He Waited in the Shadows

The gates of St. Aurelia Academy had always been a symbol of dreams-tall, iron-wrought, opening only for the chosen few. For her, they had meant escape. A chance to become more than the girl everyone underestimated.
For him, they meant something else entirely.
Ownership.
He had seen her on the first day.
Not because she was loud or trying to be noticed. No-she stood out because she wasn't. While others flaunted confidence like expensive perfume, she carried quiet determination. Books clutched close, eyes sharp, as if she was memorizing the world before it could change on her.
He watched from a distance.
Always.
No one knew he attended the same campus-not really. To them, he was just another rich, distant figure, moving through halls like a shadow that didn't belong. But beyond the school's polished corridors, his name carried weight.
Fear.
Power.
Control.
They called him many things in whispers, but the most dangerous one was-
The Prince of the Underworld.
And somehow... he had chosen her.