The drive away from Crestwood Elite Academy was silent but thick with tension. Zayden's grip on the steering wheel was tight, jaw clenched, and eyes fixed ahead as if battling ghosts only he could see. Riley sat beside him, arms folded, heart pounding in time with every question she hadn't yet dared to ask.
They pulled up to a private estate outside of town—something old, stone, and tucked behind ivy-covered gates. It screamed wealth and history.
"This is where you live?" she asked quietly.
"One of the places," Zayden replied. "No one else comes here. No staff. No family. Just me."
Riley followed him inside, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the grand hallway until they reached a study. Dark wood, dim lighting, and a wall of books lined with dust—like this room, too, carried secrets.
Zayden sat on the edge of a desk, finally facing her.
"I've done things I'm not proud of, Riley."
She folded her arms tighter. "Start with the truth. What happened last summer?"
He looked away. "There was a party. One of those elite summer gatherings—champagne, egos, and dirty deals. A girl from the scholarship program got invited, like a test to see if she could 'fit in.' But it was a setup. My cousin Aiden made her the center of a cruel game."
Riley's eyes narrowed. "What kind of game?"
"They dared her to humiliate herself. Told her if she didn't, her scholarship would be 'reviewed.' She was crying. Shaking. And no one stepped in. No one… except me."
He stood, pacing. "I punched Aiden. Publicly. On camera. It was chaos. Blood everywhere. I was almost expelled, and the girl was quietly transferred out after that summer."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because you'd look at me like you're looking at me now. Like you don't know what to believe."
Riley's throat tightened. "No. I'm trying to understand."
"I've done worse things, Riley," Zayden said, voice low. "Things to protect people, to survive my family, to fight the expectations that crush us."
"And me?" Her voice cracked. "What am I to you in the middle of all that?"
He crossed the room in two strides, gently grabbing her face between his hands.
"You're the only real thing I've ever had."
She stared into his eyes, searching. "Even if it all falls apart?"
"Especially then."
Silence fell, charged and deep.
Riley finally whispered, "I believe you."
Zayden's hands dropped to her waist, pulling her close. Foreheads touching, they stood in the silence of honesty, the weight between them suddenly lighter.
But outside the estate, behind a black SUV parked far enough to be hidden, Aiden Romanoff sat with a phone in hand.
"So she knows part of it now," he muttered.
A voice crackled through the speaker. "Then it's time she learns the rest."