The rest of the school day dragged on slowly.
After the awkward encounter during break, I avoided Adrian completely. Not that he seemed to care. Every time I looked up, he was surrounded by girls again, laughing, flirting, acting like he owned the entire school.
Disgusting.
By the time the final bell rang, I packed my books quickly, eager to escape Riverview Academy and finally have some peace.
"See you tomorrow, genius," Lisa teased as we walked toward the gate.
"Hopefully not," I muttered.
I didn't want to see Adrian again for the rest of my life if possible.
Unfortunately… life rarely listened to what I wanted.
When I got home, the house seemed quieter than usual.
"Mum?" I called as I stepped inside.
No answer.
I walked into the living room and froze.
A man was sitting comfortably on the couch.
He looked older, well-dressed, with a calm, kind expression. For a moment I just stared, confused about who he was and why he was in our house.
"Oh," he said warmly, standing up. "You must be Chelsea."
My brain immediately switched to polite mode. My mum had raised me well after all.
"Uh… hello, sir," I said carefully, pretending I understood the situation.
Just then my mom rushed in from the kitchen.
"Chelsea!" she said happily. "You're home."
She walked straight to the man and placed a hand on his arm.
"I wanted you two to finally meet properly."
I blinked.
"Meet?"
My mother smiled like she had been waiting for this moment.
"This is Daniel," she said gently. "He's… the man I told you about. The one I'm going to marry."
For a second, everything in my head went blank.
So this was him.
My stepfather.
Daniel gave me a friendly smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, Chelsea. Your mother talks about you all the time."
Of course she did. I was her darling daughter, her pride and joy.
I forced a polite smile back.
"Nice to meet you too."
Everything seemed normal enough.
Until the front door opened.
Footsteps echoed through the hallway.
A familiar voice called out casually,
"Dad? Are you here?"
My heart skipped.
No.
No way.
A tall figure walked into the living room.
Dark skin. Messy dark hair. That same arrogant posture. That same confident energy that filled every room he stepped into.
Adrian.
He stopped the moment he saw me.
I stared back at him, my mind spinning.
Adrian looked between me, my mother… and his father.
Realization slowly spread across his face.
My stomach dropped.
This couldn't be happening.
My mom looked between us curiously.
"Oh," she said happily, completely unaware of the explosion happening in my brain.
"Chelsea, you two already know each other?"
Neither of us spoke.
Adrian's lips slowly curved into that familiar cocky smirk.
And my world officially collapsed.
To be continued…