love wasn't on the menu

LOVE WASN'T ON THE MENUScarlett never believed in fairy tales.At twenty-three, her life was already complicated enough without adding romance to the mess.She was a scholarship student at one of the most prestigious colleges in the city, a place where the children of billionaires, politicians, celebrities, and powerful businessmen walked the same hallways she did. Scarlett didn't belong there—not according to the people who measured worth by designer clothes, expensive cars, family names, and bank accounts.She was there because of a scholarship.And because she had no choice.While other students spent their weekends shopping, partying, and attending luxurious events, Scarlett spent hers working at Mrs. Grey's pizza shop. She wasn't working because she loved pizza. She was working because her mother's debt had tied her to Mrs. Grey, and until every last penny was paid, Scarlett would continue working without a salary.It was humiliating.Exhausting.And absolutely ridiculous.But Scarlett had learned one thing early in life:If life handed you lemons, you made lemonade.If life handed you debt, you worked until you could breathe again.And if life handed you an arrogant, ridiculously handsome billionaire heir who thought the entire world belonged to him...You told him exactly where to go.That was how Scarlett met Edward.And that was the beginning of her biggest problem.Edward wasn't an ordinary student.He was the heir to the Hulio empire, one of the most powerful families connected to the institution. He was rich, handsome, feared, arrogant, and completely aware of the effect he had on people.Girls followed him.Teachers tolerated him.Students whispered about him.And men knew better than to challenge him.Edward was the kind of man who could walk into a room without saying a word and still make everyone notice him.Scarlett?She couldn't care less.At least, that's what she told herself.Their first encounter should have ended with an ordinary delivery.Instead, it ended with Scarlett arguing with the most powerful student on campus.She didn't know who he was.She didn't care.And when Edward tried to intimidate her, Scarlett did the one thing almost nobody dared to do.She talked back.Edward was stunned.Nobody talked to him like that.Nobody looked him directly in the eye and told him he was behaving like an overgrown child.Nobody—except Scarlett.From that moment, something changed.Edward couldn't stop thinking about her.Scarlett couldn't stop running into him.And somehow, every time they crossed paths, chaos followed.The lecture hall became a battlefield.The pizza shop became another battleground.Their conversations became competitions.Their insults became entertainment.Their arguments became increasingly personal.And their attraction became impossible to ignore.But Scarlett wasn't interested in becoming another girl obsessed with Edward.She had seen girls fall for rich men before.She knew exactly how men like Edward operated.They could buy flowers.They could buy jewelry.They could buy cars.They could buy entire buildings.But Scarlett couldn't be bought.Edward, however, was determined to prove otherwise.At first, he told himself that Scarlett was simply entertaining.She was different.She challenged him.She annoyed him.She embarrassed him.And somehow, she made him want to see her again.Then came Ryan.Ryan was everything Edward hated.A rival.A troublemaker.A dangerous presence on campus.And, most importantly, a man who seemed increasingly interested in Scarlett.Edward's jealousy appeared before he was willing to admit that he cared.Whenever Ryan stood too close to Scarlett, Edward became irritated.Whenever Scarlett laughed at Ryan's jokes, Edward became quiet.Whenever another man looked at Scarlett for too long, Edward's mood changed.His friends noticed.Scarlett noticed.Even Edward noticed.But instead of admitting that he was falling for her, Edward did what he did best.He turned everything into a game.A dangerous game.A game that would eventually cost him the one thing he never knew he truly wanted.Scarlett.Because hidden behind Edward's confident smile was a secret.A secret so cruel that when Scarlett eventually discovered it, it would change the way she looked at him forever.Edward had made a bet.A stupid, reckless, humiliating bet concerning Scarlett's virginity.To Edward, it had started as something he could control.Something his friends could laugh about.Something that would prove he could get the supposedly untouchable Scarlett to fall for him.But Scarlett wasn't a game.She wasn't a challenge.She wasn't a prize.And she certainly wasn't something that could be won.The problem was that by the time Edward realized this, the damage had already been done.Because somewhere between the arguments, the jealousy, the stolen glances, the unexpected mo