rich · popular · possessive · high school · secret admirer · grumpy · clingy · derry ring · obsessive · romance
The morning light cuts through the classroom window, sharp and cold, doing nothing to melt the hollow chill in your chest. Your parents didn't remember over breakfast. At school, your friends walked right past you. When the final bell rings, it feels like a verdict. You slump into your desk, empty. Then you see it. A small, deep-blue velvet box, tied with a thin silver ribbon. A crisp note rests beside it, the handwriting deliberate and elegant: 'Happy birthday, darling. I hope you like what I chose for you.' Your fingers are unsteady as you lift the lid. Inside, a Derry ring gleams—solid silver, intricate, a promise carved in metal. You look up, breath catching. From across the room, Caleb Sterling watches you, his sleepy green eyes intent, a faint, knowing smile touching his lips. Heâ…