Accidentally Yours

NEW BEGINNINGS

Chapter One

The iron gates of Northfield University didn’t look welcoming. They looked like the entrance to a world I had no business stepping into.

“You’re going to be fine, Ana,” Dad said, squeezing my shoulder before climbing back into the car. “Call me if you get lost.”

“I will. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too.”

I stood there and watched his car disappear down the road until it became nothing more than a tiny black dot in the distance. Around me, students hurried across campus, laughing with their parents or dragging expensive suitcases behind them as though they had done this a hundred times before.

For years, I had dreamed of leaving home.

I had imagined freedom—an escape from my stepmother’s constant comparisons and the impossible standards I could never seem to meet. Kelsey was always prettier, smarter, more graceful. At least, according to her mother.

Now that I was finally here, standing in front of one of the most prestigious universities in the country, all I felt was painfully out of place.

Everyone moved with an ease I couldn’t understand, like they belonged here by birthright.

Meanwhile, I was clutching my phone like a lifeline.

I pulled up the campus map and started following the blue dot, weaving through crowds of students. Somewhere between the science building and the main hall, I took a wrong turn and found myself in a narrow path lined with old brick walls.

The noise from the quad faded behind me.The silence that replaced it felt strangely heavy.

Then a voice shattered it.

“Touch what’s mine again and see what happens.”

I froze.

A guy stumbled backward and hit the ground, one hand pressed against his jaw. He looked more shocked than injured, scrambling to stand as though he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Standing over him was someone who looked completely unbothered by the entire situation.

He was tall, dressed in black, with dark hair falling carelessly over his forehead. A faint scar cut through one eyebrow, giving him a rough edge that should have made him look intimidating.

Instead, what unsettled me was the expression on his face.

Bored.

As though he had already won before the fight had even started.

“She isn’t your property,” the other guy muttered, rubbing his jaw.

The dark-haired stranger shoved his hands into his pockets.

“She’s under my protection,” he said coolly. “And if I were you, I’d stop testing my patience.”

The warning in his voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be.

The other guy muttered something under his breath before hurrying away, brushing past me without looking up.

And just like that, the alley fell silent again.Except now, there were only two of us left.

I shifted my weight, and my shoe scraped against the pavement.

His head turned.Gray eyes locked onto mine.For a moment, neither of us moved.

There was nothing friendly in his expression. He looked at me the way someone might study an unexpected problem—quietly deciding whether it was worth dealing with.

I took a step backward.Unfortunately, my suitcase had other plans.The wheel caught against my ankle, and I lost my balance.

I barely had time to gasp before a hand shot out and grabbed my arm, steadying me.The moment I regained my footing, he let go.

“You didn’t see anything.”

The certainty in his voice irritated me instantly.

Not because it sounded threatening, but because he spoke as though the entire world naturally obeyed him.The fear in my chest quickly gave way to annoyance.

“I see a guy who thinks everyone owes him their attention,” I replied, straightening my shirt. “I don’t.”

Something flickered across his face.

Surprise.

It vanished almost immediately, replaced by the hint of a smile.

“Brave,” he said. “Especially for a freshman.”

“Observant too. I noticed you the second you started acting like you own the place.”

He studied me for a few seconds longer than necessary, his head tilting slightly.

“You have a name?”

“You don’t need it.”

His smile widened just enough to be annoying.

“I’ll find out eventually.”

“Good luck with that.”

Something about his confidence made me want to roll my eyes.Unfortunately, it was harder to dismiss him than it should have been.

Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner with his hands still buried in his pockets.

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.What exactly had I just walked into?

Shaking my head, I grabbed my suitcase and continued toward the dormitory.As soon as I stepped back onto the main path, two girls hurried past me.

“Did you hear?” one whispered excitedly. “Alex Morrison punched someone behind the main hall again.”Her friend groaned. “Seriously? Classes haven’t even started.”

“Well, he’s Alex Morrison. The rules don’t exactly apply to him.”The name settled uneasily in my mind.

Alex Morrison.

I had no idea who he was,but apparently, everyone else did.

By the time I reached the dorm office, my hands still hadn’t stopped shaking.

A girl around my age stood at the counter, nervously adjusting the straps of her backpack.“New student?” I asked.

She turned and smiled.

“Yeah. Here for my key.”

“Same.”

We collected our student IDs and room keys side by side before heading into the dorm building together.

The place was absolute chaos.

Parents hauled suitcases up the stairs while students shouted across hallways already cluttered with boxes and half-open doors. Somehow, being surrounded by hundreds of people only made me feel more alone.

Room 304.

I stopped outside the door, tightening my grip on my suitcase.Please let this part be normal.

I slid the key into the lock.The door swung open immediately,it was unlocked.Apparently, one of my roommates had already arrived.

I stepped inside.

Clothes covered one of the beds. An open suitcase sat abandoned on the floor.Then my eyes drifted toward the far corner of the room and my brain stopped working.

Two girls were tangled together on one of the beds.

The moment they noticed me, they sprang apart as though someone had set the room on fire.One yanked a blanket over herself while the other nearly fell off the mattress trying to fix her shirt.

Nobody spoke.

I stood frozen by the door, still clutching my suitcase, while my brain desperately searched for an explanation that would make this situation less awkward.

It found nothing.

My suitcase slipped from my fingers and crashed onto the floor.

All three of us flinched.

One girl looked horrified. The other stared at the window like she was calculating whether jumping out of it would solve all her problems.

The silence stretched painfully between us.

"I...I can step out if you guys need space," I finally blurted.

"No...no, it's fine," one of the girls said, grabbing an oversized hoodie and pulling it on. "So sorry about that — just....don't tell anyone, please," she said, a concerned look crossing her face. "I'm Ellenor, by the way, but people call me Ellie. And she's Sam, short for Samantha," she said, pointing at the other girl beside her.

The girl waved at me.

"Sure, I'll keep it a secret. I promise," I said.

"I'm Ana," I said with a smile.

I had made a promise, but deep down, I wasn't entirely sure I could keep it.