Born enemies, bound by something far more dangerous.
Maven is fire. Adrianna is ice. Their attraction was never meant to exist-and once it does, it refuses to fade.
Every choice costs them something. Every moment together risks everything.
They were...
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Chapter 6: The Stranger Returns
Two days after the Vivian Showdown, I finally started to breathe normally again.
Kuya Elliot, as expected, made light of the whole coffee-drenched incident.
"She probably thought she was auditioning for RuPaul's Drag Race: Bitch Edition," he said over dinner, stuffing his face with bulgogi.
"Yeah? And she lost the crown the moment she stepped into my warpath," I said, stabbing my kimchi with a vengeance.
I tried laughing about it, but inside, I felt... tense. Restless.
Not because of her, but because of him.
The Stranger.
He wouldn't leave my mind. It had been days, and still my body remembered every second. The way his lips trailed my collarbone. The way his voice dropped an octave when he whispered baby ike a secret he wasn't supposed to say out loud.
God. Why did it sound better in his mouth? That name I introduced myself to him.
I'd buried myself in distractions. New training schedule. Renovation errands. Binge-watching The Bear like I was married to Carmy.
But every night, when the lights were off and the city outside quieted, I found myself staring at the ceiling.
Craving.
Remembering.
Wishing I hadn't walked away without a name.
⸻
Three days later, fate, the dramatic little shit that she is, decided to stir the pot.
It was during a fencing match at a collegiate open held in De La Salle Zobel. I had just finished a quick warm-up, tightening my mask, when I caught a familiar frame in the corner of my eye.
Tall. Lean. Expensive watch. Arrogant air.
And those eyes.
I froze.
No. No way.
The Stranger—my Stranger—was casually leaning against the gym's glass panels, watching the match before mine with interest, as if this was just a typical Thursday and not the universe throwing a plot twist at me.
He hadn't seen me yet. Good.
I ducked behind one of the lockers and cursed the heavens, Nike, and my breeches all at once.
"Why are you hiding?" one of my teammates, Jo, whispered beside me.
"Long story."
"He hot?"
"...Shut up."
But it was too late. The referee called for my match. I stepped out into the strip, fully aware of the heat crawling up my neck.
