My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77 Honor Hidden Behind a Bad Reputation

ล.พ

Ryder let out a harsh breath. “I stayed. I became the monster. I took the reputation. I let the entire school believe I was a violent, unpredictable criminal. Because as long as they were looking at me, as long as they were terrified of me, no one would look for Leo. No one would try to hurt him again. I built a wall of rumors, and I locked myself inside.”

The math worked.

The equation balanced.

He did not attack a boy over a parking spot. He did not shatter a skull out of sheer malice. He went to a dark gas station to pay a debt that did not belong to him. He fought for his life. He fought to protect a softer, kinder boy from the cruelty of the world.

He absorbed the hatred, the fear, the isolation, and the disgust of the entire town. He wore the bad boy armor like a rusted cage, sacrificing his own future to become a shield for his brother.

I closed the distance between us.

I did not stop until my chest brushed against his leather jacket. I reached up, weaving my fingers into the dark, messy hair at the nape of his neck. I pulled his head down, forcing him to meet my gaze.

“You are not a monster,’ I said.

Ryder shook his head. “Raisa, I almost killed a guy.”

“You saved your brother,” I countered. I gripped the hair at the nape of his neck tighter, refusing to let him look away. “Marcus brought the weapon. Marcus threatened a fourteen-year-old kid. You stopped him.”

“I lost control, Ryder argued, his voice a desperate, ragged plea for condemnation. He wanted me to judge him. He believed he deserved the punishment. “I could have stopped after the first swing. I didn’t.”

“You were sixteen, I reminded him. “You were alone in the dark, bleeding, fighting an older guy who wanted to hurt your family. You did what you had to do.”

Ryder stared at me. The defensive walls, the self-loathing, the years of isolated agony fractured under the weight of my words.

Vanessa told me to be careful, I murmured. My thumb traced the sharp line of his jaw. “She said you were a ticking time bomb. She said you would destroy me.”

Ryder flinched. “She is right.”

She is wrong. I declared. The truth settled in my chest, warm and bright as a rising sun. “You are not a wrecking ball, Ryder Steinmann. You are a shield You took the fall for Leo. You punched a locker to stop Miller from insulting me. You endure the pain so the people you care about do not have to

1/3

12:55 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 77 Honor Hidden Behind a Bad Reputation

A single, hot tear escaped Ryder’s eye. It tracked down his pale cheek, catching the dim light.

I wiped the tear away with my thumb. The action was intimate, an open surrender of my heart.

“You are the most honorable person I know,” I whispered.

。79

The words hung in the dusty air. They were a balm, a healing salve applied to a wound that had festered for two long years. Ryder’s breath hitched. His massive frame trembled. He reached out, his large hands wrapping around my waist, pulling me flush against his

chest.

He buried his face in the curve of my neck. He let out a long, broken sigh, the sound vibrating against my collarbone. He held me with a desperate, anchoring grip, as if I were the only solid object in a spinning universe.

We stood in the abandoned drama corridor, surrounded by discarded props and peeling paint. The school outside these walls did not matter. The rumors did not matter. The pristine, superficial world of Crestview Prep meant nothing.

I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. I pressed my cheek against the soft leather of his jacket. The scent of cedar and peppermint filled my lungs, bringing a profound, steadying peace.

“No more secrets,” I said. The promise felt heavy, a vow spoken into the quiet. “The fake dating contract is dead. The boundaries are gone. I don’t want the lies. I want the truth. I want you.”

Ryder went still. The frantic, erratic beating of his heart against my chest paused.

He lifted his head. He looked down at me, the golden shards in his eyes burning with an intense, raw devotion. The dark circles under his eyes seemed less prominent. The heavy burden on his shoulders looked a fraction lighter.

“You want me,” he repeated. The words tasted foreign on his tongue.

“Yes, I affirmed. I did not hesitate.

Ryder’s gaze dropped to my mouth. A slow, tentative warmth bloomed in his expression. It was the same look I had seen in the newspaper photograph. The look of a boy stepping out of the shadows.

“I can give you the truth, Raisa,” he rasped. His voice was a deep, rough caress. His thumbs swept slow circles against the sides of my waist. “I can promise you no more secrets about Leo. No more lies about the rumors. I want to burn the contract.”

A bright, sudden spark of joy ignited in my chest. I smiled, the expression feeling foreign and wonderful on my face.

But the spark vanished a second later.

Ryder’s hands stopped moving. The warmth in his eyes flickered, replaced by a chilling shadow. The muscle in his jaw ticked. He took a half-step back, creating a sliver of cold space between our bodies.

2/3

12:55 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 77 Honor Hidden Behind a Bad Reputation

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify