Chapter 1 HEARTBREAK.

SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW.

Everyone says heartbreak feels like drowning. They were wrong.

Mine felt like fire. A slow, creeping burn in my lungs, searing to the back of my throat until I could not scream.

Matt, my best friend boy I've loved since forever, the boy I made cardboard cut-outs of, replaying the moment he'd ask me to be his finally, stands there, laughing with the girl who's made my life hell for two years that I have attended this school.

He didn't just break my heart, he handed it to her on a platter of fucking gold.

And now, they're kissing in the hallway like no one else exists, like I don't exist to him. He wraps his hands around her waist, whispering something in her ears. I gulped, a pulsing throb at the back of my throat with each passing second. I felt the familiar pinch at my eyelids, threatening a sob from me.

I wasn't supposed to see it. I don't think anyone was supposed to. The hallway was quiet, too quiet, and empty, but the second I turned the corner, I saw him.

Laughing with her, his hands around her waist as he places his lips on her cheek.

And my world-whatever little of it that was left, crashes and crumbles, under the weight of his betrayal.

He chose her, the girl who sneers at my secondhand shoes, the one who calls me a charity case loud enough for everyone to hear. The one who reminds me every day that my father works for her boyfriend's father... and that my mother is nothing more than a ghost in my medical records.

But the truth is, I lied. My mother isn't dead. She's just... lost in the web she created herself; a web certain to kill me if I dared go too close.

Ravenscroft High wasn't made for girls like me. Not with my curves, my thrifted uniforms, my full scholarship status. Not when the halls are littered with descendants of legacy billionaires and royalty-level egos.

This was a blessing in disguise, a gift from Mr Ravenscroft to my father for his outstanding service at work as his secretary, and the one boy who knew that from my lips, not from some tabloid publication, not from the whispers and sneers of the elite students in this ancient school, stands with the one girl who tormented me for it.

Kissing her, holding her, touching her.

I clutched my books tighter against my chest, backing away before they noticed me.

But I should've known better.

This is Ravenscroft High.

Someone always notices.

I turn to my right, ready to run out of the hall before I scream, to find a small space to cry, vent, and weep at this betrayal. And that is when I saw him.

Lucien Knox Ravenscroft.

This school's god, king, prized possession, hockey and lacrosse champion, the son of Eldric Ravenscroft, and the very bane of my existence. The one person who would inherit the trillions of dollars from his aristocratic family was staring at me.

His blue eyes on me permeate something into the air, their icy nature suddenly rendering the room cold as chills run up my spine.

His tattoos peek from the collar of his shirt; the drawing of a skull on his neck was clear as day.

He's my bully, the son of my father's employer, and my benefactor, the one who started this entire bullying of Sloane agenda.

It started one day in the cafeteria. I unknowingly sat on a seemingly empty seat, ready to dive into the food my father made for me for my first day.

'For good luck,' He had said, a soft twinkle in his eyes just before he tenderly brushed my hair with a palm, bringing my forehead to his lips.

Little did I know, I had entered hell.

The hall had suddenly become silent the moment I sat on the white seat cushion-like enclave of the chair; the material was so soft I felt like I was one of them. All of a sudden, from the corner of my eye, I saw someone, a girl with dark hair and gothic vibes, whispering.

"Get up, now!" I should have listened, should have bolted out of the seat like it was acid, or lava, and not the heavenly chair it was, and run.

Far from the cafeteria, this school, this city.

The door to the large hall suddenly opened, the band hitting the wall, jolting me from my almost-opened sandwich.

I looked up, and there he was, the golden boy.

Dressed in his uniform, navy blue pants, white shirt, and navy blue jacket, with tattoos his clothes did nothing to conceal, a piercing gaze, and a smirk on his lips, he walked in. His six-foot frame stood over everyone in the hall as his friends accompanied him.

Four tall guys.

Kai Mercer.

Theo Maddox

Killian Lemaire

Caspian Thorne.

The four horsemen, as they are dubbed in this school, and Roxanne, the school's bimbo, on Lucien's arm. I'd watched with rapt attention, awestruck at the god-like handsomeness of every guy. The moment they walked in, everyone fell to their knees, and I mean every single person.

The servers, the students, the janitors....everyone except me. I'd watched with my mouth agape, wondering if I'd walked into a fucking cult.

