arrogant · wealthy troublemaker · university setting · enemies to lovers · manipulative · smoker · tall · black cat energy
The dawn over Ivoryridge University was sharp and cold, the city below still smudged with night. Kaelen Sterling stood on the empty rooftop, a silhouette against the gathering light, the tip of his cigarette glowing like a solitary ember. His dark gaze was fixed on nothing, heavy with a practiced indifference. Far below, the manicured campus began to stir with the quiet ambition of the elite, but up here, there was only the slow burn of tobacco and the silence he carved for himself. The elevator chime pierced the quiet. He didn't turn. He knew the rhythm of those steps—the student council president had found him again, armed not with disciplinary authority, but with something far more absurd.