The Wrong Kind of Right

Chapter 1: New Beginnings Sophie Reyes had rehearsed this moment for months, standing at the edge of Ashford University’s front gates with a suitcase in one hand and a folder of scholarship paperwork clutched so tightly in the other that her knuckles had gone pale. She had imagined it while lying awake in her old bedroom, imagined it during the long bus ride across three states, imagined it so many times that the real thing almost felt like a dream she had already lived once before. The campus stretched out in front of her, bigger than any of the photographs on the website had suggested. Stone buildings rose behind rows of maple trees just beginning to turn gold at the edges. Students moved in every direction, some walking with the confident stride of people who already belonged here, others clearly as lost as she felt, clutching phones and campus maps with the same nervous energy currently building in her chest. She had wanted this for so long that standing here now felt almost unreal. A new school. A new city. A place where nobody knew her name, or worse, nobody knew what had happened to her family two years ago. At Ashford, she could simply be Sophie Reyes, honors student, nothing more complicated than that. At least, that was the plan. “You look like you’re about to pass out.” The voice belonged to her mother, standing a few feet away with an expression somewhere between pride and worry. Elaine Reyes had driven six hours to help her daughter move in, insisting the entire way that Sophie call her the moment she got settled, and probably every hour after that if she had it her way. “I’m fine,” Sophie said, though her voice came out thinner than she intended. “You checked your orientation packet four times in the last ten minutes.” “That’s called being prepared.” Her mother smiled, the kind of smile that held both amusement and a flicker of sadness underneath it. Sophie knew that look well. It was the same one her mother wore whenever she thought about how much they had lost, and how hard they had worked to get Sophie to this exact spot, standing in front of a university neither of them ever thought she would attend. “You earned this,” her mother said quietly. “All of it. Don’t let anyone here make you feel otherwise.” Sophie nodded, swallowing the sudden tightness in her throat. She had spent years listening to people whisper about her family, about the business that collapsed and the father who disappeared into disgrace along with it. Ashford was supposed to be the place where none of that mattered anymore. By the time she reached her assigned dormitory, the hallway was chaos. Boxes lined the corridor. Parents carried mini refrigerators up narrow staircases while students argued cheerfully about who would get the better side of the room. Sophie pushed open the door to room two hundred and four, bracing herself for whatever waited on the other side. A girl with a cloud of dark curly hair and a stack of textbooks balanced precariously in her arms turned around immediately. “Oh thank goodness,” the girl said. “I thought I was going to be roommates with a ghost. You’re Sophie, right?” “That’s me.” “I’m Priya. Malhotra, if you want the whole thing, but nobody uses it unless they’re mad at me.” Priya dropped the textbooks onto her desk with a thud loud enough to make Sophie flinch. “I already called the good side of the room, sorry, not sorry. But I saved you the window.” Sophie glanced toward the window in question, currently overlooking a courtyard filled with students throwing a frisbee that seemed to be losing more often than it was caught. “That works.” “Perfect. We’re going to be best friends. I’ve decided.” “You’ve decided that already?” “I have excellent instincts.” Priya grinned, dropping onto her bed with the ease of someone who felt instantly at home anywhere she went. “Also you have kind eyes and you didn’t immediately judge me for the chaos I just created in here, so honestly, you’re already ahead of my last three roommate candidates.” Despite herself, Sophie laughed. It was a small sound, unpracticed after weeks of tension leading up to this day, but it felt good leaving her chest. Her mother left an hour later, after a long hug and one final reminder to call every night, whether Sophie had anything interesting to report or not. Watching the car disappear down the campus drive left Sophie with a strange, hollow feeling, equal parts freedom and loneliness. She was finally on her own. Nobody here knew about the headlines, the lawsuits, the whispered nickname that had followed her through her last two years of high school like a shadow she could never quite outrun. Here, she could simply exist. That night, Priya insisted on ordering pizza and interrogating Sophie about every corner of her life with an enthusiasm that somehow never felt invasive. By midnight, Sophie already knew Priya’s entire family tree, her opinions on nine different television shows, and the exact location of the best coffee shop within walking distance of campus. “Okay, your turn,” Priya said, sprawled sideways across her bed with a slice of pizza balanced on her stomach. “Tell me something real about you.” Sophie hesitated. “Real how?” “Not the résumé version. The real version. What are you actually here for?” The question landed heavier than Priya probably intended. Sophie