By the end of the week, everyone knew my name.
Not because I was loud.
Not because I tried to be seen.
But because Dominic Blackwood started showing up.
A black car waiting after my lectures.
Security men standing at a distance they pretended was coincidence.
Professors suddenly careful with their tone when addressing me.
And Ethan noticed everything.
"Why is his driver always here?" Ethan asked one afternoon, forcing a casual laugh that didn't fool me. "You transferring to billionaire school now?"
"He's investing in the university," I replied, tightening my grip on my books.
"That doesn't explain why he's investing in you."
I stopped walking.
Ethan stepped in front of me, eyes tired, red-rimmed in a way that made guilt bloom painfully in my chest.
"You don't come to study group anymore," he said quietly. "You barely answer my calls. And when you do, you sound like you're somewhere else."
"I'm still here," I whispered.
"No," he said. "You're slipping away."
Before I could respond, a familiar presence settled into the space behind me heavy, commanding, unavoidable.
"Aria."
Dominic's voice was calm, but I felt it in my bones.
Ethan turned slowly.
Dominic stood a few feet away, coat draped over one arm, his sharp gaze sweeping over Ethan like he was assessing a problem already solved.
"I told you I'd pick you up," Dominic said to me, not unkindly.
"I didn't agree," Ethan snapped.
Dominic's eyes flicked to him.
"I don't need your consent," he replied coolly. "Only hers."
Ethan clenched his fists. "She's not some prize you get to take."
Something dark crossed Dominic's face not anger, but something colder.
"I don't take what doesn't come willingly," he said. "But don't mistake patience for weakness."
The tension was thick enough to choke on.
"Dominic," I said quickly. "Please."
His expression softened instantly.
"You look tired," he murmured, stepping closer. "Have you been eating?"
Ethan stared at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You don't get to care about her like that," Ethan said, voice breaking. "You just met her."
Dominic didn't look at him this time.
"I noticed her," he said quietly. "There's a difference."
That night, Dominic didn't take me to dinner.
He took me home.
Not my dorm my safety.
His car followed behind as I walked to my building. Two of his men stood discreetly near the entrance.
"What is this?" I asked softly.
"Protection," he replied.
"I didn't ask for guards."
"You didn't know you needed them," he said.
I frowned. "From what?"
He studied me carefully. "From attention that turns ugly when men realize they're losing."
A chill crept up my spine.
"You mean Ethan?"
"I mean anyone," Dominic said evenly. "But yes. Him too, if he lets desperation make him careless."
"I don't belong to you," I said, my voice firm despite the tremor in my chest.
His hand came up not touching, just bracing against the wall beside my head.
"I know," he said softly. "That's why I'm protecting you instead of claiming you."
The words sank deep.
Ethan stopped smiling after that.
He started waiting for me outside every class. Calling late at night. Texting paragraphs he would later delete.
One evening, he showed up at my dorm, eyes wild, voice low.
"You're changing," he said. "He's changing you."
"No," I said. "He's exposing what was already there."
Ethan laughed bitterly. "So that's it? A billionaire looks at you and suddenly I'm nothing?"
"You were never nothing," I said, tears burning. "But you can't hold me tighter every time you feel me slipping."
"I'm losing you," he whispered. "Can't you feel that?"
I did.
That was the worst part.
The next morning, Dominic was waiting outside my lecture hall.
"You didn't sleep," he said immediately.
"I'm fine."
"You cried."
I froze.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Did he hurt you?"
"No," I said quickly. "He's just… hurting."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"He's breaking," Dominic said. "And broken men do reckless things."
"I won't be the reason you destroy each other," I said.
He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping into something dangerous and intimate.
"You won't be the reason," he murmured.
"But if anyone tries to pressure you, guilt you, or cage you with fear
I will end it."
I looked up at him, heart pounding.
"That's not protection," I whispered. "That's possession."
His gaze darkened.
"Then tell me to stop," he said quietly.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the truth was
I felt safer standing in his shadow
than anywhere else in the world.
And somewhere across campus,
Ethan was realizing
that love no matter how pure
doesn't always win against power.
Not when obsession has already chosen its target.