Chapter 48

•**ADRIEN**•

I was half-dead on the couch, sprawled out like a corpse with my arm covering my face and the worst hangover of my life pounding through my skull. 

Every thud of the bass from Amir’s video game felt like someone was taking a hammer to my brain. 

Coachella had been a blur—sun, booze, chaos, and way too many emotions I hadn’t signed up for. Now I was paying for all of it.

“Yo, can you lower the volume?” I grumbled from under my arm.

Amir didn’t even glance at me, fully immersed in the game, the controller clicking obnoxiously loud. 

I was considering throwing a pillow at his head when a sharp knock cracked through the dorm door.

I groaned. “Amir, door.”

No response. For fuck’s sake.

Dragging myself off the couch felt like crawling out of my own grave. I shuffled across the room, each step making my head throb harder. 

I yanked open the door with every intention of being annoyed—until I saw her.

Kaia.

Standing there, arms crossed, a storm brewing behind her eyes. She didn’t even give me a chance to say anything before she shoved past me and into the room like she owned the place.

“Good to see you too,” I mumbled, sarcasm thick in my voice as I shut the door behind her and turned around.

She spun on her heel to face me, arms still crossed like a shield. 

“We need to talk.”

Her tone was sharp. Serious. My stomach twisted a little, though I didn’t let it show.

“About what?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual, but something about the way she was looking at me told me this wasn’t going to be a light conversation.

“About—”

BANG!

Something exploded in the background—probably from Amir’s stupid game—and we both turned our heads at the same time to see him still on the couch, looking between us like he was watching a soap opera.

My jaw clenched. “Amir.”

He blinked. “What?”

I gave him a look that said get out now and made a subtle hand gesture.

Amir sighed dramatically and stood up. 

“Alright, alright. I know when I’m not wanted.”

He grabbed his phone and headphones, muttering something under his breath about how “this better be good” as he walked out of the dorm and shut the door behind him.

Silence settled. I turned back to Kaia, folding my arms and leaning back slightly against the edge of the desk.

“Well?” I said, smirking just a little, trying to hide the fact that my head felt like it was splitting in half.

But the smirk vanished the second a sharp stab of pain flared behind my eyes, forcing me to wince and squeeze them shut. 

Migraine incoming. Perfect timing.

I opened my eyes slowly, meeting hers again—and yeah, she looked pissed.

This was going to be fun.

“I want us to stop,” she said, her voice firm. “Whatever game this is… before it goes too far.”

My brows drew together, a frown pulling at my face. 

“You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. 

“Adrien, I’m being serious.”

“I know you are,” I said, straightening up a little. “But I still don’t know what exactly you’re trying to say.”

Which was a lie. I knew exactly what she meant. I just wasn’t ready to hear it out loud.

She took a breath. 

“I think it’s safe to say we’re both… attracted to each other. But this? It’s getting out of hand. I want it to stop. The sneaking around. The secret makeout sessions. All of it. Just… go back to hating me or whatever it is we were before.”

A humorless chuckle slipped past my lips before I could stop it. I tilted my head slightly at her.

“I just had my fingers buried deep inside you, so I don’t think going back to hating you will exactly hit the reset button, Kaia.”

She flushed instantly, her entire face going red as her eyes narrowed in frustration.

I smirked, completely unapologetic.

“I’m serious,” she snapped, voice sharp. “I don’t want to be involved with you anymore. I’m with Callum now.”

I stepped closer toward her. 

“Are you, though?”

She held her ground at first, her eyes staying on mine, but then she started backing away slowly, one step at a time.

“Yes,” she said. “And Callum would hate seeing me with you.”

I clenched my jaw. That name always soured my mood.

I kept moving until her back hit the wall with a soft thud. I braced one arm above her head, leaning in, caging her in completely.

“You see, I don’t really give a fuck about what Callum thinks,” I murmured. “But I do care about what you think. And I know you enjoy me touching you more than him.”

Her eyes burned into mine, and she shook her head. 

“I don’t.”

I smiled slowly, eyes dropping to her lips as my fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, tracing along her warm skin.

“Oh yeah?” I whispered. “Prove me wrong then.”

Her breath caught, just for a second. But I saw it—the flicker of conflict behind her eyes, the way her body stiffened under my hand, yet didn’t pull away.

My fingers skimmed higher, brushing along the front of her bra, and she let out the softest gasp. 

That sound went straight to my chest, igniting something feral inside me.

“Ooh,” I murmured, biting my bottom lip. “Am I not making you feel good right now, Kaia?”

That snapped her back. 

Her hand shot up, grabbing my wrist and yanking it out from under her shirt before shoving me back with force.

I stumbled back a step, grinning—until pain slammed into my skull like a freight train. 

I winced, reaching up to pinch the bridge of my nose. The migraine was getting worse.

“You need to stop playing around, Adrien,” she said, her voice lower now, shaking slightly. “I can’t keep letting you get away with it.”

I tried to focus, I really did. But her words were starting to blur together, lost in the noise of the pounding in my head. 

My vision swam a little as I leaned back against the wall, letting my head rest there, eyes closed.

When I opened them again, she was staring at me, brows furrowed.

“You have to take this seriously,” she said. “Whatever this is… it ends here. You don’t get to do this to me again.”

I could barely hear her now, but I nodded anyway, watching her turn around and walk to the door.

The second it closed behind her, I stumbled toward the couch and collapsed onto it, one arm flung over my eyes.

Everything she just said? Gone. My brain couldn’t hold onto anything but pain.

All I could think now was how to not die in this position.