All Chapters of Timing The Rebel : Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Liana’s POVThe rain hadn’t stopped since dawn. It fell in thin, icy needles, turning Crestwood University’s cobblestone paths into mirrors that reflected the gray sky and the expensive sneakers of people rushing past.Liana Brooks tightened her grip on her backpack straps and silently prayed her shoes wouldn’t give out. First day. First impression. First chance not to ruin everything she had worked for.“Excuse me—sorry—coming through!” she murmured, sidestepping an umbrella the size of a small planet.Everyone else seemed prepared for the weather. Designer coats, waterproof boots, umbrellas with gold handles. Liana’s was a ten-dollar one that flipped inside out the moment she opened it. She looked like a storm survivor in a sea of elegance.And she was fine with that. She wasn’t here to impress anyone.She was here to survive.Crestwood was the kind of university you saw in glossy brochures — ivy crawling up ancient buildings, fountains in every courtyard, the smell of coffee and am

I didn’t cry.At least, not right away.I walked until my legs ached, until my shoes soaked through from the wet grass, until the sound of the campus faded into the hum of traffic beyond the gates. I told myself I wasn’t crying, that the sting in my eyes was just leftover rain.But then I blinked — and the tears came anyway.Not because of what his friends said, but because of his silence.Because for one second, I thought Axel Knight saw me. Really saw me.And then he didn’t.I ended up at the park near the student housing, the one with the broken fountain and the old bench that always leaned to the left. I sat there, clutching my phone, staring at a text I’d typed and deleted at least ten times.> You don’t get to do that to people, Axel.You don’t get to make them feel something real and then pretend it’s a joke.But I didn’t send it.I just watched the blinking cursor until the words disappeared.The sun started to set, soft orange bleeding into pink. The air smelled like wet leav

Liana’s POVThe campus was too quiet at night.Every sound — the rustle of leaves, the squeak of my sneakers on wet ground — made me flinch. I’d told Riza I was “just going for air,” but she knew me too well. I could feel her worry even from here.The library loomed ahead, its gothic arches half-swallowed by moonlight.Behind it was the old courtyard — the place people only used during daylight.10:02 p.m.I hesitated, checking the message again:> If you want the truth about Axel, come alone.Every sensible thought screamed that it was a bad idea. But Axel had defended me when no one else did. The least I could do was try to find out why he was really arrested.A shadow moved near the benches. I froze.“Liana?”The voice was low, uncertain.I stepped closer — and gasped. “Cameron?”He looked… different. Not the cocky grin he wore on the field, not the sneer from that leaked video. Just tired. His eyes darted around before landing on me.“You came alone?” he asked.“Yes,” I said. “Wha

Liana’s POVRain again. It always seemed to follow me now soft, steady, relentless.The streets outside St. Vincent’s glistened under flickering streetlights, and every car that passed sent cold mist against my skin.Axel was gone.And somehow, even with half the city searching for him, I knew he was still close.Riza wanted me to stay in the dorms, but I couldn’t. Not when everything we’d uncovered led back to one place: NovaGene Solutions.The same name printed on the scholarship letters, the same logo that used to flash on Axel’s ID card before the school claimed it was “a design error.”I clutched the envelope Dalia had given me — documents she’d printed before the school server mysteriously went down. Inside were payment receipts, student ID numbers, and a list of “data donors.” My name was on that list. So was Axel’s.My throat tightened. They’d been tracking us long before we met.The bus hissed to a stop at the downtown plaza. I pulled my hood tighter and stepped off. NovaGen