The rumors started before sunrise.
I knew that because by the time I walked across campus the next morning—hair still damp from my rushed shower, backpack half-zipped—every pair of eyes felt like they carried the same question:
Why was Riven Hale at Lia Carter’s dorm last night?
It spread through the freshman dorms like some contagious disease. I heard pieces of it floating through the air.
“—he carried her out of Vault—”
“No, she patched him up in her room—”
“I swear I saw them holding hands—”
Holding hands?
I almost laughed, except nothing about this situation was funny.
I kept my eyes down, walked faster.
Riven Hale was the kind of problem I had spent my entire life avoiding.
Violent. Reckless. Dangerous.
And yet he had looked at me—no, through me—with a familiarity that shouldn’t have existed.
I tried to shake it off, tried to act normal as I slid into my morning lecture.
It was useless.
Not because of the rumors.
Because of the man currently leaning against the wall outside the classroom door.
I stopped dead.
Riven.
Black hoodie, hood down, bruises fading but visible. He was staring straight at me like he had been waiting for exactly this moment. For me.
Conversations around me dipped into whispers. Several people pretended not to stare. Most failed.
I swallowed, stepped toward him. “Why are you here?”
He nodded inside the classroom. “I’ll walk you.”
“I—I don’t need walking.”
“Someone shoved you yesterday.”
I blinked fast. “That was just the crowd—”
“And someone grabbed you.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
I crossed my arms, trying to hold onto some semblance of control. “You don’t even go here.”
“No.” His tone didn’t shift at all. “But you do.”
“And?”
“And you’re being watched.”
My pulse skipped. “By who?”
“Everyone.”
He wasn’t wrong. People kept glancing between us, whispering behind their hands.
“Okay,” I sighed. “Maybe you shouldn’t be here then. You’re just making it worse.”
“Good.”
I blinked. “Good?!”
“People are less likely to bother you if they think you’re with me.”
“Riven—”
“I’m not asking you to agree,” he said, cutting me off smoothly. “I’m telling you the reality.”
I clenched my jaw. “I don’t want to be part of your… reputation management.”
“This isn’t about my reputation.”
He leaned in, close enough that his breath brushed the side of my neck.
Close enough that my grip on my books tightened.
“It’s about you,” he murmured. “I don’t want you unprotected.”
My chest constricted sharply.
“Riven… we barely know each other.”
His eyes darkened. “You think that.”
“You said last night—”
“That was nothing,” he lied too quickly.
I glared. “You’re impossible.”
He didn’t even blink. “And you’re in danger.”
“From what?”
A long, weighted pause.
“From everything you don’t see,” he said quietly. “And everyone who’d use you to get to me.”
That hit harder than I expected.
“What does that even mean?” I whispered.
But he didn’t answer.
Instead, he said the single most insane sentence of my life:
“Let’s fake it.”
I stared at him. “Fake… what?”
“Us.” His voice didn’t even waver. “A relationship. Just until things calm down.”
My jaw dropped. “Absolutely not.”
“People will back off.”
“No.”
“No one will touch you.”
“Still no.”
His gaze softened—almost imperceptibly, but enough to make my stomach twist.
“You’ll be safe.”
That was unfair.
That was so unfair.
And he knew it.
I swallowed hard. “Why would you even want this?”
“Because,” he said, “I’m not losing you again.”
I froze so completely I forgot to breathe.
“A—again?”
His expression didn’t move. His jaw stayed locked. But his eyes—God, his eyes—
They held something old. Ancient. Painful.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he murmured.
“Riven—”
“You don’t need the details,” he said, stepping back just enough to breathe but not enough to break the magnetic pull between us. “You just need to know I can keep you safe.”
“And what do you get out of this?” I asked.
He didn’t hesitate.
“You.”
My heart stuttered violently.
A second passed. Two.
“Riven,” I whispered. “I’m not something you can just claim.”
“I’m not claiming you.” His voice dropped lower, softer. “I’m asking you to let me stay.”
I wasn’t sure what scared me more:
The danger around him.
Or the part of me that wanted to say yes.
“Just let me pretend,” he added quietly. “Until the rumors die down.”
I shut my eyes, exhaling slowly.
This was reckless.
Stupid.
Dangerous.
But he was right: people were already watching me, whispering, assuming.
A fake relationship would kill the rumors. Protect me. Keep predators away.
And I was already tangled in his orbit.
“…fine,” I whispered.
He lifted his head, eyes flashing.
“Fine?” he echoed.
“But only until—”
He didn’t let me finish.
Riven stepped forward, crowding me back against the classroom doorframe, his voice a low growl meant only for me.
“I won’t force you,” he murmured, “but I won’t let you stand alone either.”
I swallowed hard. “So we… pretend.”
“For now.”
I hesitated. “How do we… uh… do this?”
His lips lifted—just slightly.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take the lead.”
And just like that, the fake relationship began.
Except…
It didn’t feel fake at all.
Not when he walked me inside the lecture hall with a hand on the small of my back.
Not when he glared down anyone who stared too long.
Not when he leaned close during class and whispered, “Relax. I’m right here.”
The entire time, my pulse was chaos.
And judging by the way Riven watched me—
like I was a secret he’d been waiting years to touch—
maybe his was too.