Chapter 43

Chapter 43
Sera POV

I waited until the dorm was a silent, no footsteps in the hall or muffled laughter from the common room.

I counted to three hundred after the last door clicked shut. Then I slipped out of the room with the towel slung over my shoulder as the chest binder already itching under my hoodie.

The straps had been digging into my ribs all day and every breath was a reminder that I was living half a life.

When I entered in the bathroom I locked the main door behind me with a click. I peeled off my clothes fingers trembling as they worked the binder’s hooks. When it finally gave, I exhaled freely for the first time in hours.

Cool air kissed my skin. My breasts were small but still visible. They ached from the compression. I rolled my shoulders, let my head fall back, and stepped under the spray.

For one minute, I wasn’t Seth. I was just me. Sera, tired, terrified, and finally free of the lie for sixty seconds.

I should’ve known the peace wouldn’t last long when I heard the lock I clicked shut Open.

Useless.

I heard the voices and kept thinking how the hell am I going to get out of this situation.

“—told you, the hot water is back on the left side now—”
River’s laugh cut off mid-sentence.

I froze, water streaming over my face, down my neck, over the curve of my chest. My hands flew up to cover myself, but it was too late.

Five pairs of eyes stared through the open bathroom door. All of the SC were there staring at me. River with arms full of clean towels, Alexander, leaning against the sinks like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

And Kael..... And Luca.

Kael’s face went pale Like someone had drained the blood from his veins. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes—those storm-gray eyes that had pinned me to walls and haunted my dreams were fixed on my chest. On the binder that was crumpled at my feet.

On the other side,Luca laughed. A sharp, cracked sound that wasn’t joy. “Holy shit.”

I couldn’t move or speak. It's like I went into a shock and never coming back. Water pounded against my back, but I was cold. So cold.

Alexander was the first to move. He stepped forward, blocking the others with his body like a shield. His voice was low and calm. "You have to get out now.”

River’s mouth was still open. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Luca’s laugh turned into something ugly, his hands raking through his hair.

Kael didn’t move,he was the one I was most afraid of his reaction. He just stared like the world had tilted and he was trying to fall off it.

“Seth—” His voice broke on my name. The one that wasn’t mine anymore.

Alexander grabbed his arm. “Kael. Let's get out.”

Kael stumbled back, eyes never leaving me. Then he turned and ran the door slammed so hard the walls shook.

Luca stayed his laugh was gone now, replaced by something raw. “You’re a girl,” he said, like he was testing the words. “All this time… you let me—” He stopped, jaw tight. “You let me like you.”

I found my voice. “Luca, I—”

“Don’t.” He backed away, shaking his head. “Just… don’t.”

River finally unfroze. “Seth, I—”

“Out,” Alexander snapped, and this time they all listened. The door shut behind them, leaving just me and Alexander and the sound of my own heartbeat.

I slid down the tile wall, knees to my chest, water still running. Alexander crouched in front of me, blocking the spray with his body. He didn’t look shocked.

I laughed, wet and broken. “It was supposed to be temporary,a secret.”

He handed me my towel. “Kael’s going to need time and Luca… Luca’s hurt. But your secret’s safe with me.”

I wrapped the towel around myself, shivering. “It doesn’t matter now. They all saw.”

Alexander stood. “Then you decide what happens next. But at least you don’t get to hide anymore.”

He left door clicked shut behind him.

I stayed under the water until it ran cold.
Until the only sound was my own sobbing, swallowed by the drain.

My mind kept replaying the moment on loop Kael's eyes widening, the way his hand had twitched like he wanted to reach out but couldn't.

I spent months building walls around myself brick by brick, lie by lie and in one heartbeat, they all crumbled.

I finally shut off the faucet, the silence was deafening. Everything about me was a disguise. I wrapped the towel tighter, but it did nothing to warm the chill settling in my bones.

Stepping out of the shower, I caught my reflection in the fogged mirror. There she was— Sera. Hair plastered to my forehead, my eyes were red, lips trembling. Not Seth, the cocky freshman who had charmed his way into the Rich kids circle. Not the guy who had shared late night laughs with River and Luca, or felt the heat of Kael's gaze everytime he was close.

A knock sounded at the door. "Sera?" Alexander's muffled voice called. "You okay in there?"

I pressed my forehead to the cool wall.

"Define okay."

After a minute, his footsteps faded down the hall returning back to his room.

I dressed slowly, my fingers fumbling with the binder again. The straps felt heavier now, like chains. Part of me wanted to burn it, to walk out as Sera and damn the consequences.

But I thought about the academy's rules. girls in the boys' dorm? That would be a suicide note,worse, the SC's would be in trouble because of me.

As they said 'Brotherhood above all'.

But I have already shattered that.

By the time I pushed the door open, the hall was empty. My room felt smaller, the bunk bed a cage. I collapsed onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling.

I pulled the blanket over my head, but sleep wouldn't come. Just the reminder of that slammed door, and the terrifying freedom of no more secrets to hide behind.