The Hart mansion buzzed with unusual energy. Suitcases stacked in the hall, passports and documents checked twice over, and the buzz of four overprotective brothers hovering like guard dogs made Lila feel like she was walking into a battlefield instead of a school trip.
Her mother fussed over her jacket while her father barked instructions into his phone, securing her "safety." Elara leaned on the staircase banister, sipping coffee and watching like the world was her stage.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Aiden asked for the third time, arms folded.
"Yes," Lila said firmly, clutching her carry-on.
"Europe for a whole month?" Jordan frowned. "With no family?"
"Correction," Caleb cut in. "With no us. Which is unacceptable."
She rolled her eyes. "It's a school trip. Not exile."
"Same thing," Tyler muttered.
Her father finally snapped his phone shut. "Remember the rules: you answer every call, every message. If you don't, I'll have you back here before your teachers even notice you're gone."
Lila sighed but nodded. She knew fighting him was useless.
What none of them knew was that she wasn't afraid of being too far from them.
She was afraid of being too close to Ethan Cole.
At school, chaos ruled. Students bustled with luggage, chatter filling the air. Teachers barked orders, trying to corral everyone into groups.
Lila stuck close to her friends—five of them, loud and protective in their own right. They joked and teased, trying to lighten her nerves.
But her laughter froze when she saw him.
Ethan.
Standing at the front with his duffel slung casually over his shoulder, hair messy from the wind, dark eyes locked on her the second she appeared.
He didn't smile like the others. Didn't chatter or joke.
He just watched.
Like he always did.
Her friends noticed, whispering. Noah nudged her. "Lila, why is Ethan Cole staring at you like he wants to eat you alive?"
Her cheeks burned. "He's… insane. Ignore him."
But her heart pounded, traitorous.
The airport was worse.
Security checks, lines, the rush of bodies—everywhere she went, she felt him. Close behind. Too close. His presence was a shadow that refused to be shaken.
On the plane, fate betrayed her.
Assigned seats.
She froze when she saw his name beside hers.
"No," she whispered.
"Yes," Ethan murmured behind her, voice brushing her ear. "Told you, angel. You don't escape me."
She spun, glaring. "You planned this."
His smirk was pure sin. "Of course I did."
Her friends ended up scattered throughout the rows, leaving her cornered.
When the plane took off, her nerves soared with it. Ethan stretched out beside her, too relaxed, one arm draped along the back of her seat like he already owned the space.
"Move your arm."
"No."
"Ethan."
"Lila." His tone was mocking, but his eyes… his eyes were molten.
She crossed her arms, trying to focus on the tiny screen in front of her, but the heat of his body, the brush of his sleeve, the subtle scent of him—it was suffocating.
Hours into the flight, the cabin darkened. Most students slept.
She didn't.
Neither did he.
At some point, her head lolled against the window. She stirred, half-asleep. And then she realized—her hand was resting against his.
Not by choice.
He had slid his fingers beneath hers, tangling them together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Her breath caught.
She should pull away.
She didn't.
Instead, she let her eyes close again, her heart hammering as she drifted into sleep with his hand locked around hers.
They landed in Paris the next morning, exhaustion heavy but excitement buzzing through the group. Students chattered about the Eiffel Tower, cafés, museums.
Lila's heart raced for different reasons.
Ethan was still beside her.
Always beside her.
When their group reached the hotel, chaos broke loose as everyone scrambled for rooms. Lila found herself paired with her best friend, thank God. But across the hall, she heard his voice.
Ethan's.
Too close again.
Later that evening, as the city glittered outside their bus windows, her friends pulled her along, eager to explore.
But she felt it.
That stare.
That heat.
And when she glanced back, Ethan sat behind her, dark eyes never leaving her.
Her heart flipped, wild and confused.
She hated him.
She wanted him.
And for the first time, she admitted to herself—
Maybe, just maybe, she was falling.