Chapter One: The Beginning of War

Amara

The second I stepped into the lecture hall, I could feel it—the thick tension of ambition, desperation, and competition. The air smelled like overpriced cologne, expensive coffee, and the quiet hum of anxiety from students who knew that one mistake could ruin their entire future.

I lived for this.

Harvard Law was a battlefield, and I had no intention of losing.

I made my way down the aisle, my heels clicking against the floor as I scanned the room. The usual faces were here, some buried in their notes, others pretending to be relaxed when I knew damn well they were just as stressed as me.

And then, there was him.

Leo Blackwood.

I didn’t even have to look at him to know he was there. He had this way of filling a room, not with charm or charisma—though unfortunately, he had plenty of that—but with a presence so...