Chapter Two: Strange Smiles & Sharp Eyes
The encounter with Lucien should have been just another awkward moment, but Elena couldn't shake the way his eyes held hers, like he was peeling back layers she hadn't shown anyone. She told herself it meant nothing just another entitled rich boy trying to intimidate the new girl. Still, when she walked into her literature class the next day and found him seated at the desk beside hers, her pulse skipped like a scratched vinyl. "Coincidence?" she muttered under her breath, sliding into her seat. "Fate," he replied, without even looking at her, flipping open a leather-bound notebook. She rolled her eyes, but her fingers gripped the edge of her desk a little tighter.
The teacher called on her to read a passage aloud, and her voice was steady clear, despite the stares. Lucien watched her closely, nodding once when she finished, as if silently approving. She wasn't looking for validation, but it stirred something in her she wasn't ready to name. After class, Jade was waiting outside, arms crossed and lips tight. "You sat next to him?" she asked, dragging Elena by the sleeve. "Careful, girl. People who get close to Lucien don't always stay lucky."
Jade explained that Lucien ran the "Council," a group of elite students who controlled more than just school events. They handled everything from underground parties to secret business deals some of which were rumored to be criminal. His father's influence didn't stop at city borders, and neither did Lucien's reach. Elena listened quietly, pretending not to care. But she knew trouble when she saw it. And Lucien Moretti wasn't just trouble he was the kind that dressed in suits and smiled with knives behind his back.
Later that evening, Elena explored the school's library, a gothic masterpiece with arched ceilings and a silence that felt almost holy. She found peace in the shadows between the bookshelves, until she turned a corner and nearly bumped into someone. It was Lucien again, of course, reading something in Italian by the window. "You follow me now?" she asked, raising a brow. "This is my territory," he answered smoothly, not missing a beat. "You just wandered in."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, separated by nothing but the table between them and everything else. He finally spoke, voice low but curious. "Why did you really come here?" Elena didn't flinch, even though the question cut deeper than it should have. "To disappear," she said. Lucien studied her like a puzzle he wasn't sure he wanted to solve. "That might be harder than you think.