Chapter 5

The leather interior of the SUV felt less like a vehicle and more like a moving confessional. The engine hummed a low, threatening vibration beneath Tess’s feet as Julian navigated the rain-slicked streets of Crestview Heights.

Outside, the neon signs of campus bars blurred into smears of hot pink and electric blue against the wet glass. Inside, there was only the scent of cedarwood, rain, and the suffocating gravity of the man beside her.

Julian’s left hand rested loosely on the steering wheel, his fingers long and perfectly still.

His right hand remained clamped over hers on the center console, his thumb occasionally tracing the delicate bones of her wrist with a rhythmic, clinical precision. He wasn't looking at her. He didn't need to. He knew exactly how fast her pulse was spiking beneath his skin.

"Noah is going to handle Liam," Julian said, his voice flat. He might as well have been commenting on the evening traffic. "He’s becoming a distraction, Tess. And you know how much I dislike distractions when I’m trying to focus on your well-being."

"Julian, please," Tess whispered, her face pressed against the passenger window. Her breath fogged the glass, cutting off the view of the passing campus. "Leave him alone, He doesn't know anything."

Julian’s grip tightened just enough to make her wince. He didn't turn his head, but his jawline seemed to sharpen in the dim light of the dashboard. "He knows enough to keep your phone buzzing every hour. He knows enough to think he has a say in where you sleep at night. That’s an administrative error on my part, I should have cleared him out three years ago before they packed my bags."

"You didn't clear anyone out," Tess spat, a sudden, desperate surge of anger cutting through her terror. "They dragged you away because you were sick, Because you looked at me like I was an object you could just break and keep in your drawer."

The SUV swerved slightly as Julian pulled into the underground parking garage of the Sterling luxury complex. The concrete pillars flashed past like the bars of a cage, white-washed and sterile. He slammed the brakes, the tires screeching against the painted floor, and cut the engine.

The silence that followed was heavy, and broken only by the ticking of the cooling radiator.

Julian turned in his seat, the dim overhead light of the garage caught the edges of his face, casting deep, cavernous shadows beneath his cheekbones.

"An object?" Julian reached out, his long fingers tangling into the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her forward until her forehead was inches from his. His breath was warm, smelling faintly of mint and the bitter edge of black coffee. "If I wanted to break you, Tess, I would have done it the night your mother moved her bags into my father's house. I would have taken everything you had before they even knew my name. I didn't break you. I watched you. I protected you from the idiots at your old school, from the boys who wanted to touch you because you were the quiet girl in the back of the room."

"Caleb wasn't an idiot," she gasped, her hands coming up to grip his wrists, trying to push him back. The contact was useless; his arms were like iron rods.

"Caleb is a ghost," Julian whispered, his blue eyes turning almost black in the shadows. "He just doesn't know it yet.

He thinks because he sits next to you in a lecture hall that he understands the architecture of your life. He doesn't know about the night you crept into my room because the thunderstorms made you shake, He doesn't know about the way you used to scream my name when you thought the house was empty."

"Stop it," she begged, a tear spilling over her lashes and hitting his thumb. "Stop saying those things. We were children, It was a mistake."

"It was the only real thing that ever happened to this family," Julian growled, his thumb wiping the tear away with a harsh, possessive swipe. "And you spent three years trying to wash it off your skin. But you smell like me, Tess. You wear my clothes, you live in my apartment, and before the semester ends, you’re going to remember exactly who owns the air in your lungs."

He released her suddenly, stepping out of the car and slamming the door behind him. Tess sat in the passenger seat for a full thirty seconds, her chest heaving, her hands shaking so violently she could barely unbuckle her seatbelt. When she finally stepped out, Julian was already standing by the elevator, holding the door open, his face smoothed over into that cool, aristocratic mask once more.

The next afternoon, the St. Jude’s International University library was a sanctuary of marble and silence. Tess sat in a secluded alcove on the third floor, her laptop open, though she hadn't typed a single word in an hour. Her phone sat facedown on the mahogany table. It hadn't buzzed once since morning. No texts from Liam. Nothing.

"Mind if I sit?"

