chapter 6

Elena's first full week as Elliot’s secretary had been uneventful—almost too uneventful. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Elliot was holding back, as if he were deliberately trying to make things seem normal. But today, something was different.

“Miss Daniels,” Elliot called from his desk as she was organizing files. His voice was smooth but carried a sharp edge that made her tense.

“Yes, Mr. Grayson?” she replied, keeping her tone professional, even as her heart began to race.

He leaned back in his chair, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “Do you remember that fundraiser gala your high school hosted senior year?”

The question came out of nowhere, hitting her like a blow to the chest. Her fingers tightened around the stack of papers she was holding. Of course, she remembered. It was one of her most humiliating high school memories—a prank Elliot had orchestrated had left her standing alone, drenched in punch, while her classmates laughed.

Elena swallowed hard, forcing herself to maintain her composure. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she lied, her voice steady but strained.

Elliot’s smirk deepened, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Really? I figured you might. It was quite... memorable for some people.”

She could feel her cheeks burning. He was testing her, deliberately prodding at old wounds to see if she would break.

“High school feels like a lifetime ago,” she said curtly, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “I don’t waste my time dwelling on it.”

Elliot’s expression shifted subtly, the smirk fading into something unreadable. “Fair enough,” he said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together on the desk. “I was just curious.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken meaning. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Elena could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“If there’s nothing else, I have work to do,” she said finally, her voice clipped.

Elliot nodded, his tone suddenly softer. “That’s all for now.”

Elena turned on her heel, walking out of his office with her head held high. But as soon as she was back at her desk, she sank into her chair, her hands trembling.

What was he trying to do? Why bring up the past now, after weeks of pretending everything was fine?

She replayed the interaction in her mind, anger and confusion swirling together. It felt like a power play, a reminder of the hold he once had over her. But there was something else in his tone—a hint of uncertainty, almost as if he was testing her reaction for another reason.

Whatever his intentions, Elena resolved not to let him get to her. She was here to do her job, not to relive the nightmare of her teenage years.

But as the day went on, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Elliot was still watching her, still waiting for her to crack.

And for the first time, she wondered if he was just as trapped in their shared past as she was.

Elena’s memories of high school were a tangled web of emotions—pain, fear, and humiliation intertwined with a bittersweet yearning she could never fully explain. At the center of it all was Elliot Grayson, the boy who haunted her days with cruel pranks and biting words. But what made it worse—what made her hate herself as much as she hated him—was that before the bullying started, she had been infatuated with him.

It began during her sophomore year, long before Elliot became the popular, sharp-tongued ringleader of her tormentors. He was the boy with an easy smile and a natural charm that seemed effortless. He was confident in the way teenagers admired, as though the world bent to his will. At the time, Elena had been shy and awkward, always fading into the background, but she couldn’t help noticing him.

She remembered the first time she saw him during gym class. He had been playing basketball with a group of friends, his laughter echoing through the gymnasium as he effortlessly sank one shot after another. There was something magnetic about him—an energy that drew people in. While the other girls whispered and giggled, Elena watched quietly, her heart thumping in her chest.

At first, her feelings were innocent, almost sweet. She admired him from afar, catching glimpses of him in the hallways and feeling a thrill whenever he walked by. She liked the way his dark hair always seemed a little tousled, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed. He had an easy charm, the kind that made teachers indulge him and peers flock to him.

Elena’s crush deepened during an unexpected moment of kindness. One afternoon, while carrying a stack of textbooks to the library, she had stumbled in the crowded hallway. The books tumbled to the ground, and she froze, mortified, as students laughed and stepped around her.

Then, Elliot appeared.

“Need a hand?” he asked, crouching down to pick up her books before she could even respond.