The hum of the diner was almost comforting, a steady blend of clinking plates, chatter, and the hiss of the coffee machine. To Alice, it was the sound of routine the rhythm of her second life after classes. But tonight, even the familiar noise did little to ease the weariness pressing down on her. Her feet ached in her worn sneakers, her apron bore faint coffee stains no matter how often she washed it, and her back screamed for rest.

She shoved a tray across the counter, balancing a plate of sandwiches for a group of freshmen who'd been laughing so loudly she envied their carefree joy. Then she grabbed her order pad, ready to move on to the next table.

"Excuse me"

The voice was crisp, sharp enough to cut. Alice froze. Slowly, she turned and her stomach dropped.

Clarissa.

The same blonde who had slipped her arm through Brian's at school, the girl from the gala . She sat in a booth near the window, posture perfect, chin lifted with effortless arrogance. Two other girls flanked her, both equally polished, their nails gleaming as they tapped against their phones. Clarissa didn't need to say anything to command attention. The way she scanned the diner, lips curled ever so slightly, said it all: she thought the place and the people in it were beneath her.

Alice gripped her order pad tighter, pushing down the flicker of unease in her chest. "Can I get you something?" she asked, polite but clipped.

Clarissa's eyes slid over her with deliberate slowness, taking in the apron, the scuffed shoes, the stray strands of hair that had slipped from Alice's ponytail. Then, with a small, knowing smile, she spoke.

"Yes. I'll have a salad. No dressing. And water. Sparkling, if you have it." Her gaze swept the diner, and then back to Alice. "Though judging by... this place" she gestured vaguely to the cracked vinyl seats and sticky tables "I won't get my hopes up."

Her friends laughed softly, the sound like nails scratching glass.

Alice's cheeks heated, but she forced herself to nod. "I'll see what I can do." She turned quickly, eager to put distance between them before her voice betrayed the sting she felt.

But then

"Clarissa. What a surprise."

The words floated in like a breeze, edged with mischief.

Sophie.

Alice blinked as her best friend slid into the booth opposite Clarissa without so much as a glance for permission. Sophie tossed her designer bag onto the seat beside her and leaned back, her sharp brown eyes locked on Clarissa like she'd been waiting for this moment.

Clarissa's smile faltered. "Sophie. I didn't know you frequented... places like this." Her tone dripped with disdain.

Sophie arched a brow. "Unlike you, I don't get nosebleeds if I breathe the same air as normal people." She reached for the sugar bowl on the table, stirring it into the black coffee Clarissa hadn't touched. Then she glanced up at Alice, flashing her a quick grin. "Hey, babe, don't let Queen Iceberg here get to you. She's allergic to humility."

Alice's lips twitched despite the heat crawling up her neck. Typical Sophie, bold, sharp, and completely unafraid of making enemies.

Clarissa's friends snickered, this time less out of loyalty and more out of nervous amusement. Clarissa's jaw tightened, her cheeks blooming a dangerous pink.

"You've always been a nuisance," Clarissa hissed.

"And you've always been boring," Sophie replied sweetly, propping her chin on her hand. "Some things never change."

The words hung in the air like a spark waiting to ignite. The tension in the booth thickened, pulling Alice in even though she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

Clarissa leaned forward slightly, her tone dropping lower. "Careful, Sophie. Not everyone has the patience for your... theatrics."

"Oh, don't flatter me," Sophie said, her smile dazzling. "I save my theatrics for the stage. This?" She gestured between them. "This is me being generous."

The girls at Clarissa's side shifted uncomfortably, clearly caught between loyalty and the magnetic pull of Sophie's confidence.

Alice cleared her throat softly, stepping in before the clash escalated. "I'll get your order," she murmured, retreating toward the counter.

Her hands trembled as she poured water into a plain glass, no sparkling, obviously. She focused on the task, willing herself not to dwell on Clarissa's words. Don't let her under your skin, she told herself. She doesn't matter.

But the truth was, Clarissa did matter. Not because of who she was, but because she was with Brian.

A hand slipped around her arm, warm and steady. Sophie.

"You okay?" she asked, voice softer now.

Alice nodded quickly. "Yeah. Just... didn't expect that."

Sophie's lips pressed into a thin line. "She thrives on making people feel small. It's her favorite sport." Then her eyes softened, and she gave Alice's arm a squeeze. "But you're not alone, got it? Let her try her games, she's not half as powerful as she thinks."

