Rachel stood frozen at the foot of the staircase, her fingers curling subtly over the railing as the crowd parted around her. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She didn't blink. Her eyes locked onto the two figures entering through the main doors — Leon and Mia — and something sharp, poisonous, and painfully familiar bloomed in her chest.
So they came together.
Her breath caught, but only for a second. She masked it immediately, straightening her posture. But nothing could calm the coil of jealousy twisting low in her stomach, tightening with every step Leon took toward the hall.
He wasn't limping anymore.
He wasn't pale.
He wasn't weak.
He was… glowing.
Strong again.
Alive again.
And Mia was beside him.
He left this school half-dead… because of her. He returns looking like that… also because of her. How? How does a nobody hold that much power over a prince?
Her lips pressed together, nails digging slightly into her palm. Around her, the whispers started swelling.
