Blair thought, Childhood engagement? Hearing their chatter, she slowly turned her head, her face turning icy cold.
Just those words—childhood engagement—made her feel sick to her stomach. It was exactly those casual, meaningless words that had doomed her to a tragic fate in her past life from the moment she was born.
Eighteen years ago, both the Wales family and the Chapman family had been powerful and influential in Valemont.
The two families were close. Blair's mother, Heidi, and Amelia's mother, Kate Chapman, had been pregnant at the same time and had agreed that if one had a boy and the other a girl, they would become in-laws.
At first, whether that actually happened hadn't really mattered. But then disaster had struck the Wales family, and as they had fallen from power, that vague promise had suddenly become their last lifeline.
The Wales family had gone around boasting about a marriage alliance with the Chapmans. The Chapmans, not wanting to lose face—even though they already had looked down on the Wales—had felt they couldn't go back on their word.
The Chapman baby had been born first—a girl. That meant Blair had to be a boy. But unfortunately, she wasn't. Her insane parents, Martin and Heidi, had immediately decided to raise her as a boy.
When the time was right, they would arrange for her to undergo gender reassignment surgery, fully turning her into a man, just to secure the marriage alliance and cling desperately to the Chapman family without the slightest bit of shame.
As the memories came rushing back, the chill on Blair's face deepened.
Noticing her face darken, the group of girls tugged at each other and quickly slipped away, whispering, "Let's go."
Not wanting to get dragged down by bad memories, Blair shook her head, the motion smooth and sharp.
"He really is kind of hot," one of the girls muttered, glancing back.
Another added, "Yeah, well, too bad he's already taken by the most popular girl in our school."
Blair headed straight to her advisory teacher Brody Graham's office and asked politely, "Mr. Graham, I'd like to stay on campus. Could you help me get a spot in the dorm?" Blair got straight to the point.
She definitely wasn't going back home. That place wasn't her home—it was a cage. And she was never part of that family; she was just a pawn on their chessboard.
Blair scoffed inwardly, What my parents want is a son who can marry into a powerful family. Too bad I'm a girl. I'm useless to them.
Brody adjusted his glasses and said, "The SATs are just around the corner, and you're still behind. Living on campus might be good for you—more time to study. I'll check with the Academic Office."
Blair stayed quiet, thinking, 'Behind'? Please. I've been holding down the last place like it's my job.
Luckily, Brody was a decent teacher. It seemed like he hadn't given up on a failing student like her.
Half an hour later, Blair received the dorm assignment slip. Her on-campus life was about to begin.
However, she'd be living in the boys' dorm. But after dressing like a guy for over ten years, she figured she could pull it off. She didn't think there was anything to worry about.
Blair took the slip to the dorm manager's office to check in. The dorm manager stared at the room number, looking a bit surprised. "Room 316?"
Blair nodded. "Yeah. Is there a problem?"
The dorm manager opened his mouth, hesitated for a second, but ended up saying nothing. He just handed her a set of bedding and linen.
Langford Academy was a top-tier private school, and not just because of its admissions standards—the campus facilities were next level.
The dorms were basically five-star hotel quality. Every room came with a private bathroom, air conditioning, washer, dryer, fridge, desktop, TV—pretty much everything. After all, the tuition here was $300,000 a year.
Blair found Room 316 and unlocked the door with her key. Inside, Elijah turned his head slowly at the sound, his eyes chilling as they met hers.
Blair paused for a second when she saw who was inside and thought, Seriously? What are the odds?
Elijah sat at the desk with worksheets and prep books spread out in front of him, a limited-edition fountain pen in his well-defined fingers.
He turned just slightly, giving her a perfect side profile. The early spring sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, wrapping him in gold—but there was nothing warm about it. His eyes were just too cold.
Blair froze. She hadn't expected her new roommate to be Elijah, her classmate.
Elijah was one of Langford Academy's top four heartthrobs—and on top of that, he was a straight-A student.
Ever since he'd enrolled, whether it was weekly quizzes, unit tests, midterms, or finals, he had always held the number one spot in the entire grade.
Blair had also heard that his family ran a chain of private hospitals. He had money, looks, and brains—he really was the full package.
But that wasn't what was on Blair's mind. What mattered was that, of all people, her roommate just happened to be Elijah. She still had that message from Amelia sitting on her phone, telling her to get one hundred photos of Elijah.
Now that they were living in the same dorm, that task suddenly felt way too convenient. And with Elijah right in front of her, Blair couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
She thought, Wait a minute. Why should I feel guilty? It's not like I've got some inappropriate crush on him or anything. There's nothing to feel guilty about.
Elijah noticed Blair standing there like a statue and spoke in a cool voice, "You need something?" His voice, like his eyes, was distant but melodious.
Blair snapped out of it, one hand in her pocket, her face blank under her short hair. She gave the key shake. "Hi, I'm your new roommate."
At her words, Elijah frowned slightly. But he had good manners and didn't say anything.
The dorm room was huge, about a thousand square feet. It was designed for six people, with three beds on the left and three on the right—there was plenty of space.
Four of the beds were already made up with school-issued gray sheets, and two were still empty, which meant, counting Elijah, there were four people living here so far.
The bed to the left near the door was unclaimed, so Blair dropped the bedding she'd been given onto it.
At the moment, Elijah was the only one in the room. The other three roommates weren't around.
Once he understood why Blair was here, Elijah lowered his gaze and went back to his reading at his desk.
He was pretty well-known at school—for being one of the top heartthrobs. Blair was famous too—for being the "fiancé" of Amelia, the school's most popular girl.
Elijah was ranked first in Class 15, Senior Year, while Blair held the last spot in the same class. And now, by some ridiculous twist of fate, they were sharing a dorm.
Blair didn't have much luggage. After making her bed, she figured she'd head out to buy some toiletries and a blackout curtain.
Even though she was dressed like a boy, she was still a girl. Sharing a dorm with four guys, she needed to carve out a private space for herself.
She took out her phone and checked her balance—around fifty thousand dollars. Martin and Heidi had made it clear that they wanted her to win over Amelia during high school and get officially engaged as soon as they graduated.
That was why they'd been giving Blair spending money. After all, courting a girl—especially a rich, beautiful girl like Amelia—took cash.
Blair stared at the balance, expressionless. She knew it was only a matter of time before she and her parents fell out for good. When that happened, they'd definitely cut her off, so she had to figure out a way to earn her own money.
Elijah suddenly said, "If you can't stick to it, I'll ask Mr. Graham to move you to another dorm."
Blair was still staring at her phone when a sheet of paper appeared in front of her. The hand holding it was well-defined and elegant, clearly belonging to someone used to a life of comfort.
Elijah, sharp-featured and cool-eyed, stood in front of her. Blair took the paper and quietly read the list out loud, muttering,
"One: Don't bother me while I'm studying.
Two: Don't bother me while I'm studying.
Three: Don't bother me while I'm studying."
Elijah had written the same line three times. When she finished reading, Blair looked up at him.