Rule#1: Don't get noticed
prologue
My heart stopped. I turned around and looked up at the middle tier of the lecture hall. Keiran Voss was leaning forward now, his stormy grey eyes locked onto mine, his smirk widening into something dark, relentless, and thoroughly victorious. To my left, Cole Ashford’s jaw had gone completely slack.
I was officially trapped. Forced into a room, for hours on end, with the golden heir who wanted to shield me, and the mafia prince who wanted to break me.
But three days ago, I was just a girl stepping off an 18-hour flight, trying to blend into the background...
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*Episode 1: Rule #1: Don’t Get Noticed*
Sea-Tac Airport was chaos. Announcements echoed off glass. Rain slammed the walls outside, but inside it was warm and bright and full of students dragging Louis Vuitton and Rimowa for Orientation Day at Sterling Heights Academy.
Adunni Bello pulled her hoodie lower. Lagos → Seattle. 18 hours. One duffel bag. Scholarship kid.
Rule #1: Don’t stand out.
Rule #2: Don’t talk until you have to.
Her mama’s voice lived in her chest: _“Adunni, na Nigeria you come from. No forget your background. You go there, you go read, you go succeed. You go bring us out of this poverty wey we dey. No bring shame to us.”_
She tightened her grip on her faded Ankara patch. Second-hand duffel. Donated shoes. Invisible armor.
She was checking her shuttle number when WHAM. Hard-shell suitcase vs her duffel. Books exploded across the floor.
“s**t— sorry,” a voice cut through. American. Sharp. Clean. It shivered down her spine and settled wrong.
Adunni dropped to her knees before he could see her. Hoodie swallowed her whole. Chin down. Lips pressed tight. Only her freckles and the edge of her jaw showed. She scrambled, shoving his books back fast. Hands shaking.
He didn’t kneel to help. He went still.
Then he breathed in.
Lavender. Rose water. Rain on hot Lagos pavement. And something wild underneath that made his brain short-circuit.
Cole Ashford stared. Blond hair damp from rain. Blue eyes that usually got girls to talk. Billionaire’s son. Sterling Heights’ golden boy.
He wanted to see her face so bad his jaw hurt. But the hoodie was a wall. Only her mouth showed. Soft. Plump. Unsure. Real.
Adunni glanced up one second. Hazel fox eyes flashed—sharp, defiant, terrified—then slammed down again. She zipped his bag, stood, grabbed her duffel. No words. No eye contact.
Cole’s mouth opened. _Wait._
She was already gone, disappearing into the crowd heading for Batch A shuttle bus.
Cole stood there with his fist closed around nothing.
“Bro you zoning out,” Keiran Voss jogged up, shoving him. British accent, sharp suit, eyes like a storm. “You’ve been staring at air for ten seconds.”
Cole blinked. “Um... there was a girl.”
Keiran rolled his eyes. “A girl? Seriously, Cole? I thought you and Christina broke up last summer.”
Cole’s jaw ticked. “You’re getting it all wrong.”
Keiran snorted. “Sure I am. Come on. Sterling Heights doesn’t wait for nobody.”
Cole didn’t move. Brain whispered: _She smelled like rain and trouble._
“Cole.” Keiran tugged his sleeve. “Let’s go before we’re late.”
Cole finally tore his eyes away from the empty floor. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s go.”
He sat by the shuttle window, thumb pressing his palm like he could still feel where her hoodie brushed him.
Adunni climbed onto the last shuttle bus. Back row. Window seat. Hoodie up. Forehead against cold glass, watching Seattle rain blur the world into watercolors.
Chest tight. Hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Rule #1: Don’t get noticed. Broken in under five minutes.
But she knew what she was. Model features. Striking face. She’d watched those movies back home. Scholarship girl + elite school = wrong people notice you first.
She exhaled slow. _Mama, I won’t bring shame. I won’t._
But her heart was racing because of blue eyes and a voice that said “sorry” like the world owed him an apology.
Bus pulled away from the curb. Through the rain, she saw the other shuttle. A boy turned his head. Blond. Staring straight at her window even though tint + rain made her invisible.
Adunni pulled her hoodie lower and whispered to the glass: “Rule #1: Don’t get noticed at Sterling Heights. God help you, Adunni.”
Bus hit a puddle. Rain sprayed the window.
Somewhere behind her, Cole Ashford stared at rain and wondered why it suddenly smelled like a girl he’d never seen.
___
