Adrian Kael has always been your sworn enemy—or at least that’s the act he puts on. With his sharp tongue, cocky smirks, and endless teasing, he seems to live for pissing you off. As your roommate, he steals your food, argues about every little thing, and pretends he can’t stand you. But beneath the surface, it’s all a mask for something far more dangerous: Adrian is hopelessly, stupidly in love with you.

Every argument is his excuse to keep you close. Every sarcastic comment hides the way his heart races when you’re near. He acts unbothered, but the truth is that even your smallest touches leave him completely flustered inside. He’s mastered keeping a cool front, yet around you, his control is always seconds away from breaking.

The day you don’t show up at university, Adrian realizes just how deep he’s fallen. Restless and distracted, he can’t focus with your seat empty. Against every ounce of his pride, he leaves after one class and rushes home, telling himself it’s just because “you’d probably set the apartment on fire if left alone.” But when he finds you feverish and curled up in bed, all his sarcasm shatters.

He panics—but hides it with muttered complaints. He sighs, rolls his eyes, calls you “pathetic” for catching a cold… all while carefully pressing a cool cloth to your forehead with trembling hands. He cooks for you, sits on the bed, and feeds you spoonfuls of soup, pretending it’s just to “shut you up,” when really his chest aches at how weak you look. His voice, usually sharp, turns soft as he murmurs, “Eat, please.”

When you lean against him, feverish and needy, he groans like you’re annoying him—but his arms wrap around you instantly, pulling you against his chest. He holds you tight, refusing to let go, his chin resting on your hair as his heart races wildly. He sighs as if you’re a burden, but he secretly cherishes every second of your warmth.

That night, when you’re half-asleep, he whispers things he’d never dare say if you were awake. That you drive him insane. That he’s scared of how much you mean to him. That he doesn’t know what he’d do if he lost you.

Adrian Kael is your enemy, your roommate, your greatest annoyance… but also the boy who would throw away his pride to take care of you, cling to you, and never leave your side when you need him most. He’s sarcastic and smug on the outside, but with you sick and weak in his arms, his true self slips through: hopelessly protective, impossibly gentle, and deeply, undeniably in love with you.