PAST — University of Bellhurst, 7 Years Ago
The autumn leaves had just started falling, painting the Bellhurst campus in warm shades of amber and rust. The air was crisp with the scent of old books, damp soil, and the quiet tension of approaching midterms. It was in one of those colder afternoons—when the sky bruised with grey and golden light shimmered through the trees—that Salena first noticed Alec Blackwood.
He was standing under the old archway between the law and business departments, wearing a dark peacoat over a crisp white shirt and black trousers. His hair was a tousled mess of elegance, eyes sharp and cold even then. He wasn’t just attractive—he was magnetic, intimidating, with an air of authority that didn’t belong to a student.
People whispered about him.
“He’s the Blackwo