Alice managed a small smile. Sophie had a way of making the world feel a little less heavy.

Together, they walked back to the booth. Alice set the salad and glass of water down in front of Clarissa without a word. Clarissa raised one perfectly arched brow, tapping a manicured nail against the rim of the plain glass.

"No sparkling?" she asked coolly.

Alice forced a polite smile. "Unfortunately, no."

Clarissa's lips curved in mock sympathy. "Of course not."

Before Alice could respond, Sophie leaned forward, her eyes glinting. "Funny thing, Clarissa, water's still water. Whether it bubbles or not, it won't make you any less bitter."

The girls at the table burst into muffled laughter, quickly stifled when Clarissa shot them a glare sharp enough to cut.

Alice fought back a laugh, biting her lip as she retreated again. Sophie winked at her before turning back to Clarissa, as if daring her to say more.

But Clarissa only lifted her fork delicately, her face a mask of icy composure. She didn't look at Alice again, though the weight of her presence lingered like a shadow.

From the counter, Alice watched them in silence. Her chest was tight, her thoughts tangled. Clarissa's cruelty didn't surprise her, it was the kind of disdain Alice had faced before, from people who thought they were above her. What unsettled her was the reminder that Clarissa wasn't just another entitled girl. She was Brian's fiancée.

And that made the sting sharper than anything Clarissa had said.

Alice sighed, rubbing her temple. Sophie caught her gaze and mouthed, She's nothing.

Alice wanted to believe her. She really did. But as she wiped down the counter, her mind betrayed her, circling back to Brian, his half smile, the way his eyes had lingered on her earlier, and that fleeting moment when it had almost felt like she mattered.

She shook her head quickly, forcing the thought away. It was foolish. Dangerous. Brian Carter was untouchable. And Clarissa was proof of that.

Still, a quiet ache lingered in her chest, one she couldn't quite name.

Chapter Six (Brian's POV)

The office windows stretched from floor to ceiling, letting the city skyline pour in like a taunt. The glass towers gleamed in the afternoon sun, perfect, controlled, orderly. Everything I was supposed to be.

I shoved the file shut with more force than necessary, my pen clattering across the desk. Another report, another demand from the board. Meetings stacked one after another until the day blurred into an endless cycle of numbers, contracts, and obligations. And yet, despite all the hours, all the supposed power in this corner office, I felt nothing but suffocation.

The clock on the wall ticked sharply, its hands reminding me of something I'd rather forget. Clarissa.

I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck. It was nearly time to pick her up from the college. A ridiculous tradition, really, she had her own car, her own driver. But she liked the attention, the stares when I stepped out to open her door. The golden couple, paraded like trophies. And my parents loved it.

I gathered my keys, forcing myself to move, but a thought slipped in unbidden. Alice.

The memory of her lingered, her startled eyes meeting mine on campus, the quiet strength in her face even as exhaustion weighed her down. And then, at the gala, the way she looked was different from every other person . Something about it gnawed at me long after.

By the time I pulled onto campus, the weight in my chest had shifted. Against reason, against every careful boundary I told myself to keep, I hoped I might see her again.

The car rolled to a stop by the courtyard. Students moved in clusters, laughing, hauling books, living lives unburdened by board meetings and arranged engagements. I scanned them without meaning to, searching.

And then, there she was.

Alice.

She walked quickly across the quad, her books hugged tightly to her chest. A strand of hair had slipped from her ponytail, brushing her cheek as she moved. There was something about the way she carried herself, determined, guarded, but undeniably alive, that drew me in like a tide I couldn't fight.

For a second, I considered stepping out of the car. Closing the distance. Saying something, anything.

But the moment broke.

"Brian!" Clarissa's voice cut through the air like glass. She emerged from the crowd, flawless as ever, her hand already reaching for me. Students turned to stare, some whispering, some openly watching. The perfect picture, just as she liked it.

I hesitated, my eyes flicking back toward Alice. She had stopped, just for a moment, her gaze colliding with mine. The world seemed to still, the noise fading until it was just the two of us suspended in that fragile second.

Something unspoken passed between us. A question. A pull. A recognition neither of us dared name.

And then Clarissa's fingers curled around my arm.

The moment shattered.

I stepped out, opening the door for her as expected, slipping back into the role I was born to play. Alice turned away first, her shoulders stiff, her steps quick as if distance could erase what had just passed between us.

