His Regret, My Revenge

Chapter 1 – Before the Scandal

“He doesn’t even know I exist.”

That was the lie I told myself every morning — as if saying it could numb the sting of truth.

But he did exist. Knoxx Montero. And every time he ran across the basketball court with that crooked grin and wild energy, I swore time paused just to admire him. Just like I did.

At Southfield High, Knoxx was a living legend — varsity captain, business club president, and the golden boy every girl had at least once fantasized about.

But me?

I was the invisible girl. Aria Storme. The wallflower. Quiet. Sketchbook always in hand.

I didn’t belong in their world — not with the cheerleaders who wore his varsity jacket or the girls who screamed his name from the bleachers.

I watched him from afar. Always from afar.

Until that one afternoon.

⸻

The halls were almost empty. I stayed late to finish a charcoal sketch in my notebook — another drawing of him. His jawline. His hands. That laugh I memorized.

I sighed, clutching the notebook to my chest, praying no one would see.

And then it happened.

He was standing right there.

Knoxx. Real. Breathing. Sweaty in his team hoodie and shorts, a towel slung around his neck.

“Hey, Aria, right?” he said, panting slightly.

My mind blanked. “Y-yeah?”

He held up my sketchbook.

“This fell out of your bag. Thought it looked… cool. You drew these?”

Oh no.

My heart dropped. He saw it. He saw them — the drawings of him.

I scrambled to grab it back. “It’s nothing—just practice—please don’t—”

He smiled. Soft. Gentle. Different from the way he smiled with the other girls.

“Relax. You’re really good. You should draw me more often.”

Did he just say that?

I stared up at him, cheeks burning.

And then he winked.

“See you around, Aria.”

⸻

That night, I didn’t sleep.

Because for the first time, Knoxx didn’t feel like a fantasy anymore.

He felt real.

And I was falling.