Chapter 1

My name is Scarlett Hayes. If there were a ranking for "People Who Should Never Open Their Mouths," I'd be sitting comfortably at number one.

First, I have a stutter. Not the cute kind where you stumble over your words when you see a hot guy—I'm talking about the clinical kind where ordering a "caramel macchiato" gets you stuck on the first syllable for a solid fifteen seconds while the line behind you radiates pure impatience.

Second, I have severe social anxiety. My daily survival strategy is simple: hug the walls, eyes permanently glued to the floor, and if I spot more than three people clustered in a hallway, I'll detour without hesitation—even if it means taking the back entrance halfway across campus.

Logically, someone like me should be working as a lighthouse keeper or the night shift security guard at a funeral home.

But here I am, backstage at the National Debate Championship.

Why? Because I'm broke.

At this insanely expensive university, the only job I could find that didn't require human interaction was being a research assistant for the debate team.

Fifteen dollars an hour to organize arguments, case studies, and citations that law school hotshots casually threw around. I'd categorize everything and input it into spreadsheets.

The job didn't require me to speak. It only required fast fingers. With it, I could barely cover my basement apartment rent and three frozen pizzas a week.

But now, my meal ticket was about to disappear.

"Scarlett! Scarlett, where are you?!"

The locker room door slammed open. Max, our debate captain, burst in.

This junior political science major was always high-strung, but right now he looked completely unhinged. His hair was a mess, tie askew, eyes radiating pure desperation.

"I'm... I'm here..." I peeked out from behind a stack of printed materials, my voice barely audible.

"We're screwed! Completely screwed!" Max grabbed my shoulders with alarming force. "David got food poisoning! That idiot just had to eat from that sketchy taco truck before the biggest competition of the year, and now he's hugging a toilet and puking his guts out! He can't compete!"

I blinked, my brain taking three full seconds to process this information.

David was our fourth speaker—the one responsible for the closing statement, the person who dismantled the opponent's core logic. His absence was definitely unfortunate.

But I was just a research assistant. What did this have to do with me?

"That's... that's really... really unfortunate," I stammered, trying to wriggle free from his grip. "I'll... I'll say a... a prayer for him."

"Screw prayers!" Max stared at me with wild eyes that made my skin crawl. "Scarlett, listen. According to tournament rules, if a team doesn't have a full roster, we forfeit by default. Do you know what that means?"

I shook my head, a sense of dread creeping up my spine.

"It means we don't just lose our annual ranking—the school will cut all funding for the debate society next year!" Max leaned closer. "No funding means the club disbands, I lose my résumé builder, and you—"

He paused, dropping the bomb.

"You lose this fifteen-dollar-an-hour gig. Immediately."

My breath caught.

Lose the job? What about my rent? My food? Would I have to work at some fast-food joint, stuttering through "W-would you l-like f-fries with that?" to hundreds of strangers every day?

Kill me now.

"So," Max took a deep breath, "you, Scarlett, are going to put on this blazer right now and replace David as our fourth speaker."

"You're... you're insane!" I stumbled backward, crashing into a locker with a loud bang. "I can't even... even get through a... a complete sentence! You want me to... to debate? You might as well... as well put me in... in front of a firing squad—at least... at least that'd be quick!"

"I don't care if you stutter. You just need to sit there and fill the spot!" Max wrestled a black blazer onto me despite my protests.

"Our first, second, and third speakers will handle everything. When it's your turn, just stand up and read David's prepared script. Even if you stumble, as long as you make it through three minutes, we keep our funding! You keep your job!"

"But—"

"No buts!" Max cut me off. "Scarlett, think about your rent. Think about next month's groceries. Think about working at Starbucks dealing with entitled customers all day."

He'd hit my weak spot perfectly.

The image flashed through my mind: me in that green Starbucks apron, some woman in designer sunglasses screaming about foam thickness while I stuttered through an apology. I shuddered.

"Fine," I surrendered, my voice close to tears. "But I'm... I'm only reading... reading the script."

"Now we're talking!" Max's face transformed instantly, slapping my back enthusiastically. "Let's go, we've got five minutes before it starts. Oh, by the way, do you know who we're up against today?"

I shook my head. I only organized research materials. I barely knew the debate topic, let alone who our opponents were.

"Yale's debate team." Max swallowed hard, his voice noticeably tight. "Their fourth speaker is... Arthur."

My feet stopped dead.

Arthur. Even someone as oblivious as me had heard that name.

He was a debate legend, a legal prodigy. His mind was razor-sharp, capable of pinpointing any logical flaw.

On the debate floor, his style was ruthless—he had a habit of demolishing opponents' arguments with the most elegant British accent imaginable.

And I was supposed to face him? This was a suicide mission.

"I'm... I'm not going!" I turned to run.

"Too late!" Max grabbed my collar, dragging me forward. "Think about that fifteen bucks! Think about your rent!"

At the corner of the hallway, I flailed desperately, my hand scrambling across a nearby table—a resting area for other teams.

My fingers closed around a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. Without thinking, I grabbed it, twisted off the cap, and tilted my head back, chugging.

I thought it was water. I needed water to soothe my burning throat.

But the moment the liquid hit my mouth, my eyes went wide.

This wasn't water.

This was straight vodka.

The burning liquid scorched down my throat and exploded in my stomach.

Tears instantly streamed down my face as I coughed violently. Who the hell brings vodka to a debate?!

"Scarlett? You okay?" Max stopped, looking at me with confusion.

I covered my mouth as the burning sensation spread through my veins.

After a brief mental blackout, something strange happened.

The social anxiety that had been a constant weight, the habit of avoiding eye contact, the terror of speaking—it all seemed to evaporate with the alcohol.

My vision became unnaturally focused. I could hear the hum of the air conditioner at the end of the hallway. Even my heartbeat felt strangely steady.

"I'm fine." I lowered my hand.

Max froze. He stared at me, blinking. "You... you didn't stutter just now."

I ignored him, feeling my rational mind crystallize with unprecedented clarity. All negative emotions had been completely stripped away.

I turned and pushed open the auditorium's heavy double doors.

Spotlights hit my face. Hundreds of spectators filled the seats below. Stern-faced professors sat at the judges' panel.

And across from me, in the opposition's seat, sat a man in a tailored suit, his gaze ice-cold.

Arthur.

I met his eyes without flinching and walked straight toward my seat.