Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Mia stormed out of the room the second Victoria dismissed them, her heels clicking angrily against the polished floors of the Apex Academy headquarters. Her jaw still throbbed where Kai’s fingers had gripped her tight, possessive and violent. She could still feel the heat of his breath on her face, the raw fury in those piercing green eyes.

“Stupid. So fucking stupid,” she muttered under her breath as she pushed through the side exit into the cool night air. A black SUV was already waiting to take her home, courtesy of Victoria’s efficient damage control machine. She climbed in and slammed the door harder than necessary.

The driver didn’t say a word, just kept to himself.

As the car pulled away from the gleaming campus, Mia pressed her forehead against the cool window and let the curses fly freely in her head.

What the hell were you thinking, Mia? Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? You sold your soul to the devil for money. For a chance to fund your project. For Mom’s medical bills. And now look at you parading around like some trophy girlfriend for a man who just manhandled you in front of his manager and security.

She hated herself more than she hated him right now. The memory of signing that contract with angry strokes replayed on loop. The way Kai had leaned in close afterward, whispering that the hatred was mutual. She should have walked away. She should have told him and his threats to go to hell. Instead, she’d let fear and desperation win.

By the time the SUV dropped her off at her apartment, her hands were shaking. She kicked off the expensive heels the second she was inside, leaving them abandoned by the door like evidence of her betrayal. The black dress followed, tossed carelessly over the back of the couch. She pulled on an oversized hoodie and leggings, then grabbed her phone.

She needed to talk to someone before she exploded.

Mia hit Sophie’s contact and waited, pacing her tiny living room. Sophie picked up on the second ring.

“Mia? Babe, it’s almost midnight. What’s wrong? You sound like you’re about to commit murder.”

A broken laugh escaped Mia’s throat. “Worse. I think I already did. To myself.”

She sank onto the couch, pulling her knees to her chest. The apartment felt smaller than usual, cluttered with tools, circuit boards, and half finished projects that now seemed pathetic compared to the world she’d been dragged into.

“Talk to me,” Sophie said gently. Her best friend since freshman year was studying journalism and had zero patience for the racing crowd. She was the only person Mia trusted with the full story.

“I signed it, Soph. The contract, two hundred and fifty grand for six months of pretending to be Kai Reynolds’ girlfriend.”

There was a long pause on the other end.

“You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.” Mia rubbed her face. “After the scandal broke, they needed someone fast. Someone who wouldn’t leak it and I was the perfect match since I had leaked his information. Victoria basically shoved the papers at me. Kai threatened to destroy my entire future if I didn’t play along, blacklist me from every engineering program, kill my scholarship, bury my blog. I was so angry and scared. So I signed.”

Sophie whistled. “Holy shit, Mia. Kai Reynolds? The golden boy? The one you’ve been roasting on your blog for years?”

“Yeah. That one.” Mia’s voice cracked.

“God, I’m such an idiot. I keep cursing myself. What kind of self respecting woman sells herself out like this? I told myself it was for the money. For my future. For Mom. But the second I signed, I felt dirty. And today, he took it too far”.

She told Sophie everything the press conference, Kai’s explosive tantrum, the way he’d grabbed her chin and told her to shut the fuck up, the violent intensity in his eyes, his father suddenly showing up.

By the end, Mia was pacing again, words tumbling out faster. “He’s such an entitled asshole, Soph. Throwing things, yelling at everyone. Then he gets in my face like he owns me. And the worst part? For one stupid second, when he was holding my chin like that… I felt like doing something extreme, something that would end me a day or months in prison”.

Sophie was quiet for a moment. “Babe. This sounds dangerous. Not just the money or the fake dating. That man sounds mysterious. You need to get out.”

“I can’t,” Mia whispered, voice thick with frustration. “The contract is difficult. Legal is watching. If I break it, he follows through on every threat. And now his father is here probably some terrifying bigwig who’ll make things even worse. Tomorrow night there’s this huge gala. Red carpet, cameras everywhere. Victoria wants us to sell the ‘madly in love’ act. A real kiss, she said.”

Mia groaned and flopped back onto the couch. “I keep replaying signing that damn contract. I was so pissed off, gripping the pen so hard it almost snapped. I told him I still hated his guts. He said ‘Good. Because the feeling is mutual.’ And now I’m trapped in this nightmare.”

“You’re not trapped,” Sophie argued. “There has to be a way out. Document everything. The threats, the manhandling. We can expose this if it gets bad.”

“And risk losing everything? My project, my degree, Mom’s treatment?” Mia laughed bitterly. “I’m in too deep. I deleted my blog posts. I’m smiling for people and cameras. Playing the part. All while hating every second and maybe hating myself more.”

Sophie sighed. “You’ve always been the strong one. The girl who calls out bullshit in a sport full of rich boys. Don’t lose that, okay? Use this. Get the money. Build your project system. Launch your own thing after six months and leave Kai Reynolds in the dust. But protect your heart. Guys like him are trouble.”

“Tell me about it.” Mia stared at the ceiling.

“He’s ridiculously dangerous and controlling soph and when he did that I couldn't do anything I tried . Instead I just stood there, frozen, with intense fear and hate towards him”.

“You’re human,” her friend said softly. “And this is a lot. Fake dating your enemy while the whole world watches? That’s romance novel level insanity.”

Mia snorted. “Except in romance novels, the guy isn’t a raging asshole who throws water bottles and threatens your entire existence. This is real and it’s going to blow up in my face, I just know that.”

They talked for nearly an hour. Sophie made her promise to check in every day, to keep records, and most importantly not to let Kai get under her skin. By the time they hung up, Mia felt slightly lighter, but the self loathing remained.

She wandered over to her workbench and picked up one of her prototype sensors. This was supposed to be her future revolutionary data analytics for drivers, built by someone who actually understood the engineering side instead of just the glamour. Now it felt tainted.

“Six months,” she whispered to the empty apartment. “Just survive six months. Get the money. Graduate. Never look back.”

But as she climbed into bed. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. A new message from an unknown number.

Father wants a private meeting tomorrow morning. Be ready. And wear something nice. We’re selling this story harder than ever. Kai

Mia stared at the screen, heart racing again. “Fuck you, Kai Reynolds,” she whispered into the darkness. But even as she said it, she thought about how much time she was going to be in these.

And whether she was strong enough to survive his dangerous threats towards her.