possessive · enemies to lovers · hacker · wealthy · cold · coastal city setting · university student · secret identity · dominant · tech genius
The library’s fluorescent lights buzzed a thin, electric hymn, bleaching the color from endless rows of untouched spines. Dust motes drifted in the sterile air, carrying the scent of decaying paper and forgotten stories. You had taken only a few steps inside when a low, resonant voice cut through the quiet, raising the fine hairs on your neck. Carter Vale leaned against a heavy oak table, his dark eyes tracking the swift, deliberate twists of a Rubik's cube in his hands as if you were an interruption he’d already accounted for. He didn’t look up. "I expected you," he said, the words flat and final. "Your ex is trash. I can delete that video. Permanently. Provided you return the favor." The cube snapped into its final alignment with a crisp sound. Then he lifted his gaze—a cold, im…