Chapter 1: The Heiress’s Confession

Word of the spectacle ripped through Kingsley University like wildfire.

“Yo, did you hear? Some lunatic just rolled up to the central plaza with a Lambo worth five mil and nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine roses. Full-on public confession!”

“Bro, we’re going. Now.”

Students poured out of lecture halls, dorms, and coffee shops, phones already out, rushing toward the open plaza in the heart of Manhattan’s elite campus.

When they got there, the scene wasn’t what anyone expected.

The one holding the massive bouquet of blood-red roses wasn’t some trust-fund prince. It was her—Isabella “Bella” Harrington, the ice-queen goddess of Kingsley University.

Bella stood there in a tailored cream coat that probably cost more than most students’ tuition, staring at the ridiculously handsome guy across from her like he was the only person on earth.

“Ethan,” she said softly, voice carrying across the suddenly silent plaza.

Ethan Caldwell raised an eyebrow, polite but confused. “What’s up, Bella?”

Her cheeks flushed—the first time anyone had ever seen the untouchable Bella Harrington blush. “I’ve told you a hundred times, don’t call me Bella like I’m some random senior. We’re both in the finance program. Just ... Bella’s fine.”

The entire crowd lost their minds.

The campus’s coldest beauty, the one who had shot down every rich heir, every varsity captain, every influencer with a blue check, was standing there looking like a lovesick teenager.

Ethan sighed inwardly.

Here we go again.

Average grades. Average family. Zero connections. The only thing he had going for him was the face that made people stop mid-sentence. He was tired of it. When was someone going to fall for his personality instead of his jawline?

“I haven’t been honest with you, Ethan,” Bella continued, voice trembling but determined. “I make my own money. My parents handed me ten prime Manhattan high-rises to ‘practice’ with. I collect rent for a living.”

Dead silence.

Ten buildings. Not apartments. Buildings. In New York. Even the cheapest units in those zip codes went for stupid money. Ten of them? That was billionaire territory.

Bella stepped closer, eyes shining. “Be my boyfriend, Ethan. I’ll take care of everything.”