Brielle's face drained of color. Before she could answer:

CRASH!

Caden shot to his feet, tipping the coffee table with a violent shove.

Beer bottles flew, glass shattering across the hardwood floor.

The entire room froze. No one moved, all eyes locked on Caden's thunderous expression, the muscles in his arms and chest flexing beneath his fitted shirt as his breath came hard and fast.

"You ask a girl shit like that, and you think that's fucking okay?" he snarled, voice a deep, guttural roar.

Bryce sobered up instantly, face pale as he stared down at the mess.

Brielle stood abruptly, her voice unsteady. "I'm not feeling well. I should go."

Without another word, she turned and hurried toward the door.

Caden kicked a piece of broken glass across the room, his jaw clenched tight. "I need a smoke," he growled, storming out after her, broad shoulders tense and fists curled at his sides.

As soon as he left, the tension broke.

"Holy shit. That escalated fast." Derek let out a breath.

"Dude was just joking about his own hookups. Why the hell did he lose it like that?" Logan asked, wide-eyed.

Tyler shook his head, lowering his voice. "You guys really that dense? It's one thing when he jokes about himself. Brielle's a different story. Off limits. You get it?"

The explanation hung in the air. The group went quiet-until they noticed Alora, still seated, her face completely drained of color.

Her stomach clenched, another sharp cramp twisting through her gut.

She pushed to her feet without a word and walked out, legs barely steady beneath her.

At the front of the house, the night air hit her skin like ice.

She rounded the corner just in time to see Caden and Brielle by Brielle's car.

Brielle tossed a small paper bag onto the ground between them. "No thanks. I don't accept gifts from guys who already have girlfriends."

"Come on-" Caden's voice was tight with frustration, but pleading. "Your roommate said you've been sick. I know auditions are coming up, but you can't just ignore it. What if it gets worse?"

Brielle pressed her lips together, gaze unwavering.

Caden bent, picked up the bag, and practically forced it into her hands.

"Just.please. Take care of yourself, okay?" His voice dropped low, almost tender.

Standing in the shadows, Alora's stomach twisted-not from the cramps this time, but from the cold clarity of what she was witnessing.

So this was what different looked like.

Brielle gets a minor cold, and Caden rushes to bring her medicine.

When Alora had been curled over in pain from the emergency pill's side effects, he didn't care, didn't even ask her why she was looking sick.

All he'd wanted was to feel how "hot" her body would be with a fever-or now, how she looked in the same skirt from that night.

One crude comment about Brielle? He'd flipped a table.

But when it came to Alora, disgusting locker room jokes were fair game.

Love versus being used. The difference hit like a fist to the chest.

Her vision blurred with tears as her phone buzzed in her pocket. Mechanically, she answered.

Her mother's voice came through, bright and excited.

"Sweetheart! I booked our flights. We'll leave together next week."

Alora swallowed hard.

"Oh-and didn't you say you were dating someone? You mentioned wanting to introduce him to me. What about your boyfriend now that you're going abroad?"

Across the lot, she saw Brielle pull out, her taillights glowing as the car disappeared down the road.

Caden stood frozen, watching the car until it vanished from sight.

Alora turned away, her voice a faint whisper. 'It doesn't matter. We're done. Caden. I won't love you anymore. Not even a little.'

*******

The next day.

Alora made an appointment at the campus clinic.

She needed to get a physical examination done-international health paperwork, clearance to study abroad.

After everything, she wasn't about to take chances with her health.

By the time she walked out with her test results in hand, exhaustion weighed heavy on her shoulders.

Turning a corner in the waiting room, she nearly collided with two familiar figures.

"Alora?" Caden's voice, sharp with surprise.

She looked up.

There he was-broad shoulders tense, icy blue eyes narrowing-standing beside Brielle.

Before she could respond, Brielle cut in, voice cool and even.

"Caden, I told you. You didn't need to come. I can check in myself."

Without another glance, she strode toward the reception desk, heels clicking across the floor.

For a moment, it was just Alora and Caden left standing there.

His gaze flicked down-sharp eyes catching the stack of papers in her hand.

His brow furrowed.

"Why are you here? You're not." His expression darkened instantly. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

Alora blinked, her pulse jumping.

She glanced toward the clinic signs. Of course. The OB-GYN department was right next to the general check-in area.