thought about the truth, about her father’s disappearance, about the debts that swallowed everything her family once had, about the years spent rebuilding a life from almost nothing. None of that felt like something she was ready to hand over on the very first night. “I’m here to focus,” Sophie said instead. “Get my degree. Build something for myself. No distractions.” Priya arched an eyebrow. “No distractions. That sounds ominous.” “It’s not ominous. It’s practical.” “Sure, sure.” Priya took another bite of pizza, entirely unconvinced. “We’ll see how long that lasts.” Sophie rolled her eyes, though a small smile tugged at her mouth despite herself. She had a feeling Priya Malhotra was going to make keeping that promise a lot harder than she expected. The next morning arrived far too quickly. Classes officially began, and with them came the full, overwhelming size of Ashford University. Sophie left the dorm early, wanting extra time to find her first lecture hall before the campus filled with the usual morning rush. The air outside felt crisp and cool, carrying that distinct smell of early autumn that always made her feel like something new was about to begin. She checked her schedule one more time. Introduction to Economics, Halloway Hall, room one hundred and twelve. According to the campus map app on her phone, it should only take ten minutes to walk there from her dorm. Naturally, it took nearly twenty, most of which involved Sophie second guessing every turn while trying not to look as lost as she felt. By the time Halloway Hall finally came into view, she had exactly six minutes to spare. Relief flooded through her chest as she quickened her pace across the courtyard, weaving between clusters of students who all seemed to know exactly where they were going. She was so focused on reaching the building that she barely registered the low rumble of an engine nearby. A sleek black car pulled into the small parking area beside the courtyard, drawing attention from nearly everyone in the vicinity. Several students slowed their pace just to look. Sophie barely noticed, her mind occupied entirely with lecture halls and room numbers and the very real fear of walking into her first class of college life a single minute late. She stepped forward without checking her surroundings. Directly into the car’s path. A horn blared. Sophie’s heart slammed against her ribs as she jumped backward, her books nearly slipping from her arms. For a moment, the entire world seemed to freeze around her, the noise of campus fading into a dull ringing in her ears. The driver’s door opened. A guy stepped out, tall, dark haired, dressed in a way that somehow managed to look effortless and expensive at the same time. Everything about him suggested he was used to being looked at, though not in a way that seemed to bother him in the slightest. His eyes met hers. Grey, sharp, and entirely too calm considering he had nearly hit a pedestrian in a busy campus courtyard. “You know,” he said, his voice carrying an easy amusement that immediately made Sophie’s face burn with embarrassment, “most people check both directions before walking into traffic.” “I wasn’t walking into traffic,” Sophie shot back, mortified. “You pulled in without warning.” “I have a horn for a reason.” “That’s not the same as warning someone.” One corner of his mouth curved upward. “Fair point.” For a second neither of them spoke, the two of them simply standing there in the middle of the courtyard while students continued to stream around them, several throwing curious glances their way. Sophie became suddenly, painfully aware of how many people were watching. “I’m sorry,” she said finally, adjusting the books in her arms. “I wasn’t paying attention.” “Neither was I, apparently.” He studied her for a moment longer than the situation probably required. “At least you’re honest about it.” Before she could respond, he stepped back, closed the car door, and walked toward the building without another word, leaving her standing there with her pulse still hammering and her cheeks still burning. Sophie stared after him for a beat too long before catching herself. She had no idea who he was. She had somewhere to be. And yet something about the encounter lingered uncomfortably in her chest as she hurried the rest of the way into Halloway Hall, sliding into an open seat with barely a minute to spare. The lecture hall filled quickly around her, rows of unfamiliar faces settling into their seats while the professor arranged papers at the front of the room. Sophie pulled out her notebook, determined to shake off the strange encounter from the courtyard and focus on the class ahead. She had just uncapped her pen when the door at the back of the hall opened again. A familiar figure stepped inside. Sophie’s stomach dropped. It was him. The guy from the parking lot, unbothered and unhurried despite walking in after the professor had already begun speaking. Several students immediately straightened in their seats. Whispers rippled outward like a stone dropped into still water. He scanned the room briefly before his gaze landed directly on Sophie. Recognition flickered across his face. And whatever this new life at Ashford was supposed to look like, Sophie had the distinct, uneasy fee ling that it had just gotten far more complicated than she planned