Dear readers,
You thought you knew them.
You thought this story was about school halls, stolen glances, and accidental kisses.
But every smile hid a secret—and every calm moment was carefully calculated.
Welcome to the truth they never planned to reveal.
At school, we were just students.
That was the rule.
Calvin was the loud one—the joker, the dramatic best friend who never seemed serious for more than five minutes. Xavier was the quiet one—the calm transfer student with unreadable eyes. And I was just Hinata. Normal. Ordinary.
That was what everyone believed.
But outside those gates?
Everything changed.
Calvin came from the second-richest family in the country. Influence ran through his bloodline like a silent currency. He joked to make people underestimate him, laughed to make them relax. But behind the humor was a mind that never stopped calculating.
Calvin wasn't reckless.
He was the mastermind.
Xavier's family stood above even that—the richest family in the country. Their name alone opened doors and closed mouths. And Xavier?
At school, he was gentle. Teasing. Patient.
Outside school?
He was feared.
Not because he threatened people—but because when Xavier spoke, things happened. Quietly. Cleanly. Permanently. People learned very quickly that crossing him was a mistake you didn't get to repeat.
And me?
I was the secret no one ever guessed.
The daughter of the most feared mafia family in the country.
My family kept it buried. Protected. Hidden behind normal routines and quiet smiles. I was allowed a normal school life only because I knew how to control myself.
Within the family, though, everyone knew the truth.
I wasn't weak.
I wasn't sheltered.
I was the one they trusted when things went wrong.
The one taught to stay calm when fear tried to rise.
The one raised never to react first—but to finish last.
That's why Maxwell's threat didn't break me.
It just woke something old.
Calvin noticed immediately.
He leaned beside my locker later that day, voice playful but eyes sharp. "He talked to you again, didn't he?"
"No," I replied calmly. "But he will."
Xavier stood close, hands in his pockets, gaze steady. "If he does, he won't get far."
Calvin smiled—slow, knowing. "Because people like him think power is loud."
Across the hallway, Maxwell watched us. He saw three students. Three ordinary people standing too close together.
He had no idea.
Because the most dangerous people aren't the ones who threaten.
They're the ones who wait.
And as I met his gaze—calm, unshaken—I realized something important.
Maxwell didn't scare me.
He had simply chosen the wrong girl,
stood too close to the wrong boy,
and crossed paths with the wrong mastermind.
And this time…
We weren't hiding anymore.