Breaking The Cardinal Rule Novels & Stories

“All I want is access to you. That’s it. I don’t care what you do beyond that, as long as you stick to my rules.” “Rules?” I raised an eyebrow. “So there are rules already?” Adrian’s gaze hardened again. “When you make up your mind, I’ll let you know what they are.” He pulled a small card from his pocket, holding it between two fingers before flicking it toward me. I caught it, feeling the weight of his words as he leaned in close, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “You’re worth more than letting that bastard get away with what he did. Remember that.”

Even though I hadn't been paying full attention, a few rules had managed to stick. "In case you forgot, dating a teacher is strictly prohibited, handsome." I turned back around to face them. They were frantically trying to fix their clothes. The guy froze mid-buttoning when he realized I hadn't left yet. He turned toward me, his wide eyes locking onto mine as he took me in. I cleared my throat. "But hey, whatever. Rules are meant to be broken." He looked away and resumed buttoning his shirt. I let out a sharp sigh. "Next time, be more careful. Not everyone is as nice as I am," I deadpanned.

“Any rules?” He shrugged before replying. “I believe we are all mature. No expensive play that’ll possibly cause drowning and violence is prohibited.” Bobbing my head to show I understood, I returned my gaze to Maxwell, cracked my head and fingers before exclaiming. “Let’s begin!” “I’m going to show y’all who is boss,” Maxwell screamed and hauled himself onto the Unicorn’s back, causing it to dip violently. He windmilled his hands and stayed on. “And that's how it's done.”

Rule 1: Never fall in love with your best friend’s sister. The first rule. The reason for all the others. The one rule I should never break, even though it has been broken from the start. Rule 2: Never lose control. Essential for a guy who lives one bad decision away from the edge. I use visualization, breathing, and mental drills.

As I watched her do my favourite thing, realization dawned on me that I had broken my own rule. I had broken the first rule of the contract and fallen in love with Olivia Anderson.

The coach continued, his voice cutting through my thoughts. "Yes, sir," I reply automatically. But I don't understand anything anymore. Three days ago, I thought I knew who I was, what I wanted. Now I'm sitting here letting them tear apart the girl I love to save my own skin. "Division rivalries are won and lost on unity," Ethan adds, his voice still raw. "One weak link destroys everything." The accusation hits its mark. I am the weak link. I'm the one who couldn't keep his hands off his best friend's sister.

The walls are thin enough to have a conversation through, yet I can't shake off the thought that she is talking with Caleb right now. She said I was the one who broke the rules. No secrets. I knew that, but I wanted to make it better, and I had no idea how I was supposed to be able to do that with her. “You broke one of our rules, and that means everything resets.” It was my rule, the one I wrote down because I wanted better things for us both, but it was the exact one I broke without thinking about it. I was staring at the script. I was supposed to be memorising my lines, but the pages turned up blank in my mind, and no string of words made sense.

Ava’s POV There were only a few rules I lived by in college. Rule number one? Never fall for a jock. It wasn’t just a personal preference. It was survival; I had to avoid them in order to do well. I had seen too many smart girls throw away their GPA for a 6'0 something guy with biceps, a quarterback playboy and a bad attendance record. Not me, no way, I'll never do that, that's how I survived my first year in Westbridge University, and I'm not going to break that rule in my second year.

In his place was a man drowning in the cold realization of his own failure. The Regret of a King "I broke the rule," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Which rule, Adrian? You’ve broken dozens in the last twenty-four hours." "Article 7.1," he said, his gaze dropping to the floor. "The non-attachment clause. The foundation of the entire contract. I wrote it myself. I spent weeks perfecting the language to ensure that no matter what happened, the assets would remain protected from... this." He gestured vaguely at the cabin, at us, at the silence of the woods.

“That they already knew I’d broken three of their most sacred rules.” “What’s that?” “Don’t go no contact Don’t get married….” “And the last?” “Don’t fall in love.”