Falling for my Enemy's Brother Chapter 1: Late, Lost… and Already Hated

rlina’s POV

Belford College hit like caffeine on an empty stomach...loud, chaotic, and a little bit bitter.

Too many voices, too many footsteps. The polished floors made every sound sharper. I caught a whiff of sothing sweet, maybe chocolate or cinnamon from the bakery stand, but it didn’t calm . It made everything feel heavier.

It felt like the perfect storm of new beginnings and nerves, like the hallway was slowly closing in on , and I was the main character in a panic attack.

Walking in, I might as well have had a neon sign flashing late and uninvited.

Thanks to my dad for making show up last minute. Like he ever wanted here in the first place.

I tried to ignore the whispers and the stares as I found a seat in the classroom.

But then she walked in... a blonde with an ice-cold stare strutted in like she owned the place, eyes imdiately locking onto mine.

"Hey, newbie. You’re in my seat. Move it." Her voice sliced through the quiet, commanding attention like she was a queen with no crown.

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I froze, caught off guard by her abruptness. I had barely set my bag down when my roommate, gan leaned back in her chair with a playful smirk, grabbing my hand with a firm tug.

"Girl, please," gan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "This isn’t high school, and you don’t own oxygen. Sit sowhere else."

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The blonde glared at us for a mont, her eyes flicking between gan and like we were so kind of obstacle.

After a long, dramatic pause, complete with eye rolls and sighs. She finally spun on her heel and stord off, her little entourage trailing behind like confused backup dancers.

I straightened up in my seat, still slightly rattled. Did I just survive my first campus villain encounter or what?

The door to the classroom creaked open, and in strolled Professor Harper. If he was trying to look like he’d just rolled out of bed, he’d succeeded: wrinkled shirt, ssy hair, and a coffee cup permanently attached to his hand.

He glanced at the class with a lazy, almost conspiratorial smirk, like we were all part of an inside joke he wasn’t sharing.

"Good day, class. It’s been a pretty boring week, hasn’t it?"

A collective groan echoed through the room, as everyone seed equally eager for sothing, anything different.

"Well, let’s spice it up with a pop test, worth ten percent. Turn to your Law 101 handbook."

The room filled with louder groans of disbelief. Oh, great. Just what I needed.

"Um, excuse , sir?" I raised my hand, my voice tentative. "I don’t have the handbook... I literally just resud college. Today."

Professor Harper shot an impatient look, his voice clipped. "Then go get yourself one. Hurry. Test starts now."

My frustration simred as I stord out of the classroom. I couldn’t believe this. Of all the days ?

I weaved through the campus field, my annoyance trailing behind like a shadow I couldn’t shake. The usual chatter filled the air, students caught up in their own little worlds.

Then I saw him.

Sitting alone on a bench, sunlight catching the edges of his hair, flipping through the sa Law 101 handbook like it was poetry.

Like he belonged to a different kind of quiet. And for a second, I wanted to be in it with him.

Just ask. It’ll be fine.

I hesitated for a mont before walking over, clearing my throat. "Hey, uh... excuse ?" My voice was quieter than I’d intended, but it was already too late to back out.

He looked up at , his face giving nothing away, but his eyes made my pulse jump. A deep, stormy green.

Focused. Intense.

The kind that pinned you in place and made your thoughts scatter. His jaw looked like it was carved to intimidate, lips set in effortless disinterest.

A rogue curl fell over his brow like it knew exactly what it was doing.The kind of face that knocked the breath out of you before your brain could catch up.

"What?" he said, in that lazy, too-cool-for-this tone like he’d just rolled out of a magazine ad and couldn’t care less.

"I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need to borrow your handbook. Just for a few minutes," I said, trying to sound casual even though my brain was running at a million miles per hour.

His jaw clenched, brow twitching. His voice? Cold enough to freeze sumr.

He raised an eyebrow, glancing at the book in his hands, like he would rather toss his handbook into the lake than let borrow it. "You can’t see that I’m busy with it?"

I felt my stomach sink. "Look, I have a test in there, and I don’t even know where the library is. Plus, even if I did, I don’t have a library card... so please, I..."

"That’s supposed to be my problem because?" he interrupted, his voice thick with sarcasm, flipping a page like I was invisible.

I froze. My face fell, and before I could stop myself, I snapped. "Whoa, okay, Diva, sorry to bother you."

I turned to leave. Clearly, he wasn’t going to help, but before I took two steps, he sighed and handed the book.

He gave a look I couldn’t quite place, sowhere between bored and sizing up.

Surprise coursed through as I reached for it. "Oh...thanks! You’re a lifesaver!"

I hurriedly left, trying to ignore the flutter in my chest as I returned to class. The test was brutal, and by the ti it ended, I was ready to collapse into a chair and pretend the day had never happened.

Now done with the test, my roommates, Phoebe and gan, were waiting by the door as I gathered my things. gan had that mischievous glint in her eye as Phoebe leaned against the wall, a teasing smile on her lips.

"So? How’d it go?" Phoebe asked, looking way too amused for soone who hadn’t been through the hell that was that pop quiz.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Honestly? I survived. Barely. I think I blacked out halfway through the last question."

"Ugh, that man lives to ruin lives," Phoebe muttered. "Professor Harper needs to retire. Or get therapy."

I chuckled tiredly. "Or both. He looked dead in the eye while collecting my script... like he knew I bombed it."

gan grinned. "Or maybe you just need to stop crying over your essay sections."

"Hey!" I mock-glared at her. "I was sweating, not crying."

We all laughed as we made our way down the hallway, the tension easing between us.

I didn’t expect to see him again. But of course, there he was, sitting on that sa bench, scrolling through his phone like he had all the ti in the world.

Okay. Just return the it. Don’t make it weird.

I walked over, my heart thumping faster than I cared to admit. "Hey," I called out, unsure how this would go.

"You’re done," he said flatly, snatching the book from my hands without even looking up. His voice was sharp, dismissive.

I tried to keep my cool. "Yeah... thanks for letting borrow it."

I paused, glancing at him, the sarcasm bubbling up in my throat. "Although, I could swear you were about to have a heart attack handing it over."

He narrowed his eyes, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. "Sorry?"

I pressed on, a little too eager to see how he’d react. "Earlier, it looked like you weren’t exactly thrilled to share. But hey, no judgnt."

He gave a glance, his expression smooth and uninterested, before turning away.

Slightly embarrassed by the awkward silence, I turned to leave, silently cursing myself for trying to be decent to soone clearly raised by wolves.

I didn’t even make it far before his voice cut through the air.

"Hey," he called, tone smooth, but laced with sothing biting.

I turned around, heart doing that annoying flutter thing it had no business doing.

"Yeah?" I said, halfway between confused and bracing for a second round of embarrassnt.

He held up the handbook, flipping it toward like it had personally offended him. "You ripped my handbook?"

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