My baby father.. is my step brother

CHAPTER TWO: Campus collision

The first day of classes felt like stepping into a world I had only ever glimpsed through polished brochures and glossy websites. The university’s campus sprawled before me like a painting ivy creeping up sandstone buildings, manicured gardens lining cobblestone paths, and students moving in quiet confidence, their laughter polite, their conversations measured. Everything here whispered privilege. Everything here reminded me how ordinary I still felt.

I adjusted my backpack straps nervously and took a deep breath. Mom had insisted I enroll here the best for your future, Elara. But as I walked past the grand archway, past students who seemed to glide rather than walk.

Then I saw him.

Lucian.

Not in the mansion, not under the polite glare of my mother’s eyes, but here in the sunlit quad, leaning against a stone pillar as though he owned the place. He wore a crisp navy blazer over a white shirt, sleeves rolled casually to his elbows. His black trousers were impeccable. His hair was still that perfect shade of dark, slightly tousled, catching the sunlight just so. And his eyes my heart almost skipped dark and unreadable, scanning the students around him as if assessing who was worthy of passing through his orbit.

He didn’t see me at first. I froze, clutching my backpack tighter. My pulse raced in a mix of nerves and something I didn’t want to name.

I stepped forward, hoping to blend in, hoping not to draw his attention. But the universe had other plans.

He looked up. And just like that, our eyes locked.

Time slowed.

I wanted to look away, to pretend I hadn’t noticed him. But my gaze held, drawn to the subtle curve of his jaw, the faint smirk that hinted at knowing something I didn’t yet. And then… he smirked. Just a fraction, enough to make my stomach twist.

Elara, he said, low and casual, as if it were no big deal, though my heart told me otherwise.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. Lucian.

He straightened, brushing imaginary dust from his blazer, and gave me that same unreadable look he always wore confident, distant, teasing. I didn’t expect to see you here.

I forced a smile, my cheeks warm. I’m starting my first semester. You…?

Mandatory, he said with a shrug that was too casual for someone who clearly didn’t need to attend. The campus is… fine.

I wanted to laugh, to tell him he made it sound like a prison instead of a university, but the words stuck. Instead, I nodded. I guess we’re stuck in the same place then.

His smirk widened slightly, and something in the air shifted a silent acknowledgment of what we already shared: step-siblings by name, but something else simmering beneath the surface, something dangerous if anyone noticed.

Classes began, each lecture hall grander than the last, with tall windows letting in streams of sunlight and polished wooden seats that gleamed like mirrors. I moved quietly through the halls, heart still thrumming, trying to focus on syllabi and professors’ introductions.

And then, it happened.

I bumped into him.

Literally. Around the corner, carrying my notebook, distracted by the impressive architecture, I collided with someone broad. Books tumbled to the floor. My face flushed crimson.

I’m so sorry! I cried, bending to gather my scattered notebooks.

It’s… alright, came the deep, calm voice I knew instantly. Lucian.

He crouched next to me, picking up a notebook. His hand brushed mine briefly. My pulse jumped. I didn’t move it away I couldn’t.

You really need to watch where you’re going, princess, he said softly, teasing just enough to make my ears burn.

I looked up at him, flustered. “I’m sorry, I ”

Relax, he interrupted, standing and handing me the last notebook. No one’s hurt. Except maybe your pride.

I bit my lip, trying to hide the shiver that ran down my spine at the casual proximity, the warmth of his hand lingering in mine just a second too long.

Lucian, I said, unsure why I felt the need to speak again. Why… why are you here? You could’ve gone anywhere for school.

He tilted his head, considering me with those dark, piercing eyes. Maybe I like the view, he said simply, then turned and walked away before I could protest.

My knees felt weak. The world suddenly seemed louder the chatter of other students, the clicking of heels on polished stone floors, even the rustle of leaves outside all faded into the background of that one fleeting interaction.

All day, I couldn’t shake him. Every time I entered a hallway or a lecture hall, I felt his gaze, like an invisible thread connecting us. I tried to focus on the professors’ words, scribbled notes furiously, but my thoughts kept wandering back to that collision, that smirk, that teasing, protective tone that made my heart ache in ways I wasn’t supposed to feel for a stepbrother.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. I wandered into the courtyard, needing the quiet. The sun had begun to dip behind the buildings, casting golden streaks across the ivy-covered walls.

And there he was again.

Lucian, sitting casually on the edge of a fountain, watching the water ripple with a faint smirk. It was like he had been waiting for me. My stomach twisted.

I tried to walk past, to act normal, but the pull of his presence was magnetic. He stood, closing the distance between us faster than I expected.

Not running away already? he asked softly, his voice low, intimate.

I… I’m not, I said, heart hammering, trying to sound casual.

He tilted his head, studying me with that infuriatingly unreadable expression. “You’re lying.”

My lips parted, caught between denial and the truth I didn’t want to admit that his attention, even a single glance, had the power to unsettle me completely.

A silence stretched between us, thick, charged, the kind that made my skin tingle and my thoughts spiral. And then he leaned closer, just slightly, close enough that I could see the faint curve of his lips, the darkness of his gaze and my breath caught entirely.

I wonder,he said softly, almost to himself, how long it’ll take before you realize some lines aren’t meant to be crossed.

I froze, unsure if he meant it as a warning, a joke, or something else entirely. My heart thundered in my chest, and I felt a flush creep across my cheeks.

I opened my mouth to answer and then the bell for the evening classes rang, startling me, and Lucian stepped back with that same faint, infuriating smirk.

See you tomorrow, princess, he said, turning and walking away, leaving me standing in the courtyard, stomach twisting, pulse racing, and mind spinning.