He'd jumped to conclusions.

She opened her mouth to deny it-then paused.

A thought slid into place.

She met his gaze squarely, her voice flat.

"What if I am?"

Caden's pupils constricted.
"Are you...?"

For a split second-he didn't hide it fast enough-there was a flicker of something sharp in those icy blue eyes. Not fear. Not concern. Something closer to...excitement.

He wanted this.

He wanted to hear her say it.

Alora saw it instantly. The rush of eager energy beneath the surface.

And then-just as fast-he masked it, forcing his expression into a mock-concerned frown.

"I mean, if something's wrong, Rara... you know you can tell me. I'll help. Whatever you need."

His voice was carefully measured, soft. But too careful. Too polished.

She felt the bile rise in her throat.

The memory of his locker room voice echoed-"If she gets pregnant, we'll handle it."

Handle it for who, Caden? For her? Or for Brielle?

Her skin crawled.

"Don't," she said, her voice cold as ice.

Caden blinked. "What?"

Before he could fake another word, she stepped forward and shoved him hard, flat-palmed against his chest.

"Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. Just stay away."

Her stomach twisted-not from the lingering cramps this time, but from pure disgust.

Without giving him a chance to react, she turned and walked away, her pulse hammering.

She didn't look back.

Caden stood frozen, hands half-raised, staring after her as she disappeared through the clinic doors.

The clinic doors hissed shut behind her.

Alora stopped just outside, the spring air sharp and cold against her flushed skin.

Another sharp cramp twisted through her stomach, but this time, the physical pain barely registered.

What stuck was that moment-watching Caden go still and silent.

The same guy who'd laughed in front of his teammates about "handling it" if she got pregnant-terrified now when she threw it back at him.

Coward.

And not once-not one goddamn time-had he asked if she was okay.

When he looked at Brielle, his whole expression changed-concern, softness. With Alora? Just calculation. Just cold, nervous self-preservation.

'I'll never believe a word out of his mouth again.'

She gripped the test results so hard the edges bit into her palms.

That boy she'd once thought might be her Romeo?

Dead and buried.

'I won't let him touch me. Not ever again.'

She walked faster as she headed back toward campus, each step purposeful despite the dull ache in her gut.

But no matter how fast she moved, the whispers followed.

She could feel them-eyes on her, conversations cutting off when she passed.

Her stage-trained composure held firm, every step controlled and deliberate, the only thing keeping her from crumbling under their stares.

White magnolia petals drifted from the trees lining the path, scattering across the brick walkway.

How many times had she walked here with Caden?

Just last week, he'd plucked a blossom and tucked it behind her ear, leaned down with that cocky smile and whispered:

"Nothing out here comes close to how beautiful you are."

The memory made her stomach churn.

She pressed her lips into a thin line and tightened her grip on the folder in her hands.

The results were clear-no pregnancy, no infections. Elevated stress markers, lingering effects from the emergency pill. The doctor had offered a pointed look, part concern, part judgment.

"Be more careful next time."

There wouldn't be a next time.

Not with Caden.

Not with anyone.

Not for a long, long time.

Back on campus, the brick buildings loomed taller than ever, no longer familiar or safe.

Four more days.

Just four more days. Then I'm out.

Her dorm came into view. She swiped in with shaking fingers.

Before the door even closed behind her, Eve came flying at her, phone in hand, panic all over her face.

"Alora! You need to see this!"

Without waiting, she shoved her phone into her hands.

"Your photos...they're everywhere on the campus app. You know-those kinds of photos!"

For a beat, Alora's mind went blank.

Then she looked.

Image after image-explicit, graphic, flooding the feed.

Her hands gripped the phone tighter. Her gut twisted-not with humiliation, but with a cold, burning rage.

For one sickening second, she wondered-had Caden recorded her?

The nausea hit instantly at the thought.

But as she forced herself to look closer, it became obvious. The photos were photoshopped badly.

"They're fake," she said, her voice steadier than expected.

"None of them are real."

Eve let out a shaky breath. "I know. You've got that birthmark on your thigh. These don't even show it. It's a terrible edit."

But the comments-vicious, disgusting-were everywhere.

"People won't care." Eve's voice broke. "They're already running with it. Alora, wait-what are you doing?"

Alora had already grabbed her phone, her fingers flying across the screen, her heart hammering but her grip steady.

