Heart of the Queen Bee

PROLOGUE

There were three unspoken rules at Goldstone University.

First, don’t ask questions. The secrets were buried for a reason, and anyone who dug too deep was bound to hit something sharp.

Second, never challenge the hierarchy. The social ladder was carved in stone, etched by whispered rumors, years of tradition, and the watchful eyes of every girl on campus.

And third? Stay on Bella’s good side.

I’d kept that last rule sacred, building my reputation one polished smile, one carefully curated friend, one flawlessly controlled moment at a time. Being queen wasn’t a title handed over by a crown; it was earned, in sacrifices and secrets, in alliances and perfectly placed silence. Girls respected me because they feared me. They feared me because they wanted to be me.

Then, she came along.

Sophie Harper didn’t look like much when she first stepped onto campus, clutching a book bag and glancing around with a calm indifference. In her worn jeans and messy ponytail, she looked out of place among Goldstone’s immaculate halls, where appearances were as polished as the marble floors. She was the type who’d normally be invisible here. But for some reason, I noticed her. And I think, even then, she noticed me.

I’d been assigned to show her around, part of a mentorship program that I’d usually delegate to someone else. But there was something about her that made me curious. Or maybe it was something in me that didn’t want to look away.

What I didn’t expect was for Sophie to change everything—to make me question the rules I’d lived by, the power I’d clung to, and the person I thought I was. I didn’t expect her to see past the armor I wore or to see me, not as a queen, but as a girl. Just a girl, standing in a hallway, caught between the life she’d built and the one she was starting to want.

This wasn’t the story I’d planned to live. But maybe, with Sophie, I could write a different ending.