Chapter one
First days of classes after any little break are always the worst.
I stood in front of my bedroom mirror, staring at myself. I left my hair loose, letting it fall over my shoulders and complement the outfit I'd chosen.
After taking one last glance at myself, I let out a sigh.
My grandma always says I look exactly like my mother. Whenever she says it, she gets all emotional, but every time I try to ask her anything more, she goes quiet, insisting that's all there is to say.
Even when I threatened to cry once, she didn't budge.
Sometimes I wondered what my mother had been like.
Not just what she looked like.
I wanted to know what made her laugh. What annoyed her. Whether she liked mornings or hated them as much as I did. Whether she had been stubborn like me.
But whenever I asked Grandma anything beyond how beautiful she was, the conversation ended.
It was one of the few things she refused to talk about.
If I truly looked like my mother, then she must have been one hell of a beautiful woman.
I thought about it with a wide grin before a notification popped up on my phone just as I was about to head out.
"I know I said we should meet at the hallway, but I'm stuck."
Sloane, my best friend of a year and a half, whined.
I opened the message and found her in the middle of a pile of clothes, looking thoroughly annoyed as she tossed one outfit aside after another, searching for what she deemed worthy of wearing.
"You know you look gorgeous in anything you wear."
I typed back.
And I wasn't lying.
Even in the plainest clothes, Sloane somehow managed to look like a queen. She had a way of making every outfit look as though it had been pulled straight from a Vogue magazine.
"I am coming"
I typed before putting my phone away.
“I look a mess, don’t I?” she asked the moment I stepped into the room, staring at me through the mirror.
“No, you don’t,” I replied immediately, pulling her into a hug.
I hadn't seen her in a week because of the break, and we hadn't even managed to meet last night when she returned.
I hadn't gone home for the break like Sloane and most of the other students had. Staying on campus had seemed easier.
“I missed you too. Now help me out.”
She pulled away from the hug and turned back to the mirror.
“I need to look my best,” she whined.
Anyone who didn't know Sloane would probably assume she was some spoiled rich girl.
“You always look your best without even trying,” I said.
And I meant it.
Sloane was a rare kind of beautiful, with dark raven hair and soft blue eyes. Everyone loved her. She was easygoing, effortlessly pretty, and had a sharp tongue that could reduce a person to silence if she wanted it to.
Somehow, she was also incredibly sweet.
“He’s back in the city. I might see him today.”
She gestured for me to help her zip up the black dress she had chosen, the dark fabric almost blending into her hair.
“He?”
I frowned.
As far as I knew, Sloane wasn't seeing anyone.
“Cassian.”
She said the name so casually that it took me a second to understand.
Cassian Ravelle.
Her brother.
Of course.
I had heard his name so many times over the past year and a half that sometimes I felt like I already knew him.
Sloane adored her brother. She talked about him constantly, praised him even more, and had never once hidden how much she looked up to him.
Yet somehow, I had never actually met him.
“Your brother?”
“Who else?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
I laughed.
“You've talked about him so much that I'm beginning to wonder if this mysterious Cassian Ravelle actually exists.”
“Trust me, you'll know he exists when you meet him.”
“Why?”
“Because Cassian Ravelle isn't exactly easy to forget.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You're making him sound like some kind of celebrity.”
“Maybe he is.”
“To you, apparently.”
She laughed and shoved my shoulder.
“Come on. We're going to be late.”
She gave me a knowing smile.
~~~~~
Sloane was walking beside me as we found our way to class
She was practically going on and on about her brother
Anyone hearing her will assume she is love sick but she is not.
“We're late.” I said
“We're not late,” Sloane whispered.
I glanced at the clock above the door.
“We're seven minutes late.”
“Exactly. That's practically early.”
We got in class through the back just incase there was a lecturer in class and I genuinely did not want attention so the back was a safe option.
Professor Adams walked in a few minutes after we did, and the room gradually fell silent.
Professor Adams wasn't exactly anyone's favorite lecturer. He had a particular talent for assigning more work than any reasonable student needed, especially after a break.
“Welcome back.”
A collective groan answered him.
He smiled.
“I assume the break was enjoyable?”
“Very,” someone called from the back.
“Good. Because I have an assignment for you.”
The room erupted in complaints.
I couldn't help laughing.
Sloane leaned toward me. “I hate him already.”
“You said that last semester.”
“And I meant it then too.”
She does not seems to like anyone who isn't me or her brother.
“You're finally going to meet him today.”
I looked at Sloane. “Meet who?”
She gave me an incredulous look.
“Cassian.”
I laughed. “You talk about him so much, I feel like I already know him.”
“Trust me,” she said, picking up her bag. “You don't.”
I didn't know why, but something about the way she said it made me pause.
