Lucas's gaze cut through me like a blade, slicing through every defense I had.

I shoved Dominic's hand away and shot to my feet.

"I'm done eating."

I fled the cafeteria in a humiliated rush.

After that day, Dominic's number-one admirer — Vanessa Holloway, the prettiest girl in school — cornered me backstage at the gymnasium with her entourage.

She was wearing a gorgeous dress, her makeup flawless, but the way she looked at me was pure venom.

Crack!

A stinging slap landed across my face.

My cheek burned.

"Elara Pemberton, have you no shame?"

Vanessa jabbed a finger at my nose.

"Take a good look in the mirror. What makes you think you can go after Dominic?"

The girls around her closed in, shoving me back and forth.

"Exactly. A nobody from a regular family, thinking she can climb the social ladder?"

"Stay away from Dominic Blackwood, or you'll regret it!"

They knocked me to the cold floor. I looked up at their sneering faces, caught between terror and rage.

"I'm not going after him — he's the one who —"

"Who what? Forced you?" Vanessa let out a theatrical laugh. "How shameless! You actually think Dominic would look twice at someone like you?"

Just then, the backstage door was kicked open with a deafening bang.

Dominic stood in the doorway, drenched in sweat from the court. The moment he saw me on the floor, his expression turned savage.

"What are you doing?"

His roar sent the color draining from every face in the room.

He charged in, shoving aside the girl closest to me so hard she went flying.

The scene spiraled out of control.

He grabbed Vanessa by the hair and slammed her against the wall.

"Who gave you permission to touch what's mine?!"

His eyes were bloodshot — a crazed animal, all reason gone.

Vanessa screamed.

His brutality terrified me.

This wasn't protection. This was violence.

I scrambled up and grabbed his arm.

"Dominic, stop! You'll kill her!"

He flung me off with enough force to send me stumbling.

"Back off! Nobody's stopping me today!"

Watching him — wild-eyed, murderous — a wave of pure fear crashed over me.

I screamed at him to stop, then ran out the door without looking back.

I couldn't take it anymore.

My life — my quiet, ordinary life — had been destroyed by this lunatic.

I sat by the campus pond, hugging my knees, sobbing until my throat was raw.

I don't know how long I cried before a clean tissue appeared in front of my face.

I looked up through blurry tears and saw Lucas.

He was the same as always — cool, composed — standing beside me like a quiet, steady tree.

His voice was soft, but it had a way of calming everything it touched.

"Stay away from him."

That's what he said.

"He's not a good person."

I took the tissue, wiped my eyes in a messy swipe, and couldn't manage a single word.

He just stood there with me in silence for a while, then turned and walked away.

The next day, Vanessa came to apologize — voluntarily.

Her face still bore the wounds, and she looked at me with undisguised fear.

I found out later that Lucas had sent video evidence of the bullying straight to the school administration.

The Vanessa family's business had also received a call from the Lucas — and overnight, they nearly went bankrupt.

Vanessa got a formal disciplinary warning and came within inches of expulsion.

I was stunned.

I had no idea Lucas wielded that kind of power.

After school, Dominic came to find me again.

He looked haggard, dark shadows under his eyes. When he saw me, something flickered in his gaze — guilt.

"About yesterday... I'm sorry. I scared you."

I ignored him and turned to walk away.

Just then, Lucas walked out of the school building.

He saw me. He saw Dominic beside me.

He started walking toward us.

Dominic spotted Lucas and instantly puffed up like a territorial lion, hackles raised.

He yanked me behind him, jealousy blazing in his eyes.

"What do you want?!"

But Lucas didn't spare him so much as a glance. His gaze only fell on my cheek, still faintly swollen.

Then, calmly, he spoke to Dominic.

"Dominic, you can't handle this."

Dominic snapped, lunging forward with a fist cocked.

"Say that again!"

Lucas didn't flinch. Not even a shift in posture. His tone was utterly flat, yet it carried a crushing weight of authority.

"Violence is the lowest form of problem-solving."

"If this is your idea of 'protecting' her, all you're doing is pushing her further away."

Dominic's fist hung frozen in midair.

The quiet, effortless dominance that Lucas exuded was something a street brawler like Dominic couldn't begin to match.

I watched Lucas's lean but straight-backed silhouette walk away, and for the first time, I sensed that the boy I'd been pining for carried enormous secrets I knew nothing about.

The senior trip was the final chapter of high school.

I thought I could use it as a chance to cut ties with Dominic for good.

I was naive.

On the bus to the coastal resort, Dominic ignored the assigned seating and dropped into the spot next to me.

He stuck to me like a shadow, forbidding any boy from coming within three feet.

A friendly classmate from another section came over to chat, and Dominic snarled a single "Get lost" that sent him scurrying.

I'd had enough.

"Dominic, could you stop being so childish?"

He pulled out one earbud and lounged against the headrest.

"Nope."

"I'm doing you a favor — weeding out the trash."

I was too furious to speak.

At the hotel, after rooms were assigned and free time began, Sophie slipped me a note.

"Ellie, Lucas is down on the beach. This is your last chance! Go say goodbye — don't leave yourself with regrets!"

I clutched the slip of paper, my palms slick with sweat.

I was torn inside.

Go, or don't go?

If I went and Dominic found out, there'd be another scene.

If I didn't go, I might never get the chance to say a single real word to Lucas.

In the end, I made my decision.

I changed into a dress, planning to slip out while Dominic wasn't around.

But the moment I opened the door, I collided with a solid wall of chest.

Dominic stood in the doorway with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, hair still dripping, his expression dark as a storm.

"Going somewhere?"

"I... I was just going down to grab something." My voice came out too high, too guilty.

"Dressed like that, to grab something?"

His eyes swept over my new dress, then he let out a cold laugh.

"Is it something you're grabbing, or someone you're meeting?"

He dragged me back into the room and kicked the door shut behind him.

He pulled me back into my room and threw me onto the bed, then pinned me down, his eyes blazing red.

"You really like him that much?"

"Right in front of me, you can't wait to run to him?"

His strength was terrifying. I thrashed and fought, but I was a fish pinned to a cutting board.

"Dominic Blackwood, let go of me! We've graduated! This farce is over!"

My words detonated something inside him.

"Over?"

He laughed — a crazed, broken sound — then stood up, and I heard the door slam with savage force.

"I told you — unless I'm dead, this is never over."

The memory of his unhinged expression unleashed every ounce of fear, fury, and grief I'd been holding back.

He'd finally pushed me past my limit.

I crawled off the bed, stormed to the door, and pounded on it with both fists.

Through the door, I screamed myself hoarse.

"Dominic Blackwood, you're insane!"

"I have never liked you!"

"The person I like is Lucas Sterling! It's always been him!"

"He was the one I was trying to confess to that night! Not you!"

On the other side of the door — dead silence.

A long, long time passed. So long I thought he'd left.

Then I heard it — the sound of a wounded animal, a guttural growl of pain pressed down to its absolute limit.

My heart plummeted.

BANG.

The hotel room door burst inward, kicked clean off its hinges.

Wood splinters flew.

Dominic stood in the doorway, eyes bloodshot, and walked toward me step by step, his towering frame radiating apocalyptic fury.

His voice was shredded raw, as though dragged across sandpaper.

"Say that again. Who do you like?"