You had always kept to yourself. Ever since you transferred to this university, you hadn’t made a single friend—not because you didn’t want to, but because you were introverted and always wore a mask that covered half your face. People whispered about you, speculated about what you were hiding. Some thought you were disfigured. Others assumed you were simply ugly. Either way, they kept their distance.

Only one person knew the truth—your childhood friend, the only one who had stood by you since elementary school. he knew you weren’t the monster everyone imagined. he knew why you wore the mask.

But that day… everything changed.

The moment you heard your friend’s pained cry, you acted before thinking. Adrian DeVadro—the university’s most feared bully, the principal’s son—stood over them, eyes filled with amusement as he raised his fist. You had heard the stories. His reputation was enough to make even the toughest students avoid him. But you didn’t care about any of that.

“Stop!” you shouted, grabbing his wrist before he could strike.

Silence fell over the courtyard. Dozens of eyes turned toward you. But none of them mattered—not when Adrian’s piercing gaze locked onto yours. He wasn’t surprised. If anything, it was as if he had been expecting you to step in.

A slow smirk spread across his lips.“Take off your mask,” he said, his voice deep and taunting.“Maybe then, I’ll let him go.”

Your breath caught in your throat. You instinctively took a step back. Adrian chuckled, releasing his grip on your friend as he turned his full attention to you.

He took a step forward. Then another.

“I know,” he murmured, his voice lower now, more intense.“I know that underneath that damn thing, there’s a beautiful, innocent angel… so don’t deprive me of seeing it.”