The city of Moonlight Valley barely rested, and neither did its secrets.
By dawn, pictures from the prom had flooded every social platform—some showing kisses that were never meant to be seen, others capturing glances more dangerous than daggers.
Ochieng sat quietly at a hilltop café overlooking the sprawling skyline. The bitter scent of coffee mixed with the sweetness of regret in the air. Across from him sat Professor Linda Mwende, 34—a sharp-tongued literature lecturer known for her brutal honesty and timeless elegance.
She wore a white silk blouse, red pencil skirt, and glasses that only added to her icy allure.
"You kissed her," Linda said, staring into her espresso.
"I didn't mean to," Ochieng replied, voice low.
"Do you ever mean to, Ochieng? Or do your lips just act on their own when the moon's full?"
He sighed.
Linda was his former professor. A woman who once mentored him, inspired him—and for a brief, reckless moment, kissed him back.
Now, she was engaged to the Vice Chancellor's son.
Yet here they were.
Still tangled in temptation.
Still haunted by the one night they pretended never happened.
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Alyssa stood before her full-length mirror in the penthouse of the newly built Verona Skies Hotel. Her phone buzzed. It was her sister, Tracy Kavutha, the woman Ochieng left heartbroken years ago.
Alyssa answered. "He's not who he used to be."
Tracy's voice on the other end was cold. "That's why it'll hurt more when he falls. Don't forget what he did."
Alyssa looked down at the emerald bracelet on her wrist—Ochieng's mother had given that bracelet to Tracy.
She tightened it.
"Trust me," she whispered. "I won't forget."
---
On campus, excitement was building for the Intercollegiate Tech & Innovation Week—a cutthroat showcase of startups, inventions, and raw business genius. Behind the scenes, Tesslyn had entered VanityCore's prototype: a virtual dressing room powered by AI holograms.
But she wasn't the only one entering.
Ochieng had secretly backed SpectraSoft, a rogue group of underdog tech students led by Zed Njoroge, 22, a coding savant with zero social skills and a tragic backstory involving stolen patents and a failed suicide attempt.
The event was more than a competition now—it was a battlefield.
---
At the school's secretive Staff-Parent Executive Dinner, chaos quietly brewed.
Professor Linda came alone—rumored to have called off her engagement.
Caroline came with a stranger who introduced himself as Dr. Declan Mbae, a neurologist—and her fiancé.
Roman arrived with Nikki… only to find Seth already seated with the headmistress.
And Tesslyn? She made an entrance with her new fake boyfriend—a mysterious figure in all black, who said nothing, smiled too perfectly, and paid with a black titanium card engraved with the name: Kiyoko Legacy Holdings.
The entire room froze.
Ochieng hadn't walked in yet.
But his name already had.
---
Later that night, beneath the fountain in the school's central square, a meeting took place.
Alyssa. Tesslyn. Caroline.
Three women. Three motives.
Three different kinds of love.
"We're all chasing him," Alyssa said. "But I wonder who'll catch his soul… and who'll end up breaking it."
Tesslyn just smirked. "Who says he still has a soul?"
Caroline raised her glass. "Then let's burn whatever's left of it."
And above them, hidden in the shadows of the bell tower, Ochieng listened.
Alone.
Smiling.
Knowing exactly how to play the game now.
Because when everyone wears a mask, the real power belongs to the one who knows when to remove his.