Hate Doesn't Feel Like This.

Lucy Chen has a plan: graduate top of her class, build a future in criminal psychology, and never let distractions derail her.

Tim Bradford is not part of that plan.

From the moment they pass each other in a crowded freshman hallway, tension follows. In class, they clash. In debates, they push. To anyone watching, it looks like rivalry-maybe even hate.

But hate doesn't feel like this.

Not like the way he watches her when she isn't looking.
Not like anonymous iced coffees waiting at her desk every morning.
Not like notes slipped into her locker, or lilies left outside her dorm door with words that hit a little too close to the truth.

Lucy is fresh out of a long-term relationship she thought was stable. Tim is determined not to cross lines-especially with someone he's supposed to dislike.

Yet somewhere between arguments and almost-smiles, between competition and quiet acts of care, something changes.

Because sometimes the person who challenges you the most is the one who sees you clearest.

And sometimes what looks like hate...

Is just the beginning.