Chapter Two.

Sapphire Walter POV.

Two Days Later.

****

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss Walters," A middle-aged man who introduced himself as a lawyer from the Bank gave his condolences to me as we sat in the center of my Dad's grand mansion.

It's been two days since my parent's funeral, but the tears refused to dry off. I miss them; I miss my parents' love, their playful banter, and their laughter, which always lighted up the house. I miss them so much that living alone in such a huge house was an emotional torment to me.

I wiped my tears with my palm, forcing a small smile to avoid seeming rude. "It’s fine, Sir," I managed to say, my voice hoarse from crying for the past two days.

"Why are you here though?" I asked, puzzled to know why a bank lawyer was there.

"I’m afraid I have some difficult news which you might find hard to accept," he replied, his tone serious. "But I hope you have somewhere or at least someone you could stay with."

"What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine living here on my own. I can take care of myself. There's no need for me to move out," I insisted, unwilling to leave the place filled with our memories. My parent's memories!

"Unfortunately, you might not have a choice, Miss Walters." My brows deepened into a disapproving frown.

"According to these documents, your father, the late Mr. Walters, mortgaged this house to invest in his business, along with your college funds. Sadly, his supposed business has failed, and since there’s no way to repay the loan, we must seize the house and all its assets, including the cars to repay the loan he took." He passed the documents he had in his hands to me.

I hesitantly took it and read through the pages, my eyes growing wider in shock as the documents confirmed his words with my Dad's signature on the fucking papers!

I got up from the couch, unable to process what I had just read. "What the hell is this?" I demanded, frustration boiling over as I refused to believe it.

"If you take everything away, where am I supposed to live? How do I survive? I’m just eighteen, for Christ’s sake, Mr. Banker!" I exclaimed, slapping my forehead in disbelief.

"You'll be living with me, your step-aunt, Sapphire Walters."

I turned sharply toward the entrance of the mansion, my brows furrowing at the sight of a woman in a casual yet elegant floral dress. She held a simple purse and wore a gentle smile that eerily reminded me of my mom.

Her ebony hair and amber eyes mirrored my late mother’s, though her features and height were different.

"What?!" I blurted, still reeling from the shock.

*****

Three Weeks Later

"Sapphire, hurry up! You don’t want to be late on your first day of college!" Aunt Karissa called from downstairs, worry lacing her voice.

"I’m almost ready, just a minute!" I replied, quickly packing my textbooks and fixing my hair. I applied some lip gloss, strapped on my wristwatch, and flung my bag over my shoulder before heading down.

Since I’d already eaten breakfast, I went out to the garage, hopped into the front seat of Aunt Karissa’s car as she started the engine and we drove off.

"Did you pack everything you'd be needing for college?" she asked, her eyes focused on the road. I nodded, my gaze drifting out the window.

"Sure," I said, my voice quiet. Memories seeped In as I gazed out the window—The worst day of my life, losing my parent in a tragic accident. It felt just like yesterday when I was excited to celebrate my mom’s birthday, only for death to take everything away piece by piece.

I quickly wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. I shouldn’t be crying; I should be happy. It’s my first day of college, and I need to make everyone proud by getting great grades. So, I pushed the sadness aside.

At least I have Aunt Karissa with me. Over these past few weeks, I’ve realized she’s not as bad as I initially thought. She’s treated me almost like my mom did, and for that, I’m grateful. She made me feel less lonely and more loved.

“We’ve arrived, honey!” Aunt Karissa announced as she parked the car, then walked around to my side and opened the door.

I was stunned by the size and beauty of the campus. According to what I heard, it's one of the most famous colleges in Lykoria.

I watched students around my age chatting and laughing with their friends as they headed inside the building.

"You seem to love here already, Phire," Aunt Karissa chuckled, calling me by my nickname as she pulled me into a warm hug. "Have a great day at college, dear. If anything goes wrong, I'm just a call away, okay?" she blew a kiss at me, stepping back as she got into her car.

"I will, Aunt Karissa," I replied, also smiling as I waved at her retracting car.

Once she was out of sight, I clutched my bag tightly, dragging a deep breath.

I tried to get myself ready for the day ahead, but when I was about to turn to start heading in the direction of the college building, several girls surprisingly rushed out of the building like butterflies.

“Oh my goodness, the Lykoria bikers are here!!” The girls around squealed happily while some of the guy's faces flattened, looking like some suckers.

Curiosity got the better of me as I turned to see what they were all excited about and why the dudes paled down immediately after the girls started screaming.

Then the roaring of motorcycle engines filled the air, bikers clad in black racing onto campus at full speed.

I had no idea why, but I felt myself being drawn to the distinct biker who seemed to be winning the race as his bike was ahead of them all.

My gaze scanned his bike, and I saw that it had a realistic drawing of a silver-furred wolf with sharp golden eyes designed on the bike, along with a long line of smoky red flames drawn across the body of the bike.

The biker was clad in a black leather jacket and putting on a sleek black helmet that looked different from the others.

He gave off a different aura. A leader's aura I found myself being drawn to as I felt tingles between my legs.

"Oh, my fucking goodness! Aleric Dolce came to college today?!" The girls squealed louder in whispers, blushing and barely controlling their excitement as they rushed forward to have a better view of the bikers.

I remained at the parking lot, the same spot Aunt Karissa had dropped me off, wondering who the Aleric Dolce they were all yelling about until It dawned on me that the silver wolf biker from earlier was driving crazily in my direction but it was too late to back away!

My heartbeat raced faster as I froze to the ground, knowing it was too late to move cause his motorcycle was about to come in contact with my petite frame. I shut my eyes instantly, letting out a horrified scream as I anticipated the pain.

Falling to the floor, a cool gust of wind hit my face, and my body did not feel the pain I had expected. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the motorcycle halt just an inch away from me.

I slowly raised my gaze, and my eyes were met by a breathtakingly handsome biker who was taking off his helmet. As he stepped off his bike and our eyes met, the world around me froze, and all I could see was him.

He towered at around 6'7", his raven-black hair tousled and falling over his forehead as he ran his long sexy fingers through it.

He had a silver earring on his left ear, and there were pythons with two poisonous teeth tattooed all over his arms! I was completely awestruck by his appearance.

His muscular build was striking, and when his golden eyes locked onto mine, I felt lost in their flames.

His thick black eyebrows, perfectly sculpted facial features, and those kissable cherry-red lips made me gulp.

My lips felt dry as I unconsciously bit my lower lip, yearning for a taste of his lip on mine, but he seemed to be mad for some reason I did not know...