St. Athelia Academy smelled like money, secrets, and perfume that cost more than Evelyn's monthly rent.
She walked with her head down, the hem of her uniform just a little too faded, her shoes a little too scuffed. She didn't belong here. Not with her thrift-store backpack and bruised pride. But she had one rule—
Stay invisible.
That rule shattered the moment she bumped into him.
"Watch it," came a voice—smooth, deep, and laced with a threat that didn't match the calm in it.
Evelyn looked up, heart hammering.
Lucien Virell.
He was too close. Too tall. Too beautiful. Pale skin, inky black hair that curled carelessly over his forehead, and those eyes—cold grey, unreadable, and cruel.
Everyone in school knew Lucien. He was St. Athelia's god of sin. His family owned half the city. He dated models. He broke hearts. And when he got bored of girls, he ruined them for fun.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, stepping back, eyes down.
He didn't move. Just studied her, like she was some strange thing that dared exist in his presence. His lips curved, slow and sharp.
"I haven't seen you before."
"New," she muttered.
"Poor," he added.
Her cheeks flamed. She tried to walk past.
A hand shot out, firm around her wrist. "What's your name, scholarship girl?"
She froze. No one touched her. Not like this. Not with fingers that pressed into her skin like a silent threat… or a promise.
"Evelyn," she said, voice barely a breath.
Lucien smiled then. A dark, amused curl of his lips.
"Pretty name. Doesn't match your shoes."
She yanked her wrist away and walked faster, heart thudding like a drum in her ears.
But she didn't see the way he watched her leave—head tilted, eyes narrowed. As if she'd just become his newest game.
---
That night, she found something on her pillow.
A single black rose. Wrapped in velvet ribbon.
No note. No name. But she knew.
It was him.
---
She didn't sleep. Not really.
Because the next morning, Lucien passed by her in the hall, leaned in, and whispered low against her ear—
"I don't like sharing, Evelyn. And now that I've touched you… I won't.