Sienna's POV

College was supposed to be mine.

My escape. My world. My fresh start. The place where I could just be me without Rhett, Angela or my father.

But no. Rhett Carter had to ruin that too.

It started with whispers. A hum in the lecture hall before the 10 a.m. ethics seminar even began. Girls giggling and squirming at every corner of the hall. The hall was extra packed with females today. Not like I cared. I'll find out why anyways.

Soon.

I barely glanced up from my notes until I caught the words: "Oh my gosh Rhett Carter is filling in for the Ethics tutor," "Isn’t he the hottest guy in the world?" “I heard he has a step sibling.” and my personal favorite—"He looks like he bites. In a good way."—except the good way part.

A blond chic besides me squirmed. “Rhett Carter is taking us Ethics today.”

I froze.

There he was. Leaning against the desk like he owned the place. Wearing a black button-down rolled at the sleeves, loosened at the top, tattoos peeking out, and those stupid wire-rimmed glasses that made him look too smart and smug for his own good. He never wears them. I'm guessing today he just wanted to make an extra impression.

I was wondering what happened to his shorts and bare chest when our eyes met. His smirk deepened.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," I muttered.

Rhett straightened and addressed the class. "You all know me. I’m Rhett Carter. Subbing in for Professor Maxwell today. We’re going to talk about moral reasoning, perception bias, and probably offend each other along the way. Ready?"

The class roared with laughter, totally ate it up.

Dumb asses.

I sank lower in my seat, praying for a black hole to open up beneath me. Hating that he's somehow in my life and I'm foolishly falling for him.

Halfway through, he posed a question about justice and intention.

"Law majors in the house. Is a good deed still good if the motive behind it is selfish?"

Hands shot up. Arguments buzzed around the room. Some in low tones others almost jumping out their seats to give their opinions.

He called on someone in the front, then someone in the back. I stayed silent. Praying he does not call me. No way I was engaging.

But he did. He fucking called me out.

"Sienna, thoughts?"

I glanced up. He was watching me. Calm, challenging. I shot him my death stare so he could see how much I hate him.

Till all heads turned on me.

I cleared my throat. "If the act benefits someone, the intention doesn't erase the impact. But it complicates how we perceive the person."

He smiled slowly. "So you're saying morality is subjective."

"I’m saying people are messy. We can do the right thing for the wrong reason and still help someone. Doesn’t make us saints."

"Makes us liars with a conscience," he replied.

“Humans are selfish in case you didn't notice.”

“Why would someone selfish want to do anything good...”

The class murmured with interest. One girl even clapped. I wanted to smack the applause out of her hands. But I sat through instead.

Occasionally taking notes, dosing at some point. He's smart I'll give him that. But I was suffocating under his strong gaze that seemed to follow my every movement.

After class, I packed up quickly and stepped out. I needed air. But as I stepped into the hallway, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Didn’t know you were taking Ethics," Rhett said casually.

"Didn’t know you were teaching it."

"Filling in for Maxwell. We did some research together."

I turned sharply. "I guess the stories about you having all A's in behavioral theory wasn't just bluff afterall.”

He smiled and then tilted his head. "You were good in there."

My voice was nearly a snap. "Don't patronize me."

"I'm not. You actually made people think. That’s rare."

I stared at him, jaw tight. "Why are you everywhere I go?"

I was tired of seeing him. Not tired to be honest, more like scared. From haunting me in the hallways to the school library. Now here he was, standing right in front of me.

And worst, I'm always unravelled anytime he's close to me. My brain can't just seem to focus.

"Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something." He smirked mischievously.

"Like what? That I need a restraining order?"

He chuckled. "That you need to lighten up."

I hated the way he said it. Like he could see past every wall I built. Like he knew exactly where to aim. Like if he tried hard enough he could go through me.

Before I could respond, Professor Liu appeared and waved at us. "Oh, Sienna! Almost forgot. You and Rhett are paired for the capstone simulation. His request."

I blinked. "What?"

Rhett grinned. "Surprise."

"We’re partners now?" Oh my God. Someone pull me out of this dream.

"Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other."

I wanted to scream.

---

That night, I got home to find Angela fluffing pillows like we were expecting royalty.

"What now?" I asked.

"Just a little gathering," she sang. "Some friends, some drinks. Don’t disappear to your room, Sienna. Socializing is healthy."

Healthy my ass.

I stayed in my room for exactly twenty minutes before the music downstairs got too loud to ignore. Curiosity—or stupidity— something dragged me out. I found the living room packed with polished smiles and expensive wine. Angela's charity friends. Rhett's college group. A weird blend of bored wealth and too-cool kids. My dad and Angela in one corner huddled up together.

Of course, he saw me.

He sauntered over, drink in hand. "You clean up nice."

I wore a hoodie. Just a hoodie with shorts underneath.

"You need to wear your glasses often."

He leaned in. "Or maybe you just look better when you're annoyed."

"Truth or dare!" someone shouted.

I turned. A ring of people had formed around the coffee table. Empty beer bottles, a pack of cards. The kind of dares that ended in regrets.

"Hey join us!" someone yelled at me. My feet however was stuck to the ground until Rhett gave me a look. A dare in itself.

I should’ve walked away. I didn’t.

I dragged my feet to the coffee table and sat. Rhett sat beside me. Of course.

The game escalated quickly. Kisses. Confessions. Embarrassing revelations.

Then it was Rhett’s turn.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Biggest regret?"

He paused. Looked right at me.

"Not shutting up when I should’ve kissed someone."

The room ooohed. My stomach flipped.

Then someone turned to me. "Sienna. Truth or dare?"

I hesitated. Rhett murmured, "Come on, Ice Queen. Play."

"Dare," I said, foolishly.

His voice was low. "Kiss me."

Silence fell.

Every pair of eyes landed on us. Angela, thankfully, was somewhere upstairs now. With my dad of course.

My throat dried. My pulse pounded.

I looked at him. That infuriating smirk. The challenge in his eyes. The softness beneath it I pretended I didn’t see.

I tried to be stubborn but all eyes were on me now. Some where even cheering. I leaned in. Inches from his mouth.

Then I stopped.

"No."

I stood abruptly. "Game's over."

The crowd bood. I walked out. Rage simmering. Humiliation coating my skin like oil.

I made it to the back patio before I heard his footsteps.

"Sienna."

"Don’t."

"Why not?"

I turned. "Because I’m tired of you acting like this is a game. Like you get to push and pull and expect me to dance."

His eyes darkened. "It wasn’t a game."

"Really? Then what was that in there? A power move? Another way to get under my skin?"

"I wanted to kiss you."

The words hit harder than they should have.

"Well, congrats," I snapped. "You got your audience. Maybe there'll be another cute photo and you'll be trending all over the blogs again.”

"They didn’t matter. You did."

I stilled.

He stepped closer. "You think I don’t see you? How hard you fight to control everything? How scared you are to lose even an inch?"

"You don’t know me."

He touched my wrist. Just lightly. But it burned.

"I know you couldn’t breathe in that room, same as me. I know you wanted to kiss me back. And I know you're terrified of what that means."

I yanked my arm away. "This is wrong."

He nodded slowly. "But it feels right. Doesn’t it? How about doing the wrong thing for the right intention.”

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know how to.

He stared at me for a second longer, then walked away.

Leaving me standing there, heart racing, reality crashing down like glass.

And for the first time, I realized something I couldn’t unfeel:

I wasn't just thinking about him all night. I was already falling.

And I didn’t know how to stop.