The Eyes That Followed
The rain didn't stop that night.
By the time Lia reached her apartment building, her shoes were soaked through and the cuffs of her jeans clung uncomfortably to her legs. Water dripped from her hair as she climbed the narrow staircase to the third floor, balancing her bag carefully against her hip.
The hallway lights flickered again.
Of course they did.
The landlord had been "fixing" them for almost two months now.
Lia sighed quietly before unlocking her apartment door.
The room greeted her with silence.
Small.
Cold.
Barely enough space for a bed, a tiny kitchen counter, and the folding desk shoved beside the window.
But it was hers.
Well—temporarily hers, assuming she somehow managed rent this week.
She dropped her bag onto the chair and immediately checked her phone again.
Three missed calls from her mother.
One overdue notice.
And another message from her landlord.
PAY BY FRIDAY.
Lia closed her eyes briefly.
Her chest tightened with the familiar pressure she'd gotten used to carrying these past few years. Scholarship tuition covered school, but not life. Not groceries. Not electricity. Not her mother's endless emergencies.
She rubbed at her temples before forcing herself toward the kitchen.
Instant noodles again.
At least they were cheap.
While the water boiled, her thoughts drifted unwillingly back to him.
Adrian Monteverde.
Even thinking his name felt strange somehow.
Like it belonged in newspapers and business magazines, not inside her tiny apartment.
She remembered the way he looked at people.
No—through people.
Most men with money tried too hard. Loud watches. Louder personalities.
But Adrian didn't need attention.
The room simply gave it to him.
Lia opened the cabinet above the sink, reaching for a bowl.
Then paused.
Her curtains were open.
She frowned slightly.
Hadn't she closed them this morning?
Maybe not.
She walked toward the window and pulled the thin curtains together tightly before glancing outside.
The street below glistened beneath the rain. Cars moved slowly through the wet roads, headlights reflecting gold against the pavement.
And directly across the street—
A black car sat parked beneath a dead streetlamp.
Still.
Dark windows.
Engine running.
Lia stared for a second longer.
Probably nothing.
Rich people owned black cars.
Thousands of them.
Still, unease curled quietly in her stomach.
She stepped back from the window.
The moment the curtains closed completely—
The black car slowly drove away.
—
The next morning, Blackthorne University buzzed louder than usual.
Every hallway conversation somehow circled back to Adrian Monteverde.
Girls whispered about his watch.
His voice.
His hands.
One girl claimed she'd already found his penthouse address online.
Another swore he'd dated a celebrity once.
Lia ignored all of it while digging through her locker for her literature notes.
"You look terrible," a voice said beside her.
She glanced sideways.
Sienna Flores leaned against the neighboring locker with an iced coffee in hand.
Lia smiled faintly. "Good morning to you too."
Sienna snorted.
"You've got eyebags. Did you sleep at all?"
"Barely."
"Scholarship stress?"
"When is it not?"
Sienna softened slightly before handing her the extra coffee she'd been carrying.
"Drink this before you pass out."
Lia accepted it gratefully.
Sienna had been her closest friend since freshman year. Loud where Lia was quiet. Confident where Lia hesitated.
"Also," Sienna added carefully, lowering her voice, "everyone's talking about yesterday."
Lia stiffened immediately.
"About what?"
Sienna stared at her.
"Seriously?"
Lia closed her locker slowly.
"...The lecture?"
"The fact Adrian Monteverde spent half the time staring at you."
Heat instantly rose to Lia's face.
"He wasn't staring at me."
"Lia."
"He was literally sitting in front of me."
"And turning around every five seconds."
"That didn't happen."
"It absolutely happened."
Lia took a sip of coffee just to avoid responding.
Sienna studied her carefully.
"You know what the scary part is?"
"What?"
"He didn't look interested."
Lia blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"It looked..." Sienna hesitated. "Intense."
That word again.
Intense.
Dangerous.
Too observant.
Lia hated how accurate it felt.
Before she could respond, movement near the end of the hallway suddenly caught everyone's attention.
Students immediately straightened.
Whispers spread instantly.
"He's here."
Adrian Monteverde walked through the corridor accompanied by two university executives.
Every conversation lowered automatically as he passed.
He acknowledged no one.
Not the girls staring openly.
Not the faculty trying too hard to impress him.
Nobody.
Until his gaze landed directly on Lia.
Her stomach dropped.
That same feeling returned immediately.
Like being singled out by something far more powerful than you.
Adrian stopped walking.
The executives beside him looked confused for half a second before stopping too.
Lia's fingers tightened around her coffee cup.
Why did he keep doing that?
"Ms. Valencia."
Her name sounded strange in his voice.
Too smooth.
Too familiar.
"Mr. Monteverde," she answered carefully.
His eyes drifted briefly toward the coffee in her hand.
"You look tired."
Sienna nearly choked beside her.
Lia forced herself to remain calm.
"I didn't realize you paid attention."
A faint flicker of amusement crossed his expression.
"I pay attention to everything."
There it was again.
That unsettling honesty.
One of the executives beside him cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sir, the board meeting—"
"In a moment."
The older man immediately fell silent.
Adrian's attention returned to Lia completely.
"You should avoid walking home alone at night."
Her brows furrowed.
"I'm fine."
"Your neighborhood isn't safe."
Lia froze.
Sienna looked equally confused.
How did he know where she lived?
The question must have shown on her face because Adrian tilted his head slightly.
"You mentioned your district in your scholarship interview."
Lia relaxed only slightly.
Right.
Maybe that was true.
Probably.
Still...
Something about him knowing that bothered her more than it should.
"You remembered that?" she asked quietly.
"Yes."
Silence stretched briefly between them.
The hallway around them seemed strangely distant now. Students openly watched the interaction while pretending not to.
Adrian glanced toward the bruise-colored sky visible through the tall windows.
"It's going to rain again tonight."
"...Okay?"
"You should carry an umbrella this time."
Lia stared at him.
Was he always this strange?
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Then, without another word, Adrian turned and walked away.
The executives hurried after him immediately.
Only once he disappeared around the corner did the hallway finally breathe again.
"Oh my god," Sienna whispered.
Lia blinked slowly.
"What?"
"He knows your name."
"That's not weird."
"He remembers your scholarship interview."
"...Maybe he has good memory."
"He told you not to walk home alone."
Lia looked down at her coffee.
Sienna grabbed her arm dramatically.
"Lia."
"What?"
"That man is either obsessed with you..."
She lowered her voice further.
"...or you're about to end up in a psychological thriller."
Lia laughed despite herself.
But later that evening, while sitting beside her apartment window studying under dim yellow light—
she noticed the same black car parked across the street again.