The conflict inside Mia had become a permanent resident in her mind—a low, constant hum beneath her skin that never fully quieted. She told herself the seniors’ possessiveness was suffocating, that she hated how they dictated her every move, every thought, every orgasm. Yet the moment she stepped even slightly outside their orbit, the world lost all color. Lectures felt dull, conversations with classmates rang hollow, and the once-exciting dream of becoming a fearless journalist seemed distant and pointless. She craved the brutal structure they imposed even as she resented it with every fiber of her being.

Then Arjun appeared, like a crack of light in a room she had long accepted as dark.