"Kneel." Someone hissed beside me, but I could only stare in shock. No, there's no fucking way I'm going to kneel. And I think Lucien heard that thought, because the first place Ravenscroft looked at was the seat I occupied.

I remember his eyes, his stony expression, the rage and irritation in them, and the way I almost wet my pants in fear. That day, I realized one thing: this school was hell, and I am no better than an animal for being a scholarship kid.

Gulping and fighting my fear, something I had to become a master at because of him, I made eye contact, clutching my books to my chest so tightly, I thought they'd crumble under my grip.

I expected him to walk away. No one was allowed to look him in the eye, certainly not the scholarship kids. But I did....I always did, no matter what. I waited for him to walk off. But then I realized that was his girlfriend in there... he also needed to know the truth. He'd been betrayed, too.

Lucien stared at me for a second too long, and just when I thought he would walk away, his lips pulled in a vicious smirk. I felt like he could taste the tearing of my heart....or rather, like he'd been waiting for the time I would get betrayed like this.

"Rough day, scholarship girl?" he drawled, pushing off the wall with a lazy elegance that shouldn't have looked that good.

I hated him.

Or at least, I was supposed to.

Lucien was the kind of boy who didn't just rule the school; he owned it.

Literally.

His family founded the Ravenscroft group. His father sat on the board, and his last name was on the east wing of the building. Meanwhile, I was the daughter of the help. It was almost laughable.

I stiffened at the slow drawl of his voice. "Go to hell, Ravenscroft."

He chuckled, like I'd told a joke, his gaze not once turning from mine.

"Already there, darling. Want to join me? I could use the company."

I moved to step past him, but he stepped in front of me, blocking the hallway with one hand braced above my head. His scent hit me. His sharp cologne smelled like leather, and something darker. Something so expensive, it'd buy everything I owned and much more....way more.

"You planning on crying in the girls' bathroom?" he asked, now closer than ever. So close I could feel his knees against my thighs, the contrast of his strong knees to my soft thighs sent butterflies down my belly.

I refused to answer, choosing to bite my tongue instead, before I'd say something to cost my father his job.

His smirk widened, that same dark glint shining in his eyes... as if he craved chaos.

"They don't deserve your tears, Sloane, only I do....I need you to cry for me." His wicked gaze on mine as his golden blonde hair sits beautifully on his head. I caught a hint of a suggestive tone, but I brushed it off....there was no way he was flirting with me.

He looks like he was sculpted by the Greek gods, an object fit to send women, young and old, into a frenzy. The scandal of his having relations with a teacher last year spread around the school like wildfire.

The news then was that a female teacher gave him a head job.

In no time, the teacher was mysteriously fired the following day, and Lucien?

He was apologized to and taken for counseling for a 'Mental health evaluation for wrong done to him.'

The principal was suddenly fired from school as well. Ever since then, no one dared even whisper the news anymore; the fear of extinction in this school was too strong to avoid, and it was the beginning of wisdom.

My name on his lips did something wicked to my spine. My knees shook, almost crumbling, but I pressed myself back to steady my body.

"Leave me alone," I snapped.

"Why? Too sad Matt's kissing my fuck buddy." His chest rumbled with a low chuckle, adding to the frenzy already in my lower belly.

"Shouldn't you be angry?" I blinked at him. "Your girlfriend allows another guy to shove his tongue down her throat...and you're bothering me?" I scoffed, both confused and shocked.

He glanced toward the hallway where Matt and his new girlfriend still stood; oblivious, enamored, and disgusting.

"Oh, I know enough," Lucien said softly, and I swear, I caught a note of anger in those icy blues. "Like how he was your best friend. Like how you loved him, but he never saw you, never gave you his time of day, even after you gave him all of you. Everyone can see it; it's almost sickening."

My throat tightened. "What do you want?"

His gaze dropped to my lips, lingering for a moment too long. He ran his tongue through his lower lip, the move slow, seductive, and tempting, before he directed his contact back to my face.

"To offer you a deal."

A sharp ring of the bell echoed from the cafeteria as people poured out for lunch.

At the sight of students rounding the corner, Lucien takes a couple of steps back, his hands in his pockets lazily as he says, stunning me;

"Date me."