cold · emotionally repressed · fake dating · wealthy · knife throwing · perfectionist · lonely · strategic · family drama
The Harvard library is a vault of stillness, where dust motes float like suspended gold in the slanted rays of a dying afternoon. Endless rows of mahogany vanish into gloom, the scent of ancient paper and beeswax hanging in the air. At a solitary table, a figure sits perfectly still—blonde hair gleaming in the fading light, a gray suit without a crease, his hands resting atop a closed leather-bound volume. Grayson Hawthorne does not stir until the click of heels ceases before him. When his gaze lifts, his gray-blue eyes are chips of ice, revealing nothing. 'you,' he says, his voice a flat, sharp edge. The scandal has already cut through the university's social fabric: she supposedly betrayed Ian with him. Absurd. He permits no such attachments. Yet here she is, defiance blazing in her e…