Chapter 153
Alexander
I spotted her across the quad near the library steps. Dark curls pulled into a loose bun, oversized hoodie, nose buried in a book like the world around her didn’t exist. She had this calm vibe that balanced out the chaos constantly circling my life. She wasn’t impressed by my last name, didn’t care about money, and once told me my music taste was “aggressively confusing.”
Which, honestly, was the moment I knew I liked her.
Lila followed my line of sight and immediately smirked.
“Oh look,” she said, bumping her shoulder into mine. “Your emotional support introvert.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“You’re staring again,” she said.
“I am observing.”
“You’re staring like a golden retriever that just found its owner after five minutes,” she replied sarcastically.
I exhaled slowly. “I hate you.”
“You love me,” she corrected easily.
Before I could reply, Aria looked up. Our eyes locked for a second, and she smiled, small and real. The kind that hit me straight in the chest like a sucker punch. Yeah. I was in trouble.
“Go,” Lila said, nudging me forward. “Before you combust.”
“I’m not combusting.”
“You’re combusting,” she retorted.
I rolled my eyes but walked over anyway.
“Hey,” I said casually, leaning against the stone railing beside her.
She glanced up from her book. “You survived family weekend?” she asked.
“Barely. There were beers involved, also uncles and generational humiliation stories.”
She laughed softly. God, I liked that laugh.
“Sounds traumatic,” she said.
“You have no idea.”
We talked for a few minutes. It was easy and natural. She told me about her new literature professor, who apparently hated everyone equally, and I told her about my upcoming economics project that I was already regretting.
It felt… normal. Which was rare for me. Then my spine stiffened slightly when I noticed movement behind her.
Jenna.
Of course. If Aria was calm ocean water, Jenna was a neon warning sign flashing problem incoming.
Blonde. Perfectly styled, too polished for a morning lecture. She walked like she expected people to step aside automatically. And to be fair… most of them did. She stopped a few feet away, smiling like she’d just discovered puppies and sunshine and definitely wasn’t plotting social warfare.
“Alexander,” she said sweetly.
I forced a polite nod. “Jenna.”
Aria’s eyes flicked between us. She wasn’t dumb; she picked up tension like it was a language.
“I was actually looking for you,” Jenna continued, stepping closer. “I thought maybe we could talk about the finance group project,” she said sweetly.
“We’re not in the same group,” I said flatly.
Her smile didn’t even twitch. “Oh. Right. Silly me,” she said with a laugh.
Lila suddenly appeared beside me like she’d teleported from chaos dimension headquarters.
“Hey Jenna,” Lila said brightly.
And that’s when I knew something was wrong. Because Lila never sounded that nice unless she was either bored… She wanted to do something and was trying to sweet-talk Uncle Lucas and Aunt Angie into giving her something or letting her do something, or worse, Lila was preparing for psychological combat.
“Lila!” Jenna said, lighting up. “I was actually hoping I’d run into you.”
I blinked slowly. Oh no. No, no, no.
“I heard you’re in marketing analytics this semester,” Jenna continued. “I am too! Maybe we could study together sometime?”
Lila tilted her head, studying her like a cat deciding if something was edible or suspicious.
“Maybe,” Lila said casually, and my stomach dropped.
I turned toward her slightly. “Cousin… can I talk to you for a second?”
“Relax,” she murmured under her breath without even looking at me.
Relax. Yeah. That word had never led to anything good in my life.
Jenna kept talking, smoothly sliding into conversation with Lila like they were suddenly long-lost best friends. Aria quietly closed her book, clearly sensing the weird energy shift.
“I have class,” Aria said gently, standing up.
I nodded. “Yeah, same building. I’ll walk with you.”
She smiled again, softer this time, and we started heading toward the lecture hall. I could still feel Jenna’s eyes on my back like laser beams trying to carve initials into my spine.
“Are you okay?” Aria asked after a minute.
“Yeah,” I said. “Jenna just… doesn’t understand boundaries.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “She seems persistent.”
“That’s one word for it.”
Aria didn’t push. That was another thing I liked about her. She let silence exist without trying to fill it with nonsense.
But behind us, I could practically hear Lila entering undercover operation mode.
By lunch, I found Lila sitting at our usual table, scrolling through her phone with a dangerously neutral expression. I dropped into the seat across from her.
“You’re playing with fire,” I said immediately.
She didn’t even look up. “Relax.”
“You said that earlier. I still don’t trust it.”
“She’s trying to use me to get close to you,” Lila said casually, finally meeting my eyes.
“Exactly.”
“She thinks I don’t see it.” She said with annoyance.
“You shouldn’t see it. You should avoid it,” I said.
Lila smirked. “And miss the entertainment value? Please.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “Lila…”
“I’m not stupid, Alex.”
I sighed. She rarely called me Alex unless she was being serious.
“I know she’s circling you,” she continued. “I also know you’re not interested.”
“I’m not.”
“I also know she’s the type that escalates when ignored,” she said, and that made me pause, because she wasn’t wrong.
“What are you planning?” I asked slowly.
She leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp with that familiar Thorne-strategy spark.
“I’m planning to keep her close enough that she doesn’t do something stupid behind your back,” she said, and I stared at her.
“You’re terrifying.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“I’m taking it anyway.”
I leaned back, studying her. “You know this could get messy, right?”
She shrugged. “Everything involving you gets messy eventually. I’m just managing risk.”
God help anyone who underestimated my cousin.
The next few days proved exactly why Jenna worried me.
She started showing up everywhere Lila was.
Study lounges. Cafeteria lines. Even a group workout class that Jenna absolutely looked like she’d never voluntarily attend before.
She laughed too loud at Lila’s jokes. Asked too many questions about my schedule. Casually dropped my name into conversations like she was trying to make it sound natural, and Lila, my partner in chaos, played along flawlessly, which honestly made it worse.
One afternoon I walked into the student center and found them sitting together, laptops open, iced coffees untouched. Jenna leaned closer than necessary while Lila nodded like she was genuinely invested in whatever nonsense Jenna was saying.
Jenna noticed me first.
“Alexander!” she called, waving me over like we were lifelong best friends.
I froze internally but walked over.
“Hey,” I said carefully.
“We were just talking about you,” Jenna said.
“I doubt that’s good.”
Lila snorted into her drink. Jenna laughed like I’d told the funniest joke on earth. “Actually, we were discussing your internship options. Lila says you’re being picky.”
“I call it standards,” I replied.
“Ambition is attractive,” Jenna said smoothly.