CHAPTER 2
1308 Words
THE BOY I COULDN’T FORGET
Amara had seen him twice.
That was all.
Twice.
Yet somehow, by the time she got home that evening, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
She sat on the edge of her bed with her shoes still on, staring at the timetable she’d dropped on her lap.
She should have been thinking about her first lecture.
Or Maya.
Or the fact that she had nearly walked into the wrong building three times.
Instead, she was thinking about a boy whose name she didn’t even know.
Well…
Technically, she didn’t know his name.
She had heard someone call him Lucien earlier.
Lucien.
She repeated it silently.
There was something about the name that suited him.
She shook her head.
“Amara, please.”
She dropped backward onto her bed.
“This is ridiculous.”
She barely knew the guy.
She had only seen him twice.
And yet she could still remember his eyes.
Dark.
Almost unnaturally dark.
And the way he’d looked at her.
Not like a stranger.
Like he’d been trying to remember something.
Her phone buzzed.
Maya: Are you alive?
Amara smiled.
Amara: Unfortunately.
Maya: How was your first day?
Amara stared at the screen.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She could tell Maya about getting lost.
She could tell her about the lecturer who spoke so quickly she barely understood half the lecture.
She could tell her about the cafeteria food.
Instead, she typed:
Amara: Fine.
Three dots appeared immediately.
Maya: Liar.
Amara laughed.
Maya: You saw him again, didn’t you?
Amara’s smile disappeared.
How did Maya know?
Amara: Saw who?
Maya: Don’t play dumb.
Maya: Tall. Dark hair. Looks like he hasn’t smiled since birth.
Amara bit her lip.
Amara: Maybe.
Maya: YOU LIKE HIM.
Amara quickly locked her phone.
“No.”
She stared at the ceiling.
“No, I don’t.”
A knock came at her door.
“Amara?”
She sat up.
“Come in.”
Her mother stepped inside carrying a basket of freshly folded clothes.
Evelyn Vale smiled at her daughter.
“How was your first day?”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Very good.”
Evelyn placed the clothes on the chair.
“Make any friends?”
“Yeah. A girl named Maya.”
“That’s nice.”
Amara smiled.
She hesitated.
Then, almost casually, she said,
“There’s this guy there.”
Evelyn stopped.
It was barely noticeable.
But Amara noticed.
“What guy?”
Amara shrugged.
“Just someone I saw.”
Her mother looked at her carefully.
“What’s his name?”
“Lucien.”
The basket slipped slightly in Evelyn’s hands.
Amara frowned.
“Mum?”
Evelyn quickly placed it down.
“What?”
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You look weird.”
“I’m fine.”
Amara studied her.
“You know him?”
Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Amara raised an eyebrow.
“Then why did you react like that?”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Evelyn sighed.
“Amara, you just started university. There are going to be thousands of people there. Don’t get involved with strangers too quickly.”
“I’m not.”
“Good.”
Amara frowned.
“Why are you acting like I told you I’m marrying him?”
Evelyn forced a laugh.
“I’m not.”
“You literally just told me not to get involved with him.”
“I said strangers.”
“You specifically asked his name.”
Evelyn looked away.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Evelyn turned back to her.
“Just be careful.”
Amara’s voice softened.
“I always am.”
Evelyn smiled.
“I know.”
But the moment she left the room, the smile disappeared.
She closed Amara’s bedroom door quietly.
Then walked downstairs.
Daniel Vale was sitting at the dining table reading.
He looked up.
“What happened?”
Evelyn stared at him.
“She met someone.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“Lucien.”
The room went silent.
Daniel slowly put the book down.
“Are you sure?”
“She said his name herself.”
Daniel stood.
“Did she say his surname?”
“No.”
“Did she describe him?”
“Dark hair. Tall. Young.”
Daniel’s face became pale.
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Daniel…”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“It can’t be.”
“She met him.”
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
Toward Amara’s room.
“We should have never let her go to that university.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with worry.
“She’s nineteen. We couldn’t keep her locked away forever.”
“I know.”
“She deserves a normal life.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Normal lives don’t exist for people like us.”
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“She doesn’t know.”
“She can’t know.”
“And if he finds out who she is?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Because they both knew what would happen.
⸻
Across the city, Lucien sat alone in his room.
A book lay open on his desk.
He hadn’t read a single page.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
The girl from the university.
Amara.
He had heard her name earlier.
He didn’t know why remembering it made something inside him tighten.
“Amara Vale.”
He said the name quietly.
His expression changed.
Vale.
That name wasn’t unfamiliar.
Not to him.
He closed the book.
His phone rang.
Elias.
Lucien answered.
“What’s wrong?”
“You tell me.”
Lucien frowned.
“What?”
“You’ve been distracted all day.”
“I haven’t.”
“Lucien.”
He sighed.
“It’s nothing.”
There was a pause.
Then Elias asked,
“Is this about the girl?”
Lucien didn’t respond.
“That means yes.”
“Drop it.”
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve been watching her.”
Lucien’s jaw tightened.
“I said drop it.”
Elias was quiet for a moment.
Then he said,
“What’s her name?”
Lucien looked toward the window.
“Amara.”
Silence.
“Amara what?”
Lucien hesitated.
“Vale.”
The silence on the other end became heavier.
Lucien noticed.
“What?”
Elias spoke slowly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Lucien…”
“What?”
“I think you need to find out everything you can about her.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Elias didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“Because the name Vale hasn’t appeared in our records for a very long time.”
Lucien stood.
“What records?”
“The old ones.”
“What about them?”
Elias lowered his voice.
“There’s a family with that name.”
Lucien stared into the darkness beyond his window.
“What family?”
“The kind we were taught never to look for.”
The call ended.
Lucien remained still.
For the first time since seeing Amara, something other than attraction entered his mind.
Concern.
He walked toward the window.
Far across the city, Amara was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about him.
She smiled to herself.
She didn’t understand why.
She didn’t know him.
She didn’t know his secrets.
She didn’t know what his family had to do with hers.
She only knew one thing.
She wanted to see him again.
And she had no idea that Lucien Veyr was already beginning to wonder whether meeting her had been fate…
Or a warning.
Because somewhere in the past, the Vales and the Veyrs had crossed paths.
And whatever had happened between them had been buried for a reason.
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