A week passed.
Nova kept her distance. No one asked her anything, and she returned the favor. The mansion stayed cold no matter how many fireplaces flickered. Every time she looked at her suitcase, still half-unpacked, it reminded her this wasn't home. It never would be.
Then, during breakfast one morning—if you could call coffee and silence a meal—Leon cleared his throat.
"It's time we talked about college."
Nova paused, mug halfway to her lips. Across the table, Darian didn't even blink. Ryder stiffened. Ethan looked down. Max raised a brow like this might actually be entertaining.
"I've arranged your enrollment," Leon continued. "You'll start next week. I've made sure you'll be in the same institution as the boys."
Nova blinked. What?
Before she could speak, Ryder was already standing.
"No. Absolutely not."
Leon raised a hand calmly. "Ryder—"
"She doesn't belong there. Everyone knows us. You want her to show up and blow everything up?"
"She won't say anything," Ethan said quietly, eyes on Nova.
"You think people won't talk?" Ryder snapped. "You think they won't figure it out? This is stupid."
Nova set her cup down carefully. "I don't care what people think. I didn't choose this."
Ryder looked at her for the first time in days. "Then stay invisible. Don't tell anyone you live here. Don't mention us. Don't even breathe the word 'Vale' on campus. Got it?"
"Ryder." Leon's voice was sharp now.
"No," Ryder said. "She wants to go there? Fine. But she hides who she is."
Silence. Max shifted in his chair, amused but not speaking. Darian was unreadable. Ethan looked tired.
Nova stood. "I don't care about your reputation. But fine. You don't want me to exist? I won't."
And she walked away before any of them could stop her.
The night before classes started, she lay awake staring at the ceiling. Her student ID was tucked in her bag. New clothes. A blank notebook. A fake smile she'd try out for the first time in weeks.
She would walk into that school like a stranger. No one would know who she was.
Just how her stepbrothers wanted it.
Perfect.