Clarissa smiled up at me, satisfied, oblivious. "Dinner tonight?"

"Of course," I said evenly, though my thoughts were nowhere near her.

As the car pulled away, I looked back once more, but Alice was already gone.

Still, her eyes lingered in my mind, haunting and unshakable.

Chapter Seven

Alice couldn't move.

The moment Brian's gaze found hers, everything around her, the chatter of students, the hum of car engines, even Sophie tugging impatiently at her sleeve, faded into a blur. It was ridiculous, how a single look could steal her breath and leave her standing there like she'd forgotten how to function. His eyes weren't soft, not exactly, but there was something steady in them, something that made her heart stumble against her ribs.

Then he was gone. The door shut, the car pulled away, and all that remained was the hollow ache of absence.

Alice exhaled shakily, pressing her books tighter against her chest. She told herself it didn't matter. It couldn't matter. He wasn't in her world,he belonged to someone else's. And yet...

"Wow," Sophie's voice cut through, laced with amusement. "I knew you liked books, Alice, but I didn't realize you were this interested in... tall, broody billionaires who look like they belong on the cover of Forbes."

Alice's head snapped toward her best friend, heat rising instantly in her cheeks. "What? No! I wasn't, I mean, I was just..."

Sophie's grin widened like a cat catching a canary. "Uh-huh. Sure. That was not just staring. That was full, on, lost in the sauce, swoony eyed staring. Should I fan you before you faint, or are you good?"

Alice groaned, trying to hide behind her books, but Sophie pried them down with a finger. "Come on, spill. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing," Alice muttered. "Absolutely nothing. He just... happened to look this way, that's all."

Sophie arched an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Alice monroe, you're the worst liar I've ever met. And I've dealt with Clarissa faking humility for years."

That earned a reluctant laugh from Alice, though she quickly shook her head. "You're imagining things."

"No, darling, you're imagining things," Sophie shot back with mock drama. "Like a whole future where you and Mr. Dark and Expensive Suit run off together to his penthouse in New York while I cry alone at our graduation."

Alice swatted at her arm. "Stop it!"

Sophie only leaned in closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "You do realize Clarissa nearly combusted when she saw you two exchange looks, right? I swear if glares could kill, you'd be six feet under right now."

Alice blinked, startled. "She noticed?"

"Oh, she noticed," Sophie said, her grin turning wicked. "And you know Clarissa, she'll pretend she's too perfect to care, but in reality she's probably already planning to bribe the dean, hire a private investigator, and poison your coffee. In that order."

Alice groaned again, burying her face in her hands. "Sophie, please don't joke about that. She already hates me."

"Good," Sophie declared, tossing her hair. "Her hatred is a badge of honor. And if she ever tries something, I'll be right there with my sharp tongue to cut her ego into confetti. No one messes with my best friend."

Alice peeked at her through her fingers, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the knot in her chest. Sophie always knew how to take the weight off, even when Alice's thoughts were spiraling. But still... she couldn't shake the memory of Brian's eyes on hers, the way it had felt like he saw her, really saw her, if only for a heartbeat.

And maybe that was the most dangerous thing of all.

Clarissa's POV

Clarissa Stone adjusted her compact mirror, lips curving into a practiced smile as the car rolled smoothly away from campus. Brian was seated beside her, his attention fixed on his phone, the glow of the screen illuminating the hard angles of his face. To anyone else, it looked like nothing ,just another busy man distracted by work.

But Clarissa had seen it.

The flicker in his eyes when they lingered on Alice Monroe.

Clarissa's fingers tightened around the mirror until her knuckles whitened. It had been quick, barely a second, but she knew what she'd witnessed. Brian's gaze had slipped, and it hadn't landed on her. It had landed on a nobody.

Alice Monroe.

The name soured on her tongue. The scholarship girl with threadbare clothes and downcast eyes who never belonged in their circles. Clarissa had dismissed her before, too busy reveling in her own superiority. But now... now Alice was a problem.

Clarissa snapped the mirror shut with a soft click, slipping it back into her designer purse. Outwardly, her smile didn't falter. She leaned closer to Brian, resting her hand on his arm, radiating poise and elegance like the perfect fiancée she was expected to be.

Inside, though, her thoughts sharpened like glass.

Alice Monroe needed to be reminded of her place.

And Clarissa intended to do it in a way that would make sure Brian never again looked at anyone but her.