The dare
The music at Mill Tony University was too loud.
The champagne was too expensive.
And Mikeslson Vega was tired of pretending he belonged up here.
Rooftop. 32nd floor. Vega Business Tower.
His family’s name was on the building.
So was his face on the "Future CEO" posters in the lobby.
Matriculation night. Third year.
Everyone was supposed to be happy.
"You're quiet tonight."
Tyla Walker.
Red dress. Diamond earrings. Heiress to Walker Holdings.
The girl he’d grown up with. The girl his parents and hers had already picked out for him.
She came to stand beside him at the glass railing. Below them, Mill Tony’s courtyard was full of lights.
Rich kids upstairs. Scholarship kids downstairs.
He turned to her. His heart was beating too fast.
"I was going to ask you something."
Tyla’s lips curved. She already knew.
"Propose?" she whispered. "It’s about time, Mikeslson."
Yes. That was the plan.
That’s what he’d practiced in the mirror.
The Vega heir and the Walker princess. Perfect.
But Tyla wasn’t looking at him.
Her eyes had dropped. Past the VIP tables. Past the dancing.
Down to the courtyard.
To the scholarship booth.
A girl in a faded gray hoodie was handing out flyers. Her hair was tied up messy. There were ink stains on her fingers. A name tag was pinned crooked on her chest: *ANNA*.
She looked tired. She looked real.
"Her," Tyla said. Her voice was sweet and sharp at the same time.
"Break her heart first."
Mikeslson frowned. "What?"
Tyla turned back to him and smiled. Perfect. Cold.
"I’ll say yes to your proposal, Vega. I’ll be yours."
She leaned in. "But only if you go down there and break that scholarship girl."
A pause.
"Make her cry. Make her quit. Then come back to me."
The music kept playing.
Mikeslson stared at Tyla. Then down at Anna again.
He didn’t know her. He’d never spoken to her.
"Why her?" he asked.
Tyla laughed. "Because she thinks she deserves to be here. Just like us."
Her eyes glittered. "Prove you choose me over people like her."
People like her.
Like they weren’t human.
Mikeslson didn’t answer. Not yet.
He just felt something twist in his chest.
Five minutes later, he was walking down the stairs.
Away from the champagne. Away from Tyla.
Away from the deal he was supposed to make.
The courtyard was colder. Quieter.
Anna was packing up the last of the flyers. Her hands were shaking a little. Probably from standing for 4 hours.
She didn’t look up when his shadow fell over her table.
"Hey," he said.
She finally looked up. Tired brown eyes. No makeup.
She took in his tux. His watch. The Vega crest on his cuff.
And her face went blank.
"Can I help you?" Anna asked. Polite. Distant.
She knew this was a person far from her caliber
Mikeslson opened his mouth.
He was supposed to lie.
He was supposed to hurt her.
Instead, the words that came out were:
"Yeah. Can I buy you a coffee? You look like you need to sit down."
Anna blinked. Once. Twice.
Behind them, on the rooftop, Tyla was watching.
And Mikeslson Vega had no idea that the girl he was supposed to destroy
was about to become the only person he couldn’t live without.
