Athena is twenty-one years old, and for the first time, everything in her life feels exactly right. After years of hard work, she's been accepted into her dream nursing school-a goal she's chased since she was a little girl patching up scraped knees and pretending to be the doctor. Her family is bursting with pride, especially her mother, who always told her she was destined to do something meaningful. She's moved into an apartment near campus with her childhood best friend, Elena, and the two of them are navigating the chaotic, exciting whirlwind of early adulthood together. Between classes, late-night study sessions, and spontaneous trips for coffee and cheap takeout, Athena feels like she's finally building the future she always imagined. Then one night, on a rare weekend out, she meets him. He's charming in a quiet, confident way-funny without trying too hard. He listens when she talks, really listens, and seems genuinely interested in her stories about school, her plans to become a nurse, even the little things she thought no one ever noticed. He makes her feel seen. Safe. Special. And at first, it's everything she didn't know she was missing. But as the weeks go on, small cracks begin to form beneath his perfect surface. Little things that don't quite add up. Moments where his words don't match his actions. The way he disappears for days, or watches her just a little too closely when she talks to someone else. Still, he always knows exactly what to say to draw her back in-sweet apologies, grand gestures, those same soft eyes that once made her feel understood. Athena wants to believe in him. She needs to. But something is wrong. Very wrong. And by the time she realizes what he's really hiding, she's already fallen too deep. Now, getting out won't be as simple as walking away. It might not even be possible.