He Begged Me, I Rejected Him Before

Chapter 1

It was still dark out on Monday morning when my bestie, Mira, yanked me out of bed.

She was way too excited, shoving her phone in my face to show me a video.

In it, Ryder Vance was sitting at the debate table in a crisp white shirt and black pants.

His eyebrows were raised just slightly, his expression cold as hell, his face like carved ice. Even through a screen, you could feel the chill radiating off him.

The opposing debater's mouth was moving, saying something, but the audio was a mess—too much noise in the room. Even the person filming was too busy gossiping about Ryder's looks to focus on the actual debate.

At some point, whoever was arguing against him must've said something that got under his skin, because Ryder's fingers paused on his notes. His lips pressed together into a thin line, like he strongly disagreed.

When his opponent finally finished, Ryder stood up.

The whole room went dead quiet.

All you could hear was his voice, steady and cool as polished stone. He said,

"I don't think my opponent knows a thing about love.

"So what if we're too busy to text each other back? As long as she's got me in her heart, that's all that matters.

"She can go through my phone anytime. I wouldn't go through hers—everyone's entitled to their privacy. But for her? I'd give mine up in a heartbeat.

"As long as I give her enough, she'll appreciate me.

"So what if she's had a bunch of exes? I'd still be the one she loves most.

"In conclusion, she really does love me."

When he finished, he just stood there, still and composed. The red stage lights hit his face, sharpening every angle, making him look distant and untouchable.

Like some rare flower blooming on a frozen peak.

If you ignored the fact that he'd just made the most delusional love confession in debate history.

A: [Holy crap, the math department's golden boy is the biggest simp alive. Who the hell plucked this iceberg and stomped on it? Someone give me a tutorial.]

B: [I don't know if she loves him, but Ryder's definitely down bad. Dude looked like he was about to cry.]

C: [I was there. Can confirm. His eyes were actually red by the end. Kinda sad, ngl.]

The campus forum had blown up overnight, with thousands of replies on posts about the debate. It was trending in no time.

Which meant anyone who opened the school site saw Ryder's unhinged love rant first thing.

Mira was grinning like a gremlin. She nudged me with her elbow. "So? How's it feel, dragging that untouchable prince down into the mud with you?"

I just pulled the covers back over my head and went back to sleep.

Half-dreaming, I was back in that debate hall.

Watching Ryder go on and on, all fired up and relentless.

Through clenched teeth, I spat out two words.

"You liar."