Zara Kingsley has one rule: never be number two. Second place burns. Second place lingers. Second place belongs to Aiden Cole. At school, they are rivals in every sense: grades, pride, ambition. Aiden is everything Zara can’t stand: effortlessly brilliant, dangerously charming, the kind of boy who parties hard and still tops the class. And Zara? She’s focused, disciplined, and determined to beat him no matter the cost. “I’ll take first place,” she tells him, her voice steady, eyes blazing. Aiden only smirks. “Should I be scared?” But competition becomes far more complicated when their parents fall in love. One dinner. One ring. One sentence that changes everything. “I want you all to know… Camille, will you marry me?” In a single moment, enemies become almost family, and the lines between hatred, tension, and attraction blur beyond repair. Zara is horrified. Aiden is silent. Neither of them knows which scares them more: losing first place or being forced to see each other every day under the same roof. Enemies don’t become family. But neither of them knows how to walk away. And somewhere between rivalry and resentment, something dangerous begins to grow. Because falling for the one person you’re not supposed to want is one thing. Falling for the person you’re supposed to hate? That breaks every rule. And the most terrifying one of all? Love doesn’t care who comes first.