograph was tucked safely inside my wallet, the edges worn from years of being carried everywhere.

I glanced up at the university sign.

SILVER MOON UNIVERSITY

The letters were engraved into dark stone, elegant and imposing. Beyond the entrance stretched a sprawling campus filled with old brick buildings, manicured lawns, towering oak trees, and students rushing from one place to another.

For everyone else, it probably looked like the beginning of an ordinary semester.

For me, it was supposed to be the beginning of a completely different life.

I took a slow breath.

“Here goes nothing.”

My voice sounded steadier than I felt.

I had spent the last few months convincing myself that leaving home was the right decision.

After my mother’s death, the house had never felt quite the same. Every room seemed to hold an echo of her. Her favorite mug remained in the kitchen cupboard. Her books still occupied half the shelves in the living room. Even the faint floral scent of her perfume seemed to linger in the bedroom she had left untouched for years.

I loved her.

But I couldn’t spend the rest of my life living inside her memory.

So I’d applied to Silver Moon.

New city.

New university.

New friends.

A new beginning.

That was the plan.

I dragged my suitcase through the gates.

Within thirty seconds, I realized I had made one serious mistake.

I had absolutely no idea where I was going.

“Administration building…”

I checked my phone again.

“East residence hall…”

I turned in a circle.

Every building looked equally unfamiliar.

“Perfect.”

I started walking anyway.

Five minutes later, I was even more lost.

Ten minutes later, I was convinced the university had been designed specifically to make new students suffer.

I stopped beside a large fountain and looked at the campus map on my phone.

“You’re kidding me.”

“Lost?”

I looked up.

A girl about my age stood beside me, holding two iced coffees.

She had long brown hair, a bright smile, and the kind of effortless confidence I immediately envied.

“Completely,” I admitted.

She laughed.

“Freshman?”

“Transfer.”

“Same difference.”

She handed me one of the coffees.

I stared at it.

“What’s this?”

“Peace offering.”

“I don’t think we’ve met.”

“We haven’t.”

She smiled.

“But you look like you need coffee.”

I laughed despite myself.

“I definitely do.”

“I’m Mia.”

“Aria.”

She looked at my suitcase.

“You’re in East Residence?”

I nodded.

“Then you’re going the wrong way.”

I looked at the path I’d been following.

“Of course I am.”

Mia laughed.

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

As we walked, she filled the silence with enough information to make me feel like I’d been attending the university for weeks.

There were three cafeterias.

A gym that students apparently treated like a religion.

A library that stayed open until midnight.

A professor everyone hated.

A professor everyone loved.

And a student café where, according to Mia, the chocolate cake was worth committing a crime for.

“There’s also one very important rule.”

I glanced at her.

“What?”

She lowered her voice dramatically.

“Don’t get involved with the Blackwoods.”

I frowned.

“Who are the Blackwoods?”

She stopped walking.

“You seriously don’t know?”

“No.”

She stared at me for a moment before shaking her head.

“You’re new-new.”

I laughed.

“Apparently.”

She leaned closer.

“Kael and Kian Blackwood.”

I waited.

“And?”

Mia looked genuinely offended.

“And?”

“Yes.”

“They’re basically royalty here.”

“Why?”

“Family money. Family influence. Their father is one of the university’s biggest donors. Their family owns businesses all over the city.”

She paused.

“And they’re ridiculously attractive.”

I smiled.

“That sounds like a serious problem.”

“It is.”

We continued walking.

Mia lowered her voice.

“Everyone knows them. Girls want them. Guys want to be them. Professors treat them differently.”

“Do they know they’re attractive?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

I laughed.

“I’ll try to avoid them.”

Mia gave me a skeptical look.

“Good luck.”

⸻

By the time I reached my dorm, I had already decided Mia and I were going to become friends.

My room was surprisingly comfortable.

Two beds.

Two desks.

Two wardrobes.

A large window overlooking the central courtyard.

Mia dropped her bag onto the empty bed.

“Looks like we’re roommates.”

I smiled.

“Apparently.”

We spent the next hour unpacking.

For the first time since I’d arrived, I felt comfortable.

Maybe this really could work.

Maybe I could build a life here that didn’t revolve around the past.

That evening, Mia convinced me to attend the welcome event.

I nearly refused.

Then she stood in front of the door with her arms crossed.

“You are not spending your first night hiding in this room.”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“You were unpacking socks for twenty minutes.”

“I like organized socks.”

“Get dressed.”

I laughed.

“Fine.”

An hour later, we entered the student hall.

Music filled the room.

Students were talking, laughing, dancing, and taking photographs.

I relaxed almost immediately.

Until Mia suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Don’t look now.”

“That sentence has never been followed by anything good.”

She laughed.

“They’re here.”

I knew exactly who she meant.

I looked anyway.

Two men stood near the far side of the room.

Kael and Kian Blackwood.

Even surrounded by hundreds of students, they somehow drew attention without asking for it.

They looked remarkably alike.

Same dark hair.

Same tall, athletic build.

Same sharp features.

But their personalities were clearly different.

Kael stood with his arms folded, speaking quietly to another student. His expression was serious and reserved.

Kian, meanwhile, looked completely at ease, smiling at something a girl had said.

Then Kian glanced across the room.

His eyes met mine.

His smile faded.

For a brief second, neither of us looked away.

Then Kael noticed his brother’s attention.

He followed Kian’s gaze.

His eyes landed on me.

Something about his expression changed.

Not dramatically.

Just enough for me to notice.

Mia leaned toward me.

“Don’t.”

I looked at her.

“What?”

“Don’t make eye contact.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how trouble starts.”

I laughed.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Probably.”

She pulled me toward the drinks table.

I followed.

But before I could look away completely, I glanced back.

Both twins were still watching me.

I frowned.

Maybe Mia was right.

Maybe getting involved with the Blackwoods really was going to be trouble.

I just didn’t know yet how much trouble.

And I certainly didn’t know that, by the end of the semester, meeting them would become the one decision I would never be able to undo.