Chapter 1

I'm the childhood sweetheart of Lucas Brooks. Lila Anderson is his destiny at first sight.

People always say childhood bounds can't compete with love at first sight.

Not long after she transferred in, someone claimed they saw Lucas standing in a empty stairwell after class.

My rebellious childhood sweetheart Lucas lowered his head, apologizing like a submissive puppy.

Later, after Lila and I had a falling-out, he threw out one casual sentence. "I don't want to see Sophie at school anymore."

My parents, terrified of offending the powerful Brooks family, immediately transferred me to another school.

After that, I disappeared from his world completely, afraid to show around him.

But then came his birthday, he showed up at my door soaking wet, looking utterly miserable and wronged. "Did you forget today's my birthday?"

...

They say childhood bounds never wins. I used to cock a snook at that.

But sitting in the auditorium, watching Lucas gaze at Lila as she danced gracefully on stage, I could see the undeniable adoration and affection in his eyes.

In that moment, I finally believed it.

I also started believing those rumors about Lucas. The guy who never backed down from anyone, apologizing to Lila in that empty stairwell.

The feelings I never got the chance to say aloud? I knew then they'd stay buried forever.

As the dance ended, I joined everyone else in applauding the radiant girl on stage. Lucas stood up from his seat, probably rushing to find Lila. And I took that as my cue to leave the auditorium too.

Outside, I raised my hand. A small crystal pendant dangled from my wrist, swaying in the breeze.

"Here, Sophie... for you."

I was confused back then. "What is it?"

Seven-year-old Lucas had been watching romantic movies with his aunt and learned about something called a "love token."

"It's for you, Sophie. Now you can only like me forever. Got it?

"And I'll protect you forever, too."

My eyes stung at the memory. You can't take a child's promises seriously.

But I did. Lucas Brooks, the untamable troublemaker who answered to no one, had been the joy and secret of my entire adolescence.

...

Lila transferred in this semester. She was beautiful and a dance student.

Of course, she caused a stir the second she stepped into class.

The girls in class said she was just like those transfer students in romance novels—sweet and innocent, who ends up catching the bad boy's eye.

Then the bad boy softens for the good girl.

Guys were lining up to ask her out. Someone joked that only remained Lucas to join the queue.

Lucas had stretched lazily, glancing at the guy. "Is she even worthy?"

See how arrogant he sounded then?

Back then, I didn't believe the rumors about them. Because I hadn't seen it with my own eyes or heard it from him directly.

But now I knew. It was time to move on and keep my distance from Lucas.

We used to walk home together every day, but I can't remember when exactly he started making excuses for me to go ahead without him.

He could have just told me. I wouldn't have clung to him.

After all, we were never actually together.

Chapter 2

Monday morning meant one thing—collecting homework.

Lucas was always a troublemaker. And true to form, he looked the teacher's assistant dead in the eye and said, "Didn't do it."

Back then, Lucas would always listen to me.

Everyone knew that—so whenever he acted up, they'd always come tattling to me.

Today was no different, except they couldn't even find Lucas.

Because the moment class ended, he'd rushed off to find Lila.

"Hey, Sophie... Lucas didn't turn in his homework again, and we can't find him anywhere. Could you—"

"Just hand it to the teacher," I said with a forced smile. "And if he skips again, don't come to me."

They exchanged a glance, then nodded. After all, the rumors that he was dating Lila seemed to be true.

And with my attitude, they became even more convinced.

I kept my head down and went back to my test paper.

Before Lila appeared, I used to imagine Lucas and I applying to Oxford together.

Now... I'm going to get there on my own. For me.

Lucas didn't show up for the entire study session. The teacher sitting at the front of the room frowned. "Where's Lucas Brooks?"

Every head in the room turned toward me, but I never once lifted my head.

During the second period, Lucas finally returned.

He sat at his desk in silence, until someone told him the teacher wanted him in the office.

Only then did he snap out of it. As he passed by me, he paused for a second.

I didn't look up because I was working on the hardest math problem—the kind where I always got stuck on the final question.

Eventually, I solved it.

My best friend Verla Hart leaned over cautiously and whispered, "Hey... what's going on with you and Lucas?"

"Nothing," I replied calmly.

"Seriously? But you used to freak out more than anyone whenever he skipped class or blew off homework."

Verla looked utterly unconvinced. I paused for a moment, then told her, "That was before. I'm not looking after him anymore."

"Oh!" She covered her mouth in surprise. "So the rumor's true? He's really with Lila?"

I kept my eyes down and said nothing.

After the second period bell rang, Lucas strolled lazily back into the classroom.

A little while later, I received a note: "Leave without me after school."

Reading this, I put it away with a neutral expression and went back to my test.

The classroom was packed and noisy by the end of the day. I was still stuffing papers into my bag when everything suddenly fell silent.

