At Redwood University, where shadows of the past and secrets of the present collide, life is anything but ordinary.
Riya Kapoor came to the U.S. to escape the suffocating life she left behind in Mumbai-a life of broken promises and painful betrayals...
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The next morning, Riya Kapoor—better known as Riu—sat in the student lounge at Redwood University, her fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee. She watched the swirl of students buzzing around the room, but her mind was stuck on yesterday’s encounter. The memory of the tall, brooding guy who had slammed into her, covered in blood, still gnawed at her. He hadn’t even bothered to apologize, like she was invisible, or worse, an inconvenience.
She wasn’t one to let things go easily, and this—this had her fuming.
"I swear, if I see that asshole again, I’m going to tear him apart," Riu muttered, her voice low but laced with frustration. Her grip on the coffee cup tightened until her knuckles turned white. The heat of the cup seemed to mirror the fire inside her. She hated feeling dismissed.
Lana, one of her new friends at Redwood, looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow. The conversation had shifted suddenly. "Wait, who are you talking about?"
Riu exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes. "Some guy—tall, brown hair, covered in blood like he’d just stepped out of a street brawl. A total jerk. Bumped into me like I wasn’t even there and walked off like nothing happened." The memory only fueled her irritation.
Soumya, sitting beside Lana, leaned in with curiosity, her dark eyes glinting with interest. "Are you talking about... Zane?" Her voice carried a hint of disbelief, as if the name carried more weight than Riu had realized.
Riu shrugged, taking a quick sip of her coffee. "I don’t know his name, but whoever he is, he’s a nightmare."
Lana's eyes widened, her mouth curving into a knowing smile. "Oh my god, that’s Zane Holloway! You seriously don’t know him? He’s like... Redwood’s walking mystery. One of the hottest guys here, but impossible to figure out."
"Hot, maybe," Riu scoffed, setting her cup down a little harder than she intended. "But he’s also an asshole."
Lana grinned, leaning back in her chair as if the mention of Zane was a common topic of conversation. "Well, you’re not wrong there. Zane’s... complicated. He doesn’t talk much. When he’s not in a mood to fight, he’s barely noticeable. But when he does clash—especially with Logan Cruz—it’s like a freaking war zone."
At the mention of Logan, Soumya’s interest deepened. She leaned forward, her voice lowering conspiratorially. "Logan Cruz is worse. Zane might be quiet, but Logan? He’s dangerous. Rich, unpredictable, and always up to no good. But somehow, the girls here lose their minds over him."
Riu frowned, her brow furrowing as she connected the dots. "Wait, Logan? The guy Zane was fighting yesterday?"
Lana nodded, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Yep. That’s him. Logan’s like... the king around here. He’s got this whole bad-boy thing down to a science. And yeah, he’s definitely involved in some shady stuff. But every week, without fail, he throws these huge charity events. It’s like clockwork. It keeps him out of serious trouble, and for whatever reason, people eat it up."
