Author's POV
The sun filtered softly through the academy windows, casting golden rays onto polished floors and pressed uniforms. St. Damaris Academy was not an ordinary school. It was where the rich, powerful, and dangerous sent their children to sharpen both their minds and their knives.
Vivienne stood at the gates, her new identity already stitched into the fabric of this world. Her name was still Vivienne, but now she was Vivienne Sinclair—daughter of a wealthy but low-profile businessman, with just enough mystery to turn heads and enough reputation to spark whispers.
She was a transfer student.
And her entrance was anything but quiet.
Vivienne's POV
They stared. Of course they did. I had heels no teenager should be allowed to wear and a stare no girl my age should've mastered. But I wasn't a girl anymore. Not really.
Inside, I carried the weight of two lifetimes. Outside, I was just a student in an elite academy.
Until I saw them.
Ezra. Luca. Kai. Damian.
All in the same hallway. All exactly how I remembered them from the book—deadly, gorgeous, untouchable.
My heart did a stupid skip.
Ezra was leaning against the wall, reading. Luca was laughing with two girls clinging to his arms. Kai stood silently by the window, headphones in, emotionless. Damian was punching a locker like it owed him money.
God, they were perfect.
And then Ezra looked up.
Straight at me.
Author's POV
Their eyes locked. And just like that, the game began. But this time, the villainess had read the script.
And she wasn't playing by the rules.