[JASMINE – POV]
The rooftop was quieter than I expected. The city stretched below us, hazy and alive, but all I could hear was the pounding of my heart.
Lucas leaned against the railing, waiting.
"You brought me up here for a view?" I asked, half-teasing.
He turned, his eyes serious. "I brought you here because I hate watching you pretend you're okay."
I froze.
He stepped closer, voice low. "You don't have to act tough with me. Not up here. Not when it's just us."
I looked away. "You don't know what it's like, Lucas. Everyone already has a version of me in their heads—'the expelled girl,' 'the girl who dated a player,' 'the one who ruins things.' I can't fight all their stories."
His hand brushed mine. "Then don't. Just tell me yours."
Silence stretched between us.
And then I spoke. About Lagos. About Ayo. About how I stopped trusting people—even myself.
When I finished, he didn't speak right away.
Instead, he pulled me into his chest. His heartbeat was calm. Steady.
"You're not broken," he whispered. "You're just building your own fire."
[LUCAS – POV]
She finally let me in.
And it only made me fall harder.
But even as I held her, a sick feeling twisted in my gut.
Because while Jasmine was opening up… I still hadn't told her everything about me.
Secrets were safer when they stayed buried.
But not for long.