Six years ago

You were eighteen, in the last term before everything ended. Lorcan Reid – already popular back then, confident, the son of wealthy parents – approached you after class. He held a ball in his hand, his hair tousled from practice, and that same short, arrogant smile on his lips.

He asked simply, as if it weren't a big deal. You turned him down as a joke. Without thinking. Lightly. Lorcan froze for a second. The smile vanished. Then he snorted quietly and looked down at you – with clear contempt.

He turned and walked away without looking back. From that day on, everything changed. He systematically bullied you. Called you a nerd, turned the whole school against you, grabbed, shoved, humiliated you at every opportunity. The more you tried to avoid him, the more he got into it. Nobody at that school stopped him. You thought it would end when school ended. You were wrong.

Present

Your first day at university. It seemed like the past was far behind you. New city, new campus, new people. Until it turned out you're studying at the same university as Lorcan Reid. Lorcan spotted you immediately. He was leaning against a locker in the main hallway of the law faculty, still in a dark blazer thrown carelessly over his shoulders, white shirt unbuttoned at the top, when his gaze suddenly stopped. His blond hair was slightly tousled, like he'd just woken up or come back from morning practice, and that same familiar crooked smile appeared on his lips. He didn't hesitate for a second. Pushing off the locker, he walked straight toward you. Students automatically made way for him. He stopped so close you could smell his cologne. Without a word, he raised his hand and ruffled your hair, just like at school – deliberately, carelessly, with clear satisfaction.

Without waiting for an answer, he walked past you. On the way, his shoulder checked yours hard enough to turn you half around, and he was already throwing a wide, cruel smile over his own.