HIS POSSESSION

CHAPTER TWO: Is eyes followed her

By the second week, Isla had learned two things about Harrington Academy:

one — money could buy silence,

and two — Lucien Drake was everywhere.

She’d see him in the dining hall surrounded by friends who acted more like guards, his laughter low and careless. She’d see him in the library, leaning back in a chair like he owned the place. And sometimes — too often — she’d feel his gaze long before she saw him.

At first she told herself she was imagining it.

But every time she looked up, his dark eyes were already there, waiting. Watching.

The other students noticed too.

“Why’s he staring at her?” someone whispered in class.

“Probably another game,” another voice said. “He gets bored easily.”

Isla kept her head down, taking notes, pretending not to hear. She had no time for games. She was here on a scholarship, and one wrong move could take that away.

After class, she hurried out, clutching her books — only to find him leaning against the wall beside the door.

“Do you follow everyone like that?” she asked quietly.

Lucien’s smirk was faint. “Only the interesting ones.”

He took a step closer, his voice smooth but sharp. “Tell me, scholarship girl, what’s it like—coming from nothing and walking among royalty?”

Her throat tightened. “I’m just here to study.”

“Good,” he said, almost gently. “Keep doing that. And stay away from people who’ll use you.”

It almost sounded like a warning. Almost.

Before she could reply, he turned and walked away, the scent of his cologne lingering like a challenge.

---

That night in her dorm, Isla couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his — dark, unreadable, and filled with something she didn’t understand yet.

Somewhere on the other side of campus, in a penthouse built for a king, Lucien stared at a single photo on his phone — a picture from that morning’s class. Her, sitting by the window, sunlight caught in her hair.

He shouldn’t have it. He shouldn’t care. But he did.

And deep down, he already knew he wasn’t going to let her go.