Chapter 1

Evan’s POVThe ballroom glows under warm golden lights, bouncing off sequined gowns and sharply tailored tuxedos. Every hairpin, bracelet, and cufflink seems to catch fire, turning the room into a glittering galaxy. The DJ’s playlist flips from the newest hits to familiar throwbacks, sending a steady pulse through the air. My heart pounds in time with it, my toes tap before I even realize, and my nerves coil tighter with every bass beat. For most seniors at Brookview High, prom is a night to escape the pressures of college applications, grades, and expectations fading into the music. For me, Evan Brooks, tonight shrinks to a single focus: the boy holding me.Ryan Hale.His hands settle low on my back, steady, firm, yet warm. We move together in sync with the crowd, pressed close enough that I feel every subtle shift of his weight, every inhale and exhale. My palms rest on the broad planes of his shoulders, fingertips grazing the smooth fabric of his jacket. The warmth radiating from h

Chapter 2

Ryan’s POVI adjust the cuff of my tux one last time and take a deep breath, feeling the leather of my shoes on the polished floor. The hotel key card is no longer in my pocket. I pressed it into Evan’s hand just minutes ago, a promise, a lifeline, proof that tonight is ours better than any night before.God. The look on his face when he said yes. Wide-eyed, nervous, trusting… it nearly breaks me on the spot. Evan Brooks isn’t just my boyfriend. He’s my sanity, my anchor, the one reason I survived senior year without completely losing my mind. And tonight—tonight is supposed to seal everything we’ve ever whispered in the dark, every secret we’ve tucked between us.I murmur the room number under my breath. “Room 312.” The numbers echo in the corridor, small and intimate. I press the elevator button. My reflection stares back at me in the mirrored wall, tousled blond hair, a sharp jawline, and eyes still blazing from the kiss we just shared. I look like a guy standing on the edge of hap

Chapter 3

Evan POVI clutch the broken hotel card in my hand, pressing the pieces together as if I can somehow mend the night. My fingers shake, heart hammering against my ribs. I refuse to believe Mason lies. I refuse to let him ruin what Ryan and I promised. I swallow hard and take a shaky breath, staring down the dimly lit corridor, listening for any sign, any sound from him then I hear it.A sound that freezes my blood.A moan, soft at first, then sharper, more deliberate. “Ohhh… ohhh… Ryan, take it easy on me… Hmmm, that was so good babe.”My hands clutch the card so hard that it bends. My pulse spikes. What the hell?I sprint toward the room, fumbling with the keycard as panic drives me forward. My fingers shake as I insert it, twisting the handle and flinging the door open.And there he is, Mason Carter half-naked on the bed, lounging like he owns the world. My stomach flips, bile rising. My mind freezes.“What the hell?” I blurt, my voice trembling. “Where is Ryan?”Mason laughs, low an

Chapter 4

Ryan’s POVI wake up slowly, the fluorescent lights stabbing my eyes. My head pounds, my body aches, and when I lift a hand to the back of my skull, I feel sticky blood. Pain shoots through me with every movement. I try to sit up, but the room spins, and my muscles scream in protest.The fight in the elevator comes back to me, the punches, Mason’s laughter, the way Evan’s face fell when Mason told him everything. My chest tightens just thinking about it. I hear faint sobbing somewhere down the hall. My heart jumps, that’s Evan.I force myself to push up, hands shaking on the cold floor. My vision blurs, the room tilts, but I crawl toward the bathroom door. I stumble out into the chaos of the hotel room. Pillows and clothes are scattered everywhere, the smell of cologne and something else lingering in the air. I grab my phone, fumbling to unlock it. My thumb hovers over Evan’s name, desperate.“Please… be okay,” I whisper.I call. The line rings, each second stretching into eternity th

Chapter 6

Ryan’s POV“Wait… your new stepbrother’s also named Evan, right?”The words don’t just land, they echo in my ear loudly ike someone just dropped a bomb in my head and walked away smiling.I go completely still. For a second, I don’t even hear the music anymore.Just that name.Evan.My grip tightens around the red cup in my hand.No.No, that’s not…“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say slowly, my voice rough, like I’m forcing it past something stuck in my throat.Resse frowns. “What?”I shake my head, letting out a dry, disbelieving laugh. “You’re out of your mind.”He raises a brow. “Excuse me?”“There are like a million Evans out there,” I continue, talking more to myself than him now. “It’s a common name, that doesn’t mean anything.”Resse studies me, his expression shifting from confusion to something more cautious. “Ryan…”“It’s not him,” I cut in sharply.It can’t be him because if it is…I drag a hand through my hair, pacing once like I’m trying to shake the thought out of my h

Chapter 5

Evan’s POV Four years. That was how long it had been since I last saw Ryan Hale. Four years since prom night, since the kiss that tasted like forever, since the heartbreak that tasted like blood in my mouth. Now I am dragging my suitcase into a house that doesn’t feel like mine. New town, new walls, new life. And apparently, a new stepmother. I stop at the bottom of the staircase, watching a woman glide down like she owned the place. Perfectly styled hair, diamonds glinting at her neck, smile wide enough to hide secrets. “Who even is this woman?” I mutter under my breath before shooting a look at Dad. Dad smiles like I’d asked what time it was. “She’s kind, Evan. And… very rich. Rich, of course. That explains the marble tiles and gold-framed mirror in the hall. He steps forward, puffing his chest like a teenager. “We… we actually met before we moved four years ago.” My mind betrays me with a flashback. His lips pressed to mine in the shadow of the prom corridor, his