Tess jumped, her heart leaping into her throat. She looked up to see Megan Thorne standing at the edge of the alcove. Megan looked immaculate—a cream cashmere sweater draped over her shoulders, her dark hair pinned back with a diamond clip, and a small, cruel smile playing on her lips. She held an iced matcha latte in one hand and a textbook in the other.

"Actually, I was just leaving," Tess said, reaching for her notebook.

"Oh, don't be like that, little sister," Megan said, sliding into the chair opposite Tess without waiting for an invitation. She set her latte down with a sharp clack. "Julian told me you’ve been spending a lot of time in the Fine Arts building. He’s worried you’re getting distracted by... unsuitable elements. Like that theater boy. What’s his name? Liam?"

Tess froze, her fingers clutched around her pen. "Liam is my friend. And Julian isn't my keeper."

Megan laughed—a sharp, ringing sound that felt entirely out of place in the quiet library. "Julian is Vance, Tess. Vances don't have 'friends' and they certainly don't let their family members wander around with social climbing nobodies. Julian cares about appearances. We both do."

Megan leaned across the table, her eyes narrowing into cold, venomous slits. "He’s mine, Tess. I know you think that just because your mother managed to secure his father’s bank account that you’re part of the inner circle now. But you're an outsider. A stray they brought in to keep the house warm. Julian dates me because I belong in his world. My father handles things that Julian needs handled. So stop looking at him with those pathetic, wide eyes every time he enters a room. It’s embarrassing."

Tess felt the blood rush to her ears. The toxicity in Megan’s voice was unmistakable, a bitter jealousy disguised as status. But beneath the threat, Tess saw something else—something terrifying. Megan didn't know.

She had no idea that Julian’s relationship with her was entirely a sham, a human shield to keep their parents from looking too closely at the glass apartment.

"You don't know him, Megan," Tess said, her voice dropping into a dangerous, quiet register she hadn't known she possessed. "You think you’re holding the leash, but you’re just part of the fence."

Megan’s face went white, her perfect composure cracking for a fraction of a second. She opened her mouth to speak, but a shadow fell over the table before she could utter a word.

"Is there a problem here?"

Julian stood at the entrance of the alcove. He was wearing his gray university hoodie, his hands shoved into his pockets, his posture relaxed. But his eyes were fixed entirely on Megan, and they were dead.

"Julian, honey," Megan said, her voice instantly shifting into a sweet, melodic purr as she stood up and wrapped her arm around his waist. "We were just chatting. I was telling Tess about the Sterling Masquerade next month. Melissa wants us all to go together."

Julian didn't look at Megan, he didn't wrap his arm back around her. He just kept his eyes on Tess, his gaze traveling over her pale face, her defensive posture, and the way her fingers were still clutched around her pen.

"Tess has a lot of studying to do, Megan," Julian said smoothly, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Go find Jayden. He’s down by the student union with the new batch of... supplies for the weekend. Tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes."

Megan’s jaw tightened, a flash of humiliation crossing her features as she realized she was being dismissed like a servant in front of the girl she had just been bullying. But she didn't dare argue. She picked up her latte, gave Tess one last, murderous look, and walked out of the alcove, her heels clicking loudly against the marble floor.

Once she was gone, Julian walked into the small space and leaned against the edge of the table, blocking the exit. He looked down at Tess, a small, dark smile touching the corner of his lips.

"She’s loud, isn't she?" he murmured. "But she serves her purpose. The parents love her. They think she’s stabilizing me."

"You're using her," Tess said, staring at his chest. "You're using everyone."

"I use what is available to me to keep the world away from us, Tess," he said, reaching down and gently taking the pen out of her hand. He set it on the table, then took her cold fingers into his own, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Megan thinks she’s a queen, but she’s just noise. You’re the only thing that matters. And the sooner you realize that, the sooner everyone else stays safe."

He leaned closer, his shadow completely enveloping her. "Liam didn't show up to his tech lab today. Noah said he looked... Unwell. You should tell him to take a vacation, Tess. Crestview Heights is very bad for his health right now."

Tess looked into his cold, beautiful blue eyes and realized the siege wasn't coming. It was already over. The walls were up, the gate was locked, and Julian was standing guard at the only door.