Chapter 1
✨ CHAPTER ONE — The Roommate I Never Wanted
The taxi rolled to a stop in front of Ravenwood Academy, and for a long moment, I couldn’t move.
The school looked nothing like the glossy brochure that had promised “prestige, excellence, and opportunity.”
It looked bigger.
Colder.
Sharper.
Like the kind of place that swallowed people whole if you weren’t careful.
White stone walls stretched upward, ending in dark towers that scraped the sky. Ivy climbed the sides like desperate fingers. Iron gates shimmered with gold trim—the kind of gold that whispered old money and quiet power.
I took a breath, pushing my blonde hair away from my face. The wind blew it right back.
Perfect beginning.
I stepped out, dragging my suitcase behind me. People were everywhere—students in expensive uniforms, cars worth more than my future, and parents wearing diamonds that sparkled too loudly in the sun.
I felt their eyes the moment I entered their space.
Medium skin tone.
Blonde hair.
Sharp eyes.
A girl who didn’t look like she belonged here, but walked like she owned the ground.
They stared. I didn’t care.
I wasn’t here to fit in.
I was here to survive.
My aunt’s words echoed in my mind:
“Prove you’re emotionally stable before graduation or you WILL marry Mr. Alaric Lawson. You know the family contract.”
I clenched my jaw. The thought of that man’s hands on me made my stomach twist.
Not happening.
Not now.
Not ever.
If I had to lie, fake date, fake smile—anything—
I would.
I walked through the gates like a girl ready for war.
---
The dorm hall smelled like lavender and money.
“Room 204… 204…” I muttered, dragging my bag down the polished corridor.
When I finally found the door, I paused.
My name wasn’t the only one on the plaque.
Raven Blackwood
Kai Rivers
I blinked. A guy?
My roommate was a guy?
Immediately a girl passing by whispered to her friend:
“That’s the girl assigned to Kai? Poor thing.”
Her friend snorted.
“I give her a week before she begs for a transfer.”
Huh.
Interesting.
I pushed the door open.
---
The room was dark.
Not dirty.
Not messy.
Just… dark.
Curtains drawn.
Lights off.
A faint cold scent of mint, leather, and danger.
Then I saw him.
Kai Rivers.
He leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, wearing the academy’s uniform with the rebellious looseness of someone who hated every rule ever made. His black hair fell over his forehead, shadowing eyes that were dark and unreadable.
He didn’t look up when I entered.
He didn’t greet me.
He didn’t even pretend to care.
He just stood there, expression carved from stone, jaw sharp enough to cut air.
A cold, dangerous bad boy.
Silent.
Mysterious.
Protective? Maybe.
Hot-headed? Definitely.
Everything about him screamed “Stay away from me.”
Perfect.
I closed the door behind me.
“So,” I said, dragging my suitcase into the room, “you’re Kai Rivers.”
He didn’t answer.
Okay.
Fierce meets cold.
Let’s dance.
I stepped closer.
“Do you always stalk in the dark, or should I leave a lamp on for you next time?”
Slowly—finally—his eyes lifted to meet mine.
Wow.
Most boys had eyes.
Kai had weapons.
They were cold, sharp, and dangerously observant.
Eyes that didn’t just look at you…
They read you.
When he spoke, his voice was low, deep, and steady.
“You took long enough.”
I blinked. “I arrived exactly on time.”
“You’re loud.”
I wasn’t.
He just enjoyed being an ass.
“Good,” I replied sweetly. “I was worried I might accidentally appear normal.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
Annoyance?
Curiosity?
Respect?
Hard to tell. His face was unreadable.
Kai pushed off the wall and walked past me, close enough that the air shifted.
He didn’t touch me.
But my skin reacted anyway—
a spark running across my collarbone.
No.
No, no, no.
I wasn’t here for boys.
Especially not this one.
He opened the window, letting light pour in.
Only then did he glance back at me.
“You take the left side,” he said simply.
“I don’t like people near my bed.”
Good.
Neither did I.
I opened my suitcase, pretending not to notice how his eyes followed me for a second too long. Maybe he didn’t think I noticed.
But I always noticed.
Finally, he spoke again, voice even lower:
“One rule.”
I looked up.
“No noise after ten. I don’t sleep much.”
I raised a brow. “Insomnia or self-destruction?”
His jaw tightened.
He didn’t answer.
But that was okay.
I had no interest in digging into his secrets.
I had my own.
Still, something in his silence felt heavy.
Like he wasn’t just a boy with a bad attitude—
but someone who’d been hurt too many times to care anymore.
Fine.
I could match that energy.
---
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Kai ignored it.
I opened it.
Three girls stood in the hall, dressed in perfect uniforms, their confidence dripping like expensive perfume.
“Hi,” the brunette said with a fake smile. “We heard Kai had a new roommate. We came to say… good luck.”
Her friends snickered.
Kai’s voice drifted from behind me, cold as steel:
“Leave.”
They scattered like birds.
I turned to him. “Friendly.”
“They’re annoying.”
“Do you hate everyone here?”
“Yes.”
I smirked. “Good. Me too.”
His eyes paused on me for half a second longer than necessary.
Something dangerous
and magnetic
and confusing
passed between us.
Then he spoke again—slowly, seriously.
“You shouldn’t stay here.”
I tilted my head. “Why not?”
“You don’t know who I am.”
I stepped closer.
“And you don’t know who I am.”
That shut him up.
---
Night came fast.
The moonlight spilled across the dorm floor.
Kai sat on his bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the ground like he was trying not to think.
I climbed into mine, pulling the blanket to my chin.
“Goodnight,” I said softly.
He didn’t reply.
But when I closed my eyes, I heard him whisper something he didn’t intend for me to hear:
“…this is a bad idea.”
I smiled in the dark.
He had no idea just how bad it would get.
Because soon, Kai Rivers would become
my fake boyfriend,
my real obsession,
and the boy I wasn’t supposed to want—
but couldn’t stay away from.
Our perfect lie was about to begin.
