Merlina blinked, leaning in closer like she was inspecting evidence at a crime scene.
And then she finally saw it, the tear at the corner of the cover page was barely noticeable, just a thin and harmless line.
"Seriously?" She bit back the urge to yell, her jaw tightening as she exhaled through her nose.
The last thing she needed was to end her first day picking a fight with someone who thought handing her his handbook was the same as giving out one of his Kidneys.
She pressed her lips together, forcing a small, tense smile. "It's just a paper cut. Trust me, the book's still breathing," she said, keeping her voice even.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder if he was some kind of neat freak or chronic perfectionist.
He lifted an eyebrow, with a stern expression on his face. "It was brand new."
She couldn't tell if he was actually being serious or simply just trying to have a conversation.
"You're not gonna sue me, are you?" She teased, her lips curving into a playful smile.
For a moment, she thought he might actually smile back. But nope, he just kept that blank, serious look.
Merlina sighed, "I'm really sorry," dialing the sass down a notch. "It must've happened while I was flipping in a hurry. I'll get you a new one. If it matters that much."
He studied her then, head tilted slightly, eyes narrowing like he couldn't tell if she was actually apologizing or maybe mocking him.
She offered a small, truce-like smile. "I'm Merlina, by the way. You are…?"
He let out a low scoff, the kind that sounded almost like a laugh. "Like you don't know."
Her smile faltered. "Excuse me?" Her irritation slowly building.
One of Merlina's biggest red flags was arrogance, pride, cockiness, the whole package. She didn't care if your face looked like it was carved by angels.
He stepped forward, closing the space between them like he had every right to. "Craig Lesnar."
He said it like his name was supposed to ring a bell…but news flash, she had only just resumed College. She'd been too consumed with unpacking and adjusting to the new air. For a matter of fact, she was till trying to memorize her own room mate's names.
And here he was, acting like he owned the pavement she walked on, like his name alone should make the earth tilt.
When he said it 'Craig Lesnar ' she met his eyes, waiting, almost expecting him to follow it up with something. A reason. A hint. Anything that explains why he thought she already knew him.
But he didn't.
He just stared, calm and silent, with a faint crease between his brows, as if waiting for her to say something, or a bow perhaps ?
Before she could make sense of anything, the sharp click of footsteps broke the silence.
"Hey guys!" Phoebe's voice cut through the moment. Loud, sudden, and right on cue. "What's up?"
Megan also appeared at her side, both wide-eyed with curiosity, clearly trying to decode the situation.
Craig gave them half a glance, sharp and dismissive, as though they were background noise.
"Oh, I'm Phoebe, Merlina's room mate, and this is our friend Megan, actually we're all room mates," Without waiting for a response from Craig, Phoebe continued. "And course mates!" she chirped, cheerful in a way that seemed almost designed to disarm the tension.
Except it didn't.
Craig didn't respond. No acknowledgment. No interest. He simply turned and walked away, head down, phone in hand, already halfway checked out like they were yesterday's notifications.
Phoebe blinked after him. "What. The. Hell?" she muttered. "Did he just…?" Mouth opened, her red hair shimmered under the sunlight, practically bristling with irritation. "Craig Lesnar is a fucking asshole!"
Merlina shook her head, trying to sound casual, but her voice came out tight. "Tell me about it."
The whole thing had happened so fast, but the feeling was still there, buzzing under her skin. His voice, his eyes, that quiet, steady calm… they stuck to her like a leech she couldn't shake off.
Even the way he walked away, unbothered and too cool to care, it replayed in her head like a song she didn't even like but couldn't stop hearing.
They kept walking, the courtyard wide and bright around them. The afternoon light stretched across the brick paths, brushing over piles of golden leaves that swirled around their shoes.
A few guys threw a football across the grass, music played from an open window, and the smell of pop corn mixed with the crisp air. Belford carried on, but Phoebe was still venting.
"What kind of person just brushes people off like that?" She asked, arms crossed over the oversized varsity jacket.
Megan laughed, the wind catching the loose curls that had escaped her claw hair clip. "Apparently, the kind with a fan club. You should see how many people kiss his ass."
"Wait," Merlina said slowly, tugging her scarf tighter as a breeze cut through the air. "You two know him?"
Phoebe shot her a look like she'd grown a second head. "Who doesn't?"
"So he's… popular?"
"Popular's putting it mildly," Megan said, already scrolling through her phone with one hand, her nails painted a chipped deep red. "He's basically Belford's royalty."
"He is?" Merlina asked, trying not to sound too interested, her fingers absently fidgeting with the strap of her bag.
Phoebe rolled her eyes and shifted the iced coffee in her hand to her other one. "But trust me, he's not all that."
"Yeah, yeah," Megan added with a snort, blowing hair out of her face. "Just the son of Charles Lesnar. CEO of CCL Group. Billionaire dad. Private Jets. The usual tragic story of the rich and bored."
Well. That explained a lot.
