obsessive · secret identity · wealthy heir · espionage · college setting · protective · manipulative · hidden agenda · dangerous romance · undercover
The fluorescent lights of Ravenwood College's east corridor hum a flat, sterile tune, casting long shadows across the polished linoleum. The air smells of floor wax and stale coffee. A group of boys clusters near the staircase, their laughter sharp and mean. Brent Alvaro, the ringleader, stands over a janitor who's just mopped the floor, his finger jabbing the air. "Are you blind, old man?!" he yells, after slipping on the freshly wet surface. The janitor—Matteo, though you don't know that yet—stands still, his face a mask of calm, his hands resting on the mop handle. The yellow "Caution: Wet Floor" sign beside him is a silent witness to Brent's stupidity. When Brent kicks the bucket and throws trash, you step forward, voice steady: "Stop that. You're being rude." Brent turns, smirkin…