Chapter 3The Three-Second Dare

When I was ten, my family went bankrupt. My father fled the country to escape debt, and shortly after, my mother went abroad with a friend. My uncle took me in.

By then, my uncle had remarried into the wealthy Sterling family. He was Chase’s stepfather.

I moved into the Sterling estate. Chase was my age, but he was a terror. He loved to tease me, prank me, and order me around.

After six months, I was done putting up with him.

Chase sensed my defiance. He threw a stack of cash at me with a sneer.

"Elara, you're broke, right? Be my personal assistant. I'll pay you a salary."

He wasn't wrong. I had no one. I couldn't rely on my uncle forever; he was already walking on eggshells in the Sterling household.

I needed money. Money meant freedom. Money meant a safety net.

At first, Chase knew I stuck around for the cash.

But eventually, he convinced himself I was actually in love with him.

It started in our sophomore year of high school.

Chase and Liam lived in the same luxury gated community and went to the same private school. I went to the public school on the other side of town.

I only came back to the Sterling estate on weekends. When I heard Chase had a game against Liam, I asked if I could come.

Chase eyed me suspiciously. "I thought you had to study? You said you weren't going out."

"I'm not too busy this week," I lied.

Chase leaned in, invading my personal space. "My dad said you've been pulling all-nighters studying. You came back just for my game?"

His eyes lit up with narcissistic realization.

"You like me, don't you? Wow, Elara, get a grip!"

I waved my hands frantically. "No, you misunderstood, I don't..."

Chase ignored me, already dialing his best friend. "Dude, you were right. Elara is totally into me. Her grades dropped three spots this week because she's distracted, but she still came to watch me play. Dinner's on me."

I found out later his friends had bet that I wasn't just doing it for the money.

At the court, I didn't look at Chase once.

My eyes were glued to Liam.

He wore a light-colored jersey. His hands were strong, his movements graceful. When he jumped for a shot, his jersey lifted, revealing toned abs.

I kept my head down, terrified someone would catch me staring.

Nobody would ever link someone like me to someone like Liam.

Nobody knew about the summer I was fifteen. I used to sneak out at night to go through the recycling bins in the rich neighborhood.

Rich people threw away amazing things. Designer bags with tiny scratches, clothes with tags still on, electronics. I could sell them for good money.

One night, at the last house on the block—Liam's house—I saw something glinting in the storm drain near the curb.

It was a ring.

I spent twenty minutes fishing it out with a stick. Just as I grabbed it, the front door opened.

Liam ran out, wearing silk pajamas, looking panicked.

He was tall, clean, and smelled like expensive soap. I was holding a trash bag and covered in grime. I turned bright red.

He saw the ring in my hand and let out a huge breath. He looked at me without a hint of disgust.

"I'm so sorry," he said, breathing hard. "Could I buy that ring back from you? My parents were fighting and... it got thrown out. I thought it was gone."

That was the first time Liam Thorne really saw me.

But I had known him since I moved in. He was the golden boy. Even my aunt, who hated everyone, praised him. He was everything Chase wasn't—polite, disciplined, brilliant.

I handed him the ring. It was grimy from the drain, so I wiped it with a tissue from my pocket.

"Here."

"Thank you. Wait here, let me get my phone, I'll transfer you..."

"No need," I mumbled.

I grabbed my bag of "treasures" and ran into the night.

I felt ashamed of the difference between us. But that night, I made a promise to myself.

One day, I would stand in front of him as an equal.

I started secretly following his life. I went to every game he played against Chase. I found out which city he wanted to go to for college.

He became my goal.

While chasing that goal, I fixed myself. That year, I cracked the top three in my class. For the first time, teachers looked at me with respect.

Only Chase thought I was doing it for him.

When I nagged him to study (per my uncle's request), he thought it was love. When I went to games, he thought it was love. When I endured his pranks for my paycheck, he thought it was love.

I stopped trying to explain.

After graduation, I got into a university in Boston, right next to Liam's Ivy League school.

Surprisingly, Chase followed us to Boston, attending a different college nearby.

During freshman year, I didn't see Chase much. But sophomore year, the inter-collegiate games started up.

I went to every single one.

Chase told his friends he’d never seen a girl so clingy.