Merlina's breath puffed out in the cold air. "Must be nice," she muttered, but her mind replayed the way he'd looked at her, or rather, through her. Cold. Detached. Like everything coming out of her mouth was just unnecessary jibber jabber.
He was from a filthy rich family, ridiculously good-looking, with a face so sharp it could be sculpted into marble, she finally understood why he was acting like the world was built to make room for him.
"But who cares?" Phoebe huffed. "He's a walking ick. Craig Lesnar is what happens when ego drinks espresso."
Merlina let out a soft laugh, the kind that came too easily when you were trying not to show relief. Finally, someone said it. She'd wanted to call him every name in the book, but the words had jammed somewhere between her throat and her pride.
Because honestly, in just that short moment, Craig Lesnar made her feel embarrassed in a way no one ever had. Her self esteem had seen better days.
Not that Merlina thought she was the prettiest girl in the world, but conversations with guys have always been way easier.
A smile here, a quick comment there, they all listened, they all reciprocated.
But with him?
It was like talking to glass. Every word she'd said had bounced right back at her, making her feel smaller, sillier, like she'd completely misread the rules.
"And clearly," Phoebe added, still fuming, "he has a thing for ignoring everyone and being rude for the fun of it. Mini God wannabe."
Merlina laughed again, but this time it was a bit delayed. A part of her didn't want to judge him too harshly. Maybe it wasn't personal. Maybe that was just who he was. A brick wall in human form.
Still, he had handed her his handbook, even if clearly he didn't want to. Why did he change his mind ? She must've met him during his five-minute window of human decency.
They crossed the lawn toward Phoebe's car, the campus bathed in soft light and a hush that didn't match the mess that had just happened.
"So…" Phoebe prompted, glancing over. "What were you even doing with Craig Lesnar?"
Merlina blinked, caught off guard by the question. "He…uh….he let me borrow his handbook. That's it." She tried to sound casual, even though her mind had already replayed the encounter twice.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow, giving Merlina a look that said there's definitely more to that story.
But Merlina just offered a faint, nonchalant smile and kept walking, pretending not to notice. Because there wasn't actually.
She had met him, thought he was just a random college guy and asked for his handbook. Uniquely handsome yes, but that had been it.
What was it about Craig Lesnar? Even a five-minute interaction with him felt like winning some prize she hadn't known she was competing for.
Back at the hostel, after dinner, few more gossips with her roommates and an unhealthy amount of shared memes, Merlina curled up on her bed and FaceTimed home.
Her comfort zone.
Her dad, Aiden Sanchez picked up on the second ring. He was every bit the overworked-but-trying parent, her younger siblings Melissa and Alistair squished into the frame. Her sister waved enthusiastically. Her brother crunched cereal like it was noon, not night.
And in the background, was Fiona, her dad's desperate-to-be-wife hovered, pretending not to eavesdrop.
Yes, it had only been a year since her mother passed, and already her dad had moved on with Fiona…the fakest, gold-digging 26-year-old bitch in Merlina and her siblings' book.
"My day was fine," Merlina told them. "Pretty chill. Productive."
Her family wasn't exactly perfect, especially after her mom died. They had more arguments than ever, more tension, more silence that stretched too long. But love still lived there, buried beneath the mess. Stubborn and steady. Even when everything else felt like it was falling apart.
Her brother, Alistair snorted. "Did you make new friends? Real ones or just fake-smilers?"
"I made real-ish ones. My roommates are cool."
For now.
Merlina almost added. Phoebe and Megan had been welcoming, easy to talk to, easy to laugh with. The kind of fast bond that made it feel like they'd been friends forever. She hoped it stayed that way.
"No mean girls? No secret cults?" Melissa grinned.
"Not yet," Merlina laughed, even though the blondie tried to be, but she wasn't going to give her relevance. "One professor though, already dropped a surprise test. Zero chill."
"Welcome to the big leagues," her dad said with a smile. "Keep your head down. Stay focused. No distractions."
"Yeah," she replied softly. "I remember."
It was a relief to see her dad finally come around, especially after nearly two months of pleading, arguing, and slamming doors.
He hadn't wanted her anywhere near Belford, not after what happened to her mom. Not at the same college where she had died under suspicious, unanswered circumstances.
In Merlina's opinion, her dad didn't do enough when it comes to her mom's death, and she wasn't gonna sit still and just let it go.
After they hung up, she sat for a moment, staring at her desk. The new copy of the Law 101 handbook she had gotten laid untouched beside her laptop, still sealed.
She hadn't mentioned Craig's name again.
Not even once.
But the truth was, she couldn't stop thinking about him. His eyes carried a sharp, unusual depth, like they were made to see something everyone's else couldn't.
And despite every red flag, he lingered in her mind. Stubborn and unforgettable.
Day one, survived.
Barely.
She reached for her charger, already half-asleep, when her phone buzzed.
One new message: Unknown number.
'You're not as invisible as you think, Merlina.'
She froze.
And somehow, deep in her gut, she knew that this was only the beginning.