The Boyfriend Contract

If someone had told me that spilling an iced latte would change my entire life, I would have laughed, shaken my head, and kept walking like nothing in this world could possibly derail me. Instead, that single, stupid accident turned me into the most talked-about girl at Westbridge University. And trust me, I hated being the center of attention. My name is Aria Bennett, and I have exactly three priorities. Keep my scholarship. Graduate with honours. Make my mum proud. Everything else—including boys, parties, and campus gossip—comes somewhere after surviving my weekly statistics class, which I was fairly convinced was designed to break the human spirit. I hurried across the courtyard, weaving through clusters of students with my backpack hanging off one shoulder and an iced latte balanced carefully in my hand. The first Monday of the semester always felt like organized chaos. Freshers stood in uncertain circles studying campus maps like they were ancient treasure charts, club representatives shouted over one another trying to recruit members, and music from the student union building pulsed through the air like a heartbeat. Westbridge University was the kind of place people dreamed about. Politicians, CEOs, athletes, bestselling authors—its alumni list reads like a catalog of success stories. My mum used to say getting accepted here was like winning the lottery. Keeping my place here, though? That was the real gamble. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Mum: Good luck today. Don't skip breakfast again. A small smile tugged at my lips despite the surrounding chaos. Too late, I thought, glancing down at my half-finished coffee. I typed quickly. Me: I'll eat after my lecture. Love you. I slipped my phone away and checked the time again. Eight fifty-three. My lecture started in seven minutes. "You're going to be late," Maya called out as she jogged to catch up with me. Of course, she looked effortlessly put together. Her curly hair was tied back neatly, not a strand out of place, and she moved like someone who had never once tripped over her own feet in her life. I, on the other hand, had nearly walked into a recycling bin five minutes earlier. "I know," I groaned. "Professor Daniels already thinks I enjoy making dramatic entrances." "You do," she said without hesitation. "I don't." "You accidentally knocked over his projector last semester." "That happened once." "You also set off the fire alarm in the chemistry lab." I sighed deeply. "I said it was an accident." She laughed, nudging my shoulder. "You're lucky you're cute." "I'm lucky I still have my scholarship," I corrected automatically. Her smile softened a little at that. "You worry too much, Aria." Easy for her to say. Maya had a safety net. I had deadlines, tuition pressure, and a constant fear that one bad grade would send everything crashing down. Before I could respond, a loud cheer erupted near the sports complex, cutting through the morning noise. Students suddenly surged in one direction like iron filings pulled toward a magnet. "What's happening?" I asked, slowing slightly. "The basketball team is back," Maya said, already craning her neck to see. "Oh," I replied, unimpressed. She stared at me like I had just confessed to living under a rock. "That's all you have to say?" "What else am I supposed to say?" Her eyes widened dramatically. "Lucian Hayes is with them." I shrugged. "Should I know who that is?" Maya physically stopped walking. "Aria..." "What?" "You seriously don't know Lucian Hayes?" I shook my head. She placed a hand over her chest like she was about to faint. "He's only the captain of the basketball team, heir to the Hayes Group, campus heartbreaker, and the reason half the girls in this university suddenly developed a deep interest in sports." "Sounds exhausting," I muttered. She burst out laughing. "I can't believe you're real." "I have class," I reminded her. "So does everyone else," she shot back. "Then why are they standing there?" "Because Lucian Hayes just arrived." I glanced toward the growing crowd. Girls were whispering excitedly, some fixing their hair, others already holding their phones up like they were waiting for a celebrity to step onto a red carpet. "Definitely exhausting," I repeated, adjusting my backpack strap. The sooner I got to class, the better. I took exactly three steps before someone sprinted across the courtyard. "Watch out!" I turned instinctively. Too late. The student collided hard with my shoulder, knocking the breath out of me. My iced latte flew from my hand in a perfect arc. "Oh no.." I stumbled backwards, bracing for impact with the ground. Instead, strong hands caught me firmly by the waist. Everything stopped. The noise, the movement, even my thoughts seemed to pause for a split second. I looked up. Grey eyes. Calm, steady. Dark hair slightly tousled. A crisp white shirt— Now completely ruined. Coffee spread across the fabric like an irreversible mistake. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. My stomach dropped so fast I thought I might actually disappear into the pavement. "I am so, so sorry," I blurted, stepping back so quickly I nearly lost my balance again. The stranger glanced down at his shirt, then back at me. And smiled. "It's only coffee." Only coffee? I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. "I'll pay for the cleaning," I said quickly. "I doubt you'll need to," he replied. "I insist." "You don't even know how much this shirt costs." "I don't care." That earned a soft laugh from him, like I had said something mildly amusing instead of committing a social crime. "I can see that," he said. Around us, phones were already being raised. Whispers spread like wildfire. "Isn't that Lucian?" "They're so close." "Did you see the way he caught her?" I frowned. Why were they staring like this was some kind of performance? The stranger followed my gaze, then exhaled quietly. "I think," he said, almost amused, "we've just become today's entertainment." Before I could respond, a sharp voice cut through the crowd. "Lucian!" A tall blonde girl pushed forward, her expression tightening the moment she saw the coffee stain—and then me. "Who's she?" she demanded. The boy in front of me finally looked away from me. "Nobody," he said calmly. The word landed heavier than it should have. Nobody. He turned back to me, his expression softening slightly. "I'm sorry about this." "For what?" I asked, confused. He glanced at the crowd again, then back at me. "You'll find out soon enough." I didn't understand what he meant. Not yet. That night, I sat curled on my bed, laptop open, assignment finally submitted. The room was quiet except for Maya humming as she scrolled through her phone. I unlocked mine. Ninety-eight unread notifications. What… I whispered. Maya suddenly sat up. Aria! "What happened?" She held her phone out like evidence in a crime scene. "You and Lucian Hayes are all over the campus gossip page." My stomach twisted painfully. With shaking fingers, I opened the post. There it was. The exact moment he had caught me. Except from the angle of the photo, it didn't look like an accident at all. It looked intimate, too close, too intentional. Like we were about to kiss. The caption underneath screamed in bold letters: WESTBRIDGE'S GOLDEN BOY FINALLY FALLS FOR A MYSTERY GIRL? My phone vibrated again. Unknown Number. I hesitated before opening the message. We need to talk tomorrow. - LUCIAN HAYES