Carl Baylor and Silas Isaac had built their entire lives around two unspoken rules:
Stay focused. Stay untouchable.
Carl, the heir to the prestigious Baylor family, carried an aura that made people step aside without him saying a word. Architecture ran in his bloodline like destiny his grandfather built empires, his father expanded them, and Carl was expected to inherit the throne as the next CEO of the Baylor Group of Companies. He was rich, blunt, intimidatingly mature for his age, and reserved to the point that people often mistook him for cold. But Silas knew better.
Silas Isaac, in contrast, came from a legacy carved in discipline and medals generations of military officers whose very presence demanded respect. Silas inherited the strength, the confidence, the charisma, and the loyalty of his lineage. To everyone else he was cheerful, loud, effortlessly charming… but only Carl and his family ever saw how protective and serious he could truly be.
Together, Carl and Silas were a fortress. Best friends. Brothers by choice. And they never let anyone in not girls, not classmates, not admirers who tried to enter their orbit.
Until her.
The first week of university was supposed to be routine orientation, boring speeches, forced smiles. But everything changed the moment she stepped onto the stage to introduce herself.
She didn't look extraordinary in a loud way. She didn't try to take the spotlight. She simply stood there cute, innocent, nervous and somehow the entire hall faded around her.
Carl's breath hitched. Silas forgot to blink.
It wasn't love at first sight; it was something deeper, something dangerous… as if the universe had pointed at her and whispered directly to them both:
"Her."
She said her name softly, fingers gripping the mic, eyes scanning the crowd shyly completely unaware that two very different but equally powerful worlds had just collided because of her.
For the first time in their lives, Carl Baylor and Silas Isaac wanted the same thing.
Not competition. Not a challenge.
A friend.
Her.