The Rival I Should Never Love.

CHAPTER 3:WHISPERS IN HALLWAY

The security guards were ten steps behind me, their heavy boots clattering against the concrete steps as my media pass was officially revoked across the stadium system.

I didn't care about the pass. My mind was burning with Nora’s post.

Within three minutes, the edited video had racked up fifty thousand views. Comments were flooding in—calling me unstable, calling me a bitter ex, she attacked him because he dumped her, demanding my scholarship be cancelled.

I had spent three years building Ethan Cole's public image. Now, in less than fifteen minutes, Nora had turned me into the villain.

I burst into the shadowed storage tunnel behind the away locker rooms, my chest heaving, rain dripping from my hair onto my jacket.

A hand reached out from the dark, grabbed the strap of my camera bag, and yanked me sideways into the narrow space between two massive equipment crates.

My back hit the brick wall. A heavy, warm body stepped in, blocking me completely from the corridor's bright lights.

Kaiden.

He was still half-dressed in his rain-soaked jersey, a white towel hanging around his shoulders. Steam practically rose from his skin.

“They’re looking for you,” Kaiden murmured, his voice a low, deep, rough sound that I could feel right in my chest.

“Nora shared a fake video,” I said, my teeth chattering from the cold rain and shaking with anger. I held up my phone, the screen illuminating his sharp jawline and the dark, unreadable green of his eyes.

“She cut out the cheating. Made it look like I assaulted Ethan in cold blood. ESU Athletics is already revoking my press clearance.” Kaiden didn't look at the screen. He kept his eyes locked on mine, completely unmoved by the chaos echoing outside the tunnel.

“So?” he asked quietly.

“So?” My temper exploded. “That scholarship is my entire life, Black! If I lose my media credentials, I get kicked out of the university by Monday! Ethan and Nora are going to walk away looking like royalty while I’m turned into a social pariah!”

Kaiden took a half-step closer. The space between us disappeared until the damp fabric of his jersey brushed against my jacket. He reached up and caught a wet strand of hair that had stuck to my cheek. His rough thumb gently moved it behind my ear.

His touch was surprisingly warm against my freezing skin.

“You’re shouting, Vale,” he said softly, his dark eyes dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second before snapping back to mine. “And you’re letting them see you bleed. That’s your first mistake.”

“I’m not a stone statue like you,” I snapped. My breath caught when he stepped closer. “I fight back with words and footage. Now I have neither.”

“Then we change the game,” Kaiden said.

I blinked, trapped against the wall by his massive frame. “What?”

“Ethan Cole thinks he owns this campus. He thinks his daddy’s money makes him untouchable,” Kaiden whispered, leaning down until his lips were inches from my ear.

A faint smile appeared. “And Nora thinks she’s the only strategist in the room. But Ethan is terrified of me. And you have an audience that believes in you if you give them the truth.”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye, his expression shifting into something predatory and dangerous.

“You need your scholarship back. I need ESU to stop treating me like a convict so the NFL scouts will actually sign me when I transfer here next week.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You’re transferring to ESU?”

“The papers are signed,” Kaiden said, a dark smile touching his lips. “I’m taking his field. I’m taking his captain’s armband. And if you’re smart, Vale... you’ll help me take his reputation.”

My heart started pounding. It was insane. It was career suicide. And somehow, it was the most tempting proposition anyone had ever made to me.

“An alliance,” I whispered, staring up into those piercing green eyes.

Kaiden nodded.

“I use my media reach to rebuild your reputation and highlight your performance... and you protect me from Ethan and Nora while we destroy Ethan's golden-boy image.”

“Not just a shield,” Kaiden corrected, his fingers sliding down my arm until his hand closed around my wrist, pulling my hand against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat slam beneath my palm through his jersey.

“I'll be your weapon.” His eyes held mine.

The air between us charged. For one second, neither of us moved. He was dangerous. A man with a prison record. A man people called a murderer. Yet standing this close to him, I didn't feel afraid.

I felt stronger.

“Deal,” I whispered.

Before Kaiden could answer, the heavy double doors at the end of the corridor burst open.

“He went this way!” Ethan’s furious voice shouted, accompanied by the heavy footsteps of two campus security guards and Nora’s sharp heels clicking against the tile. “I saw him pull her into the storage corridor! Check every room!”

My heart dropped into my throat. If security caught me hidden in the dark with Kaiden Black right now, Nora’s narrative of me being an unstable clout-chaser would be sealed forever.

Kaiden didn't panic. He glanced over his shoulder at the approaching shadows, then looked back down at me, his eyes dark with immediate decision.

He grabbed my waist, lifted me effortlessly off my feet, and set me behind the secondary stack of wooden crates, completely out of sight.

“Stay quiet,” he ordered as he stepped away.

He stepped out into the middle of the hallway just as Ethan, Nora, and the security team rounded the corner.

“Where is she, Black?!” Ethan asked angrily, his face bright red and a white ice pack held against his bruised cheek. “We know she ran down this way!”

Kaiden leaned casually against a stack of gym mats, arms folded across his chest.

“You mean the girl you cheated on ten minutes before kickoff?” Kaiden asked, his voice echoing loudly in the narrow hall.

“She went out the West exit five minutes ago, Cole. Probably going to upload the unedited locker room audio.”

Ethan went dead pale. Nora’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits as she stepped forward, her expensive perfume filling the corridor.

“You’re lying,” Nora said, her gaze traveling slowly over him as she stepped uncomfortably close to Kaiden, looking up at him with a sudden, predatory curiosity. “You don't care about Seraphine, Kaiden. A man with your... history... shouldn’t be playing white knight for a ruined girl.”

Then she touched his chest. My fingers tightened around the edge of the crate. Why did seeing her hand on him bother me? I barely knew him.

Kaiden didn't move away. He looked down at Nora’s hand, then raised his eyes to Ethan, who was watching Nora touch Kaiden with a look of pure, humiliated rage.

“Get your hand off me.” His voice was calm. “Before I give your boyfriend a matching bruise on his other cheek.”

Nora pulled her hand back, but her eyes held a new, twisted fascination. “We’ll see you on campus on Monday, Transfer.”

Ethan glared at Kaiden, pulled Nora by the arm, and stormed back toward the stadium exits, the security guards following close behind.

The hallway fell dead silent.

I stepped out from behind the crates; my heart was still pounding, staring at Kaiden. “She touched you.”

Kaiden turned slowly, stepping back into my personal space until I was forced against the concrete wall once again. His green eyes held mine, burning with a dark, intoxicating heat.

“Are you jealous, partner?” he asked softly.

“I’m focused,” I lied, my voice trembling slightly as his gaze dropped down to my mouth.

“Good,” Kaiden murmured, leaning in so close his forehead almost touched mine. “Because Monday morning, we start playing dirty.”

He backed away, tossing his towel over his shoulder, and walked down the hall toward the showers, leaving me breathless, cold, and entirely hooked.

I picked up my bag and pulled out my backup phone to check the ESU main portal before leaving.

A new email notification flashed on my screen. An official summons from the University Disciplinary Board, sent directly to my inbox thirty seconds ago.

OFFICIAL NOTICE:

Seraphine Vale, your sports media scholarship has been suspended pending an emergency ethics hearing on Monday at 8:00 AM. Furthermore, formal criminal property damage charges have been filed against you by Ethan Cole.

My blood ran cold. Ethan wasn't just trying to ruin my reputation.

He was trying to send me to jail.