The way he looked at me.

Chapter Four----The Rumor Game

By Monday morning, Ravenwood felt different—like the walls themselves were watching me. It wasn’t just the stares anymore. It was the laughter, sharp and deliberate. The way conversations dipped when I walked by, only to swell again once I passed.

At first, I thought I was imagining it. That maybe the pressure of Sienna’s threat was twisting everything into paranoia. But then Sophie slid into her desk beside me in first period, dropping her phone onto the table with a sigh.

“You should see what they’re posting,” she muttered.

My stomach tightened. “What?”

She turned the screen toward me.

It was Ravenwood Secrets, the anonymous i********: account every student seemed to follow. A blurry photo of me at my locker filled the screen, my head bent, hair falling into my face. The caption read: When you think you’re Cinderella, but the glass slipper was never meant for you.

Heat surged up my neck. Beneath the photo, comments bloomed like weeds.

She’s pathetic.

Ethan deserves better.

Watch her crash and burn.

I shoved the phone back toward Sophie, my hands trembling.

“Don’t look at it,” she said quickly. “That’s how they win. They want you to break.”

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. “It’s only been a week.”

“Yeah. Welcome to Ravenwood.”

The day only got worse. In chemistry, when Ethan sat beside me again, I felt the weight of thirty pairs of eyes drilling into my back. Sienna sat across the room, her posture perfect, her smile cruel. She didn’t need to say a word. The entire class seemed to breathe with her, watching, waiting.

Ethan leaned closer. “You okay?”

I forced a nod. “Fine.”

But I wasn’t.

When class ended, I moved fast, desperate to get away. But halfway down the hall, I realized my backpack felt lighter. Too light. I swung it around and opened it—empty. My books were gone. My notes. Everything.

Laughter erupted behind me. I turned to see two of Sienna’s followers holding my textbooks like trophies. One dropped my notebook to the floor, pages fanning out, before kicking it down the hall.

Something inside me twisted. The humiliation was worse than anger. My hands shook as I bent to gather my things, only for someone else to beat me to it.

Ethan.

He crouched beside me, his jaw tight, picking up my scattered papers. The hallway went silent, the crowd buzzing with shock.

“You don’t have to—” I whispered, panicked.

“I want to,” he cut in softly.

His fingers brushed mine as he handed over my notebook. The touch was brief, accidental maybe, but it sent heat racing up my arm. And when I looked up, his eyes locked on mine, steady and unashamed, like he didn’t care that half the school was watching.

“Don’t let them get to you,” he murmured.

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one drowning.

By the time I escaped to the library, my chest ached. I sank into a chair at the far table, pressing my forehead to my folded arms.

“Rough day?”

The voice was soft, teasing. I didn’t have to lift my head to know who it was.

Ethan slid into the chair across from me, his presence both grounding and terrifying.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I muttered.

He arched a brow. “Why not?”

“Because…” I gestured vaguely toward the door. “Them. All of them. You’re making it worse.”

He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I don’t care what they think.”

“Well, I do.” My voice cracked, surprising even me. I lowered it quickly. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I just wanted to survive my first week. That’s it. And now…”

“And now you’re not invisible anymore,” he finished for me.

I met his gaze, startled.

“There’s nothing wrong with being seen, Amelia.” His tone softened. “Especially by someone who actually sees you.”

The words lodged in my chest, heavy and electric all at once.

I wanted to tell him he was wrong. That visibility wasn’t worth the cost. That Sienna’s shadow was too big, too dark. But sitting there, caught in the warmth of his eyes, I couldn’t say it.

Instead, I whispered, “You don’t even know me.”

“Then let me.”

The world stilled.

Ethan Reyes, golden boy of Ravenwood, wanted to know me. And for one reckless heartbeat, I wanted to let him.

But before I could answer, the library door slammed open. Laughter spilled in. Sienna’s voice, sharp and cruel, cut through the quiet.

“Guess the charity case found herself a knight,” she drawled, striding past with her entourage, her eyes glittering as they locked on mine. “Careful, Reyes. Strays have a way of biting.”

The girls laughed, the sound echoing against the walls, before disappearing as quickly as they’d arrived.

The silence that followed was unbearable. I stared at the table, shame burning hotter than anger.

Ethan’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t move. Slowly, he reached across the table, his fingers brushing mine again—this time deliberate. A question, not a claim.

I didn’t pull away.

For the first time since stepping into Ravenwood, I felt the tiniest spark of defiance. Maybe I couldn’t outrun Sienna. Maybe I couldn’t silence the whispers.

But sitting there, Ethan’s touch warm against my hand, I realized something I hadn’t dared admit before.

I didn’t want to.