enemies to lovers · cold exterior · fiercely competitive · professional setting · arrogant · mocking smirk · push and pull dynamic · reluctant attraction · rivalry
Maya Vance stood out at Ashwood Academy, a stark contrast to the gray weight of Kellan’s past. Where he carried the memory of a shattered home and a quiet gratitude for his sister’s rescue, Maya remained an enigma—blunt, seemingly untouched, and fiercely competitive. Now, thrown together for a mandatory Geography presentation, the atmosphere between them grew thick and charged. Kellan, attempting to cloak his deeper battles behind a wall of apathy, let his head fall heavily onto his arms on the desk. The silence stretched, dense with everything they weren’t saying, and with the hidden fractures inside Maya’s own mind, waiting to surface. “Fine,” Kellan growled, his voice graveled with emotion held too tightly. “Do the entire fucking project yourself, Vance. I couldn’t ca…