LOVE DEFIES CODE

The worst monster 💀

Maya's Pov

She didn't step back. She had learned that much—retreat read as weakness, and weakness attracted predators.

"He mentioned you," she said flatly.

"Did he?" Lucas straightened, moving aside to let her pass, but not far enough. Close enough that she could smell his cologne—different from Adrian's, brighter, more aggressive. "Let me guess. Childhood rivals. Family competition. The tragic history that made him what he is."

"He said you push buttons."

"I do." Lucas laughed, low and without warmth. "But Adrian Cole has more buttons than a piano, and I've only found the ones that make noise. You?" He tilted his head, studying her with the same assessment she had felt in the courtyard. "You're looking for the ones that open locks."

Maya gripped the coffee cup tighter. "I'm not looking for anything."

"Everyone's looking for something, scholarship girl." He reached into his pocket, withdrew a folded paper, held it out. "Adrian offers protection. I offer information. Same currency. Different exchange rate."

She didn't take it.

"Your mother," Lucas said quietly. "Three states away. Working double shifts. She called the university last week. Asked about your scholarship status. Asked if there were... concerns."

Maya felt the ground shift.

"Adrian didn't tell you that," Lucas continued. "He knows. His family knows everything about everyone who enters their orbit. But he didn't tell you."

The coffee cup was cold now. Or her hands were.

"Why are you doing this?"

Lucas stepped closer, close enough to whisper, close enough that she saw the genuine thing beneath his performance. Not kindness. Something harder.

"Because Adrian wins too easily," he said. "And I want to see what happens when he has to fight for something he actually wants."

He pressed the paper into her palm, folded her fingers over it, and walked away without looking back.

Maya stood alone at the gate, holding two offerings: a coffee cup from a boy who calculated her value, and a paper from a boy who wanted to watch her destroy them both.

She didn't open the paper until the taxi was moving.

Inside, a single line:

Ask him about the girl before you. The one who disappeared.

Adrian's pov

He watched from the window as Lucas approached her.

Watched as the paper changed hands.

Watched as she got into the car without looking back at the house.

His phone buzzed. Ethan.

She took it.

I know.

Are you going to tell her?

Adrian stared at the gate long after the taxi had passed through it.

No.

Then you're letting him win.

Adrian turned from the window. The coffee pot was still warm. Two cups on the tray. One untouched.

He's not winning, he typed. He's teaching her to ask the right questions.

When she asks, I'll answer.

And if she doesn't ask?

Adrian looked at the empty chair where she had sat.

Then I was wrong about her. And she was right to leave.