Chapter 1(Akara POV)
You’re overthinking again. It’s actually kind of exhausting to watch."
I didn’t look up from my coffee. I didn’t have to. I knew that voice—the casual, bored tone that Mark and Sarah probably thought was just 'honest.' To them, he was just being a jerk. To me, he was a predator playing with his food.
I'm just tired, leave it alone," I muttered, my fingers tightening around the warm ceramic mug.
"Tired?" He laughed, a short, sharp sound that didn't reach his eyes. He leaned over the table, sliding his phone toward the center so Sarah could see the screen. It was a girl—blonde, laughing, wearing a bikini that left nothing to the imagination. "Maybe you're tired because you don't have a life. You should take notes from her. She knows how to actually live."
Sarah giggled, glancing at the screen. "She's cute! Is that the girl from your Snap story?"
"The very one," he said, his eyes finally flickering to mine. He held my gaze, a cruel, secret challenge in his stare.
He knew. He knew I’d seen the watermark on his gallery earlier. He knew I’d spent the morning crying in the bathroom. And yet, here he was, acting freaking normal.
"Right?" he prompted, directed at me. "Isn't she great?"
"Great," I whispered, the word tasting like ash.
Behind the table, under the cloth where nobody could see, I felt his boot brush against my ankle. A lingering, heavy touch that felt like a claim. My heart betrayed me, leaping in my chest even as my skin crawled.
He was a jerk. He was ruining me. And the worst part? I was going to let him.
