The air in Adrian’s house felt unusually heavy that afternoon, a silence that pressed against my ears and made my chest tight. Even with the windows open, a faint scent of his cologne—smoky, masculine, and impossibly intimate—hung in the room, wrapping around me like a tether I couldn’t escape. I hadn’t expected him to call me over on a Saturday, no lectures, no campus obligations, just the weight of him wanting me here, now.

When I stepped into the living room, Adrian’s eyes immediately found mine. The intensity there made my skin tingle. It wasn’t just desire; it was something sharper, something protective and dangerous all at once. My stomach fluttered with the familiar, dangerous mix of fear and anticipation.

“You’ve been thinking about him,” Adrian said without preamble, his voice calm but carrying an edge that warned me not to hide anything. He walked toward me slowly, each step measured, deliberate, like a predator circling. “Cassian. I can feel it. You can’t hide it from me, Sophie.”

I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. Heat surged to my cheeks. “I… I’ve been trying not to. But…” My voice faltered under the weight of his gaze. “He’s… he’s in my head, Adrian. I can’t… I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Adrian’s lips curved into the faintest shadow of a smile, the kind that made my knees weak and my mind go blank. “Of course he is. That’s the point. That’s why he’s here.”

I blinked, confusion and sudden realization twisting in my chest. “What… what do you mean?”

His hand brushed against my arm, a mere touch, yet it sent an electric current through me, grounding me even as panic began to bubble up. “Cassian isn’t just a charming distraction. He’s not here by accident. Every move, every word, every glance—it’s deliberate. He’s playing a game.”

My heart began to pound in my chest. “A game? What… what kind of game?”

“Cassian is Dr. Vaughn’s cousin,” Adrian said, his voice low, controlled, yet unmistakably sharp. “And this—everything between you and him—was planned. Dr. Vaughn wanted to distract you. To test your loyalty. To see if you could be swayed from what’s real.”

The room seemed to tilt slightly, my stomach dropping out of my chest. The laughter in the corridor, the way Dr. Vaughn leaned into him, whispering, joking, so intimate it had made my skin crawl with jealousy and confusion—it all clicked. All the pieces, the subtle hints I’d ignored, snapped together. It had been a setup from the beginning.

“You mean… all of this?” My voice was shaky, tinged with anger and disbelief. “The teasing, the flirting… the way he’s been looking at me… it was planned? From the start?”

Adrian nodded, his expression sharp, calculating. “Exactly. Cassian is clever, Sophie. He’s charming, seductive, attentive—but it’s a trap. Don’t let him manipulate you. Don’t fall for it.”

I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to calm the sudden surge of emotions—betrayal, fear, anger, even the tingling pull of desire. “I… I saw them together. Laughing. Smiling. Like… like they’ve known each other forever. And I never questioned it. I… I feel… betrayed.”

Adrian stepped closer, his presence enveloping me. The heat from him pressed against my back, his arm brushing mine in a protective gesture that made my heart race. “You’re not betrayed, Sophie. You’ve just been careful enough to let the truth reach you now. And now you know. You have to act with clarity.”

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. Every memory of Cassian—the brush of his fingers, the way he had leaned in close, the subtle, teasing touches—came back, and I felt a dangerous mix of longing and anger. His games had worked on me, even though I hadn’t realized it.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, fingers trembling, and typed a single message:

“I know. I know your plan, Cassian. I see through you and Dr. Vaughn. Don’t test me.”

Then my phone rang. The display read: Dad. My chest tightened. I answered before thinking, my voice small, uncertain. “Dad?”

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