Chapter 43. Trapped Right in the Middle

Elena POV

The whispers multiply until it feels like the entire hallway has turned into a low hum of excitement.

“Who is he? Does anyone know?”

“They say he is doing his masters.”

“I heard he’s transferred.”

“Transferred? He looks like he walked straight out of a magazine.”

“Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

“I swear, if he so much as smiles at me, I’ll die right here.”

I should have been focused on Alessandro, on his fingers biting into my skin, on the danger in his eyes….but the pull of the crowd’s awe is impossible to ignore.

Everywhere I look, girls are leaning into each other, their cheeks flush their voices hush but desperate.

They aren’t even pretending to pay attention to the scene Alessandro is making with me.

Because Nico is walking toward us.

My stepbrother.

And none of them know it.

Alessandro notices my distraction instantly. His grip on me tightens until it almost hurts.

“W