Chapter 3 Thorn among Roses

The classroom buzzed with nervous anticipation. Every student in Class A had heard the rumors-how the adopted daughter of the An family, presumed dead for years, had returned like a phantom in the night.

But the girl who entered wasn't a ghost.

She was a storm cloaked in silk and steel.

Nyx walked through the polished doors with her head held high, the golden mask still in place. She didn't need to smile or speak; her presence alone commanded silence. Her seat waited for her in the front row, surrounded by the children of politicians, tycoons, and heirs to fortune. But none dared greet her. Not after what they had seen in the hallway.

She sat gracefully, crossing one leg over the other. Her fingers tapped against the desk, steady and confident.

The teacher walked in seconds later, pushing up her glasses with trembling hands. "W-Welcome, everyone. As you may have heard, we have a transfer student joining us today..."

"Transfer?" someone muttered.

Nyx raised a brow under the mask. Transfer? More like a hostile takeover.

"She will be joining Class A, so please give her a warm welcome." The teacher turned awkwardly to Nyx. "Please... introduce yourself."

Nyx rose slowly, her movements fluid and deliberate. The golden mask caught the light as she scanned the room.

"Nyx."

That was all she said. No surname. No background.

Just Nyx.

A single name that sounded like a promise. Or a threat.

The room fell silent again until a girl in the back scoffed. "Tch, is she trying to be mysterious? What's with the mask?"

"Probably hiding scars from some accident," another whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Nyx tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with something unspoken. She didn't respond. She didn't need to.

"Enough," a low voice cut in.

Every head snapped toward the source-Alec Ji, lounging in his seat like a king among pawns.

His gaze was on Nyx. Intense. Calculating.

"She doesn't need to explain herself," he said smoothly, "unless any of you are ready to match her aura."

No one responded.

Not even the teacher.

Nyx smiled faintly behind her mask and took her seat.

The morning lessons passed in a blur, but not for Nyx. She absorbed every subject like it was second nature. Her hand moved across the paper with practiced precision. When asked a question, she answered with quiet confidence, correcting the teacher more than once-much to the class's awe and horror.

By lunch, half the school was already talking.

But Nyx wasn't interested in fame.

She was here for something else.

Something darker.

Something buried.

And as she stepped out onto the rooftop, where only the elites dared eat, she found her first target waiting.

A blonde girl with blood-red nails and a fake smile.

Liya.

"Care to join me, sister?" she asked sweetly.

Nyx's lips curved upward.

"Sister?"

She stepped closer, her voice like poisoned honey.

"No, darling. You lost that title when you tried to bury me alive."

---

-----

Liya flinched, just for a moment-but Nyx caught it. That twitch in her jaw, the subtle shift in her perfectly manicured hands. It was a crack in her mask, and Nyx would drive a wedge through it.

"You're mistaken," Liya said, regaining her composure. "I always thought of you as family. Even now."

Nyx tilted her head slightly, her tone like velvet wrapped around thorns. "Is that so? Then I suppose the rats whispering in dark corners weren't following your orders?"

Liya's eyes narrowed, but her smile never wavered. "You've changed."

"I evolved," Nyx replied smoothly. "You should try it sometime. Clawing your way to the top teaches you more than ballet lessons ever could."

She stepped past Liya, claiming the marble bench that overlooked the academy's rose garden. The other elite students watched the interaction from a distance, pretending not to stare. Pretending not to listen. But this was better than any drama they'd ever seen.

Nyx was the queen who had returned to reclaim her throne-and Liya, the princess who never expected the crown to be contested.

"I'm sure you're still angry," Liya said, her voice now a little too sweet. "But what happened in the past-"

"-Was attempted murder," Nyx interrupted, her tone sharp. "You don't get to rewrite that chapter, Liya. You set the fire. You just didn't check if I burned."

The wind whipped through the rooftop garden, tousling Nyx's dark hair like shadows dancing around her mask. She reached into her designer coat and pulled out a small velvet box.

She tossed it to Liya without a word.

Liya caught it, confusion flickering across her face. Inside was a single silver ring-one with the An family crest carved deep into its center.

"I believe that was mine," Nyx said, her voice laced with venom. "Before you stole it. Along with my place, my title, and my future."

"You can't just return and expect everything to fall at your feet," Liya snapped, dropping the sweet act like a mask slipping off.

"I don't expect it." Nyx rose from her seat, her shadow falling over Liya. "I demand it."

For a moment, they stood there-sister against sister, rivals born not from blood, but betrayal.

Then Nyx turned, walking away with that same untouchable grace, leaving Liya standing alone with the ring and her own unraveling confidence.

From the shadows behind the rooftop pillars, a pair of sharp eyes observed everything.

Alec Ji's lips curled into an intrigued smile.

He had seen ruthless.

He had seen dangerous.

But Nyx?

She was something else entirely.

She wasn't just a storm.

She was the hurricane that devoured kingdoms.

---