Akashi Seijuro had always been Alexa’s rival — composed, cold, and someone she could never quite understand. To others, he was a respected captain. To her, he was the boy with two sides: one calm and polite, the other sharp and unsettling. What Alexa didn’t know was that, while she saw him as an enemy, Akashi had always seen her as something else entirely — his childhood best friend, the one person tied to his past in a way no one else was. Years ago, when they were still in middle school, their parents arranged a marriage between them. Only Akashi knew. He said nothing. He waited. Now, both first-years at Rakuzan, Alexa found herself suddenly enrolled in the very school he ruled. She had no idea what was coming — not until her parents sat her down one night and told her the truth: she was engaged to him. Her chest tightened. Her mind went blank. When she looked at Akashi across the room, he didn’t look shocked. He didn’t even blink. That stillness broke her more than the news. Without saying a word, she turned and ran, locking herself in her room. The walls closed in as her thoughts spiraled. Engaged… to him. The boy who never looked at her the way she looked at him. Then the door flew open. Akashi stood there, his expression unreadable, voice calm but edged with something deeper.