She was right—I was starting to feel like myself again. The carefree, fun girl who had once been giddy about slipping out from under the suffocating gaze of parents and siblings. The girl whose college meant freedom, even with the endless assignments, exams, and the constant pressure to keep perfect A’s. Back in my first and second year, I could still laugh too loud, flirt too easily, stay out too late, and believe nothing could touch me. Nothing did—until Jacob.
At first, it had been a rush. Thrilling, intoxicating. I was suddenly the talk of the department, dating the hottest guy on campus. He brought flowers, little gifts on special days—not as extravagant as Lucien’s, but still expensive enough to make heads turn. For a while, it felt like I was living in a movie. But then came the s