Following Verla's startled gasp, I looked toward the door.

Lila stood there, tilting her head slightly and crooking her finger at Lucas before walking away.

I couldn't help but look in Lucas's direction. He smiled indulgently, then followed her out.

And just like that, the classroom erupted with chatter and gossip.

"Holy shit, so it's true!"

"I always thought Lucas and Sophie made a perfect pair—the bad boy and the smart good girl. But now, bad boy and dancer seems even better."

"Don't be such a clingy weed, dude. Honestly, I just feel bad for Sophie."

"They grew up together, didn't they?"

"See? Childhood bonds really can't compete with new love at first sight."

...

Verla pressed her lips together, trying to comfort me. I slung my bag over my shoulder, even though my chest felt like it had been split open. But I forced myself to smile. I couldn't cry.

I couldn't let anyone see how devastated I was, or I'd become the laughingstock of the entire school by tomorrow.

"I'm fine. Lucas and I were only ever friends. I'm heading out now. See you tomorrow."

Concern still lingered in her eyes as she waved goodbye. "Yeah... see you. Be careful, okay?"

Once I left the noisy campus, I gripped my backpack straps tightly and clenched my jaw.

But the tears fell anyway, my chest tight with pain.

How did he just... fall for someone else?

My vision blurred, yet I could still hear his confident, arrogant voice echoing in my ears:

"Lucas Brooks can handle anything. And Sophie Turner's mine to protect forever."

Chapter 3

"Sophie, why didn't you wait for me this morning?"

Lucas had been late today. After class, he came over with a reproachful look and placed a bottle of milk on my desk.

I paused my writing, glancing at the milk from the corner of my eye.

"I already had breakfast. And... I won't be walking with you in the mornings anymore. I need to get to school earlier."

Lucas sat down in the seat beside me, clearly confused by my attitude. He propped his chin on his hand and looked at me. "Did I do something to piss you off? We've always walked together, haven't we?"

"Things are different now." I set my pen down, took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "You have a girlfriend now, Lucas. We should keep our distance."

His expression froze for a moment before understanding dawned. "She won't care. she knows that—"

"I care," I interrupted, emphasizing each word. "I don't want to become the scapegoat if you two have relationship problems."

"Sophie..."

Lucas has always had a terrible temper and zero patience. Having this much conversation with me had probably already exhausted his reserves.

Sure enough, his face went cold as he abruptly stood up.

The chair scraped harshly against the floor as he tossed out one final comment.

"Whatever."

I lowered my head and closed my eyes silently.

Last night I sat out on my balcony for hours, trying to decide. Should I continue like an idiot, hiding my feelings while staying close to him? Or was it time to end our bond?

People always say you can't hide the way you look at someone when you're in love. And if I kept orbiting around Lucas, it'd be unfair—not just to me, but to Lila too.

No girl wants her boyfriend to have an overly close female friend.

After that day, Lucas never initiated conversation with me again. Not even a "hey" when we passed in the hall.

The girl at his side was no longer me but Lila. He introduced her to everyone in his circle.

Lila was his first love, the girl he genuinely cared for.

I focused quietly on my studies, hearing about their love story like everyone else, through the grapevine.

When Lila got stomach pains from hunger after late-night dance practice, he brought her special low-fat dinners prepared by his family's personal nutritionist the next day.

How some jock from the school next door tried to corner Lila after school, and Lucas beat the crap out of him.

In this unit test, I reclaimed my position as top of the year.

My teacher once told me to stop worrying about Lucas since it wasn't good for my studies.

The Brooks family was wealthy, so school wasn't something he needed to survive.

One afternoon, as the sky outside the window burned with gold and violet, Lucas leaned back in his chair and played with a strand of my hair.

"Sophie," he asked lazily, "what college do you wanna go to?"

"Oxford," I replied without hesitation.

"That's so far away."

What I never told him was that Oxford wasn't just about prestige or academics. But more importantly, I wanted to escape from here—escape my home.

My father was like a lot of men—once he had money, his heart changed. My mother refused to divorce him, convinced that if she'd given birth to a son instead of me, he wouldn't have mistress.

In the dead of night, she would point at me and cry hysterically, asking why I couldn't have been a boy. Then my father wouldn't have cheated.

Eventually, she did give birth to a son.

Dad came back to the family briefly. But once my little brother arrived, mom poured everything into him.

She felt secure now, having a son who would take care of her in old age.

"Hmm... then I guess I'll apply to Oxford too," Lucas had said with his typical swagger. "Someone's gotta look after you. You'd be a total disaster without me."

That cocky boy standing before me was the light in my broken life, and I desperately wanted to hold onto that light.

That's why I was willing to waste all my time on him. Even if I couldn't make it into Oxford...

As long as I could end up at the same college as him, I thought that'd be enough.