"Calling campus security. Then the police. Whoever did this? I'm going to make damn sure they regret it."

A few locker room jokes? That, she'd stomached.

This was criminal.

And she wasn't staying quiet anymore.

Not now. Not ever again.

She had a damn good idea who was behind it.

Just as she was dialing, their other roommate Fiona burst in, breathless.

"Alora! Your boyfriend's in a fight outside the dining hall!"

Alora was shocked to hear that and she couldn't bring herself to make that call.

But then, she didn't want to have anything to do with Caden anymore.

So what was her business if he was fighting?

"It has nothing."

Before she could complete that, Fiona interrupted her.

"I heard Caden traced the source of those pictures of you and discovered that they were released by Jacob. He got into a fight because of you."

That got Alora so confused.

She then headed towards the location of the fight.

Why was he fighting because of her?

Was this another plan of his to get her under his control?

Did he truly know nothing about how the pictures that has been released?

What exactly was he playing at?

This behavior of Caden got Alora so confused.

There was a crowd gathered outside the building. When they saw Alora approaching, the murmuring grew louder.

They parted to let her through. She could feel the stares, the side-talks.

Oh, she should have known that things were never going to end well with Caden.

She used to be a normal student free from scandal but now, Caden was messing up with her life!

She saw him, Caden was on top another guy. The guy's face was bloodied, yet, Caden kept punching him over and over.

For a brief moment, Alora actually felt that Caden's feelings for her were genuine.

She felt that he really loved her.

Maybe he had just said all those things to seem manly and tough for his friends.

But did she really want to be with someone who couldn't defend her against his friends?

Alora shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

"I'm sorry. Please have mercy on me. I've always had a crush on Alora and I got jealous that she was with you! I just wanted to punish her. I shouldn't have photoshopped those pictures, please forgive me."The boy begged.

But Caden paid deaf ears to his pleas and continued to rain punches on his face.

The boy seemed to be losing consciousness and Caden kept beating him up.

Alora had never seen him so violent before!

What had gotten into him?

She refused to see this as a protection. He was probably just doing all he could to impress her so he could keep getting into her pants.

But she didn't want him to get into trouble using her name.

She ran towards him and yelled.

"Caden, stop!"

He didn't listen. She grabbed hold of his hand.

"You're going to kill him at this rate!"

Only then did Caden finally stop.

But such an issue was hard to blew over. The incident blew up with the boy's family wanting to press charges. But when they discovered what their son had done coupled with the fact that Caden was from a powerful family, they reluctantly agreed to settle the matter, privately.

It wasn't surprising that the school's administrators were lenient with Caden. He was a top student and the best athlete, coupled with the fact that his father had made so many donations to the school.

They left him alone to be disciplined by his father at home.

Caden had minor injuries so Alora had to follow him to the infirmary to get himself treated.

Staring at his bruised knuckles, Alora didn't know how to feel at this moment.

"Why did you do that?"She asked him, curiously.

Their relationship wasn't real to him.

It never was.

So why would he put on such a show today?

It was too extreme.

"We're in a relationship. You're important to me and news like that could be a stain on your career, I couldn't let anyone taint your name like that."

His tone was so sincere that she almost believed him.

Stain on her career?

The same career he wanted to ruin?

Why was he still lying?

Why was he still leading her on?

Did he want more sex from her?!

She had class in an hour so she left the infirmary, and also needed to clear her head.

As she sat down in class, her mind was somewhere else.

She kept recalling the scene of Caden beating that boy up.

The anger in his eyes and face.

She had never seen him that angry?

Was it possible that he truly liked her?

As a drama major, she had watched and seen a lot of dramas where the main leads started off on a rough patch, sometimes, starting off on a relationship based on lies.

But at the end, it turned out to be something beautiful.

Was that her story then?

Alora shook her head.

She was lying to herself again.

Wasn't it enough that he had lied to her?

Why was she lying to herself as well?

A relationship built on lies was pointless and should never work.

She was going far away and she had to forget all about him!

After her class ended, she was still worried about him. He was someone who didn't take his medication seriously whenever he was sick.

She decided to just get him some soup, check on him briefly and then leave.

This act of kindness felt both stupid and unnecessary but she wanted to take this as a final gesture and end to whatever existed between them before, whether real or fake.