I woke up the next morning feeling like my lungs were still coated in smoke.
The hospital room was quiet. Too quiet.
Too calm for the chaos I had just created.
I stretched slightly, wincing at the dull ache in my chest, and stared at the ceiling.
I didn't need to guess—my little stunt last night had set two storms on a collision course.
Two storms named Liam Harrington and Ethan Thatcher.
And I…
I was the lightning that kept them burning.
Footsteps echoed outside my door—sharp, angry, heavy steps.
Liam.
Only he walked like the world offended him simply by existing.
Then another pair of steps.
Smooth, controlled, expensive.
Ethan.
I smiled.
They hadn't even opened the door yet, and the tension between them was thick enough to taste.
I shifted slightly on the bed just as the door opened—Liam froze at the sight of Ethan stepping into the hallway.
Ethan didn't even bother hiding the glare he shot Liam.
It was icy.
Calculating.
Possessive.
Liam returned the look with something darker.
Something feral.
Good.
Let them fight.
I rested my head on my pillow and listened.
---
Ethan's voice cut through the hallway. Cold. Sharp.
"Stay away from her."
A vein pulsed in Liam's jaw. "No."
Ethan stepped forward, blocking Liam's path like a challenger in a duel.
"I'm warning you," Ethan said, voice low and controlled—too controlled to be anything but anger, "Crystal doesn't need you hovering around her. She doesn't want that."
"And you think she wants you?" Liam scoffed. "You barely met her months ago. I've known her for years."
"That's exactly why you're dangerous," Ethan snapped. "I see the way you look at her. You're obsessed."
Liam didn't deny it.
Of course he didn't.
Instead he stepped closer, eyes hard, unwavering. "And what will you do about it?"
Ethan's nostrils flared. "I'll tell you again—stay away. Stop following her. Stop chasing her. Stop trying to tie your life to hers. Don't make me repeat myself."
I almost laughed.
He really thought he could order Liam around?
Liam took one slow breath—steadying himself.
Then another.
His voice was a calm knife when he finally spoke.
"No one," Liam murmured, "can separate me from Crystal."
Ethan stiffened.
Liam leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to something dangerous.
Something that vibrated through the hallway.
"The only way I'll stay away…"
He paused.
"…is if she tells me to."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Two men.
Two powerful, dangerous men.
Both willing to burn for me.
Delicious.
But then Ethan's phone rang—sharp, loud, urgent.
He checked the screen, and his expression shifted instantly.
His rage quieted.
His breaths steadied.
He went…cold.
Interesting.
He ended the call and turned to leave.
But Liam grabbed his arm.
Not hard.
Just firmly enough to force him to stop.
"Don't ever try to intimidate me with your family name again," Liam said.
"And don't ever assume you have a monopoly on power."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
Liam didn't back down. He stepped closer.
Voice low.
Unshaken.
"What your family can do…"
He paused.
"My family can also do."
Ethan tore his arm from Liam's grip.
He didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
The look they exchanged said everything.
They weren't just rivals now.
They were enemies.
---
Ethan stormed off, heading straight toward the Dean's building.
Toward answers.
Toward the investigation.
I closed my eyes and waited.
Because I already knew how this would end.
I planned it.
Hours later, the news spread like wildfire across campus.
The culprit behind the "study room incident" had been identified.
I sat up in bed, pretending to be shocked as two nurses whispered near my door.
"It was Verena Maddox. Can you imagine?"
"They found surveillance footage of her throwing something into the room…"
"And the person she bought the tear gas from confessed."
"She's finished."
"She'll be lucky if she isn't expelled."
I hid the smile that stretched across my lips.
Verena.
Poor, foolish Verena Maddox.
She really thought she could eliminate me?
She thought tear gas and a locked room would scare me?
No.
What she did was give me an opportunity.
I pushed my blankets aside and stood slowly, wincing dramatically as if still weak.
Verena Maddox.
Suspended.
Exposed.
Destroyed.
And I didn't even have to lift a finger.
Not really.
I just nudged her into choosing her own downfall.
Liam had risked his life.
Ethan had declared war.
The entire university was in chaos.
And I?
I came out glowing.
Exactly as I intended.
But this wasn't over.
This was only the beginning.
Because boys would fight for me.
Girls would fall because of me.
And soon…
Men would burn for me.