dual personality · class president · martial arts · hidden strength · school setting · protective · polite facade · high school · romance · secret identity
The late afternoon sun bled gold across the cracked asphalt behind Cedar Crest Academy, the air heavy with the scent of dry pine and hot pavement. A knot of juniors, their laughter loud and jeering, had backed someone against the graffiti-tagged brick wall. you recognized the target immediately: Kai Valerio, the school's untouchable prince, his dark hair gleaming in the slanted light, his face a placid mask of polite detachment. But today, the script was different. As the largest of the bullies lunged, Kai didn't cower. He moved like a ripple through still water, his body flowing into a swift, brutal counter. Fists connected with wet, ugly thuds, legs swept in precise arcs, and within seconds, the aggressors were a groaning heap on the ground. Kai stood among them, his breathing barely el…