Chapter 7
1352 Words
Campus Courtyard – Early Afternoon
POV: James Saito
The sun felt too bright, the breeze too smug, and James’s heart wouldn’t stop racing.
He’d planned it out in his head—Bianca deserved something real, something intentional. He was going to ask her out. Officially. Not just coffee or late-night walks back from the library. A real date.
He had barely made it past the east side of the quad when a voice called his name.
NAOMI
“James!”
He turned, instantly regretting it.
Naomi Takahashi stood under the cherry blossom tree, her posture graceful, like she was born to be in someone’s family portrait. Probably his mother’s ideal one. Her expression was soft, concerned even, but James knew that look. Knew it meant trouble.
JAMES
“Naomi.”
He didn’t stop walking. She matched his pace, heels clicking sharply.
NAOMI
“I had the strangest conversation with your little friend earlier.”
James froze.
He didn’t like the way she said little friend, like Bianca was someone insignificant. Something small.
JAMES (turning to face her)
“What did you say to her?”
NAOMI
“I did you a favor. I told her the truth. You’re not going to marry her, James. Your mother would never—”
JAMES (cutting her off)
“My mother doesn’t get to decide who I fall for.”
Naomi’s eyes narrowed.
NAOMI
“She’s not your future. You know that. We have history, our families are aligned—”
JAMES
“She's so much and more. You make me feel like I’m stuck in a gilded box.”
That wiped the calm off Naomi’s face for a second.
JAMES (coldly)
“And for the record? If you talk to Bianca again—if you so much as breathe near her with that smug superiority—you’ll see exactly how little your last name means to me.”
Naomi stepped back, visibly stunned. James didn’t wait for a response.
He turned and walked off, pulse pounding, but not with nerves this time—with clarity.
He’d never felt more sure of anything in his life.
Bianca was it. And if he had to fight the entire weight of his family’s empire to have her, then so be it.
He spotted her before she saw him.
Bianca sat on the stone ledge of the fountain, knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. Her curls were untamed and catching the light in every direction. She looked deep in thought, her brows slightly furrowed like she was trying to solve a riddle only she could hear.
James approached slowly, not wanting to startle her. She didn’t look up until he was a few steps away.
BIANCA (quietly)
“Hey.”
JAMES
“Hey.”
(pause)
“I was looking for you.”
She shifted, making room for him. He sat beside her, not too close, but close enough to feel the pull between them.
JAMES
“Naomi found me.”
Bianca’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t speak.
JAMES
“She said some things. Things she had no right to say.”
Still nothing. Her silence wasn’t cold—it was cautious.
JAMES (gently)
“Did what she said get in your head?”
Bianca finally turned to face him, her voice steady despite the swirl in her eyes.
BIANCA
“It didn’t have to. It just confirmed what I already knew.”
James’s throat tightened. He wanted to touch her hand but didn’t. Not yet.
JAMES
“She doesn’t speak for me. Or for how I feel about you.”
Bianca looked down at her hands, tracing the lines on her jeans. She whispered something he almost didn’t catch.
BIANCA
“It’s not just her, James. Your whole world is built on rules. And I break every single one.”
JAMES (firmly)
“Good.”
She blinked at him.
JAMES
“I don’t want someone who fits in. I want someone who makes me feel alive.”
(beat)
“I want you.”
A long silence stretched between them. Water bubbled behind them from the fountain, students passed in the distance, laughter carried on the breeze. But in this moment, it felt like they were in their own quiet bubble.
JAMES
“I was coming to ask you out. Like… on a proper date. No library hangouts, no study group excuses. Just you and me.”
Bianca stared at him. Then—
BIANCA
“And where exactly were you planning to take this untamed Black peasant?”
James smirked, shaking his head.
JAMES
“Somewhere expensive. Where they’ll give us dirty looks just for laughing too loud.”
Bianca laughed—a real one. It cracked her tension, her walls, and something about it made James feel ten feet tall.
She reached for his hand. This time, he let the contact settle.
BIANCA
“I’m not promising forever, James.”
JAMES (softly)
“I’m not asking for it. Just tonight.”
She nodded.
And for the first time since they’d met, neither of them felt like they were crossing lines. Just choosing each other anyway.
---
Downtown Boston – Little Italian Bistro – Evening
POV: Bianca Lawson
She stood outside the restaurant, a little unsure. It wasn’t the fanciest place in the city, but it definitely wasn’t the pizza joint she expected. White tablecloths. Candlelight. The kind of place that whispered things like we don’t rush here and yes, that’s actual truffle oil.
Bianca caught her reflection in the glass—natural curls, a midnight blue wrap dress she’d thrifted and prayed fit the vibe. When James stepped out of the Uber in his dark blazer, sleeves pushed up, eyes locked on her like she was the only thing in Boston worth looking at, she stopped second-guessing.
JAMES (grinning)
“You clean up okay.”
BIANCA (teasing)
“You too. But that’s not fair—you probably woke up looking like a GQ cover.”
He held the door open for her, murmuring low in her ear.
JAMES
“I woke up thinking about you.”
Dinner was perfect. Not because of the food—though the gnocchi was insane—but because James made her forget everything else. He talked about his childhood summers in Kyoto, how his mom micromanaged his life like it was a corporate project, and how being heir to an empire felt more like a cage than a crown.
And he listened. Really listened. About her scholarships, her poetry, her sister back in Atlanta who thought Bianca could “change the world if she’d just start by changing her hair.”
They laughed too loud. Took dessert to go. And walked back toward campus under the soft city lights, sharing the last bite of tiramisu on a park bench.
Bianca didn’t want the night to end.
---
James’s Apartment – The Next Morning
POV: James Saito
He barely had time to throw on a shirt when his mother burst through the front door, heels echoing like judgment.
MRS. SAITO
“I just had lunch with Naomi’s mother.”
James swore under his breath. His mother stood in the center of the room like a queen preparing for war.
MRS. SAITO
“You’re dating her now? A charity case with nothing but student loans an—”
JAMES
“Stop.”
His voice cut sharper than he intended.
His mother’s eyes flashed, but James didn’t let her speak.
JAMES
“She’s brilliant. And strong. And she makes me feel like me. Not a product. Not a merger.”
MRS. SAITO
“You are throwing away your future—”
JAMES
“No. I’m finally choosing it.”
She paused, her jaw tightening. The silence felt like a verdict.
MRS. SAITO
“Then she will never be welcome in our home. And neither will you, if this continues.”
James stood still.
Then said the words he never imagined he'd say.
JAMES
“Then I guess you’ve already made your choice.”
He walked past her, heart hammering—but steady.
He was done crossing lines.
Now, he was drawing his own.
- Writer
