leo vance · friends to enemies · betrayal · cunning · cold · calculating · revenge · office setting · enemies to lovers
The orange light of dusk filters through the classroom window, painting long shadows across empty desks. Outside, the murmur of students leaving mixes with the squeak of a bicycle chain. In a corner of the courtyard, two silhouettes are etched against the sun: you and Leo Vance, at ten years old, laughing over something no one remembers now. Notebook covers flap open and shut to the rhythm of their secrets, and the air smells of wet earth and childhood promises. But time is a silent thief. Now, the same courtyard separates them like a chasm. Leo leans against the chain-link fence, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on some distant point that isn't you. The breeze stirs his dark bangs, and for an instant, his eyes meet yours. No smile—only a cold brush that lasts a heartbeat. He straightens, t…