H_Vasuja

Main Character: Vale Carter

A girl with honey-toned skin, plump lips, and hazel waves that fall like poetry. She’s elegant and silver-clad on the outside, but beneath that shine lies a world no one knows—except her best friend, Lila. Vale is an unspoken genius with hidden talents in car racing, computer hacking, and self-defense. She's lovable, honest, and open-hearted… but everyone she’s ever loved has walked away.

Until Kian Bennett shows up.

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Male Lead: Kian Bennett

The transfer student from a rival family—the Bennetts, whose name alone stirs drama in Vale’s household. Kian is charming, intelligent, and as misunderstood as Vale. He carries the weight of legacy but seeks something real. Something like her.

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Plot Overview:

When Kian transfers to Cresthill High, Vale’s world tilts. Their families share wealth, power—and buried tension from an old rivalry. Vale tries to keep her distance, but Kian’s curiosity and calm persistence begin to break through her defenses.

As the chapters unfold, Kian slowly uncovers parts of Vale that no one’s seen:

Her sharp mind in computer science class
Her fight skills during gym
Her secret life behind the wheel of a midnight-black racing car

While rumors swirl at school and family pressures build, the connection between Vale and Kian grows deeper. But love—real love—means exposing your scars. And Vale’s afraid she’s too much to stay with… or too unforgettable to leave.

"Loved, But Never Left"

The garage was silent except for the low hum of Vale's old laptop booting up. Dust clung to the air like secrets, thick and familiar.

She hadn't touched this setup in months. But tonight wasn't about nostalgia.

Earlier that day, Lila had shown her a screenshot—a message she received from an anonymous number.

"Tell your bestie to back off the tracks, or we start leaking things she won't want anyone to see."

Attached was a folder icon. Encrypted, but flashing red like a warning.

Vale had seen that encryption style before—years ago, on a forum she never should've been in.

Now, the ghost of that world had come back to haunt her.

She plugged in a drive, bypassed the basic firewalls, and started tracing the IP. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, confidence surging through her. This was the side of her no one outside Lila had ever seen: focused, calculating, untouchable.

She spun around, breath catching in her throat.

Kian stood at the doorway of the garage, eyebrows raised, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket. He looked more surprised than concerned—like he'd just stumbled onto a secret vault.

"You're… hacking?" he asked, not moving closer.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again. The screen blinked behind her, lines of code running like rain.

She turned off the monitor with a click. "It's not what it looks like."

He gave her a look. "Really? Because it looks like something straight out of a spy movie."

Vale crossed her arms. "You followed me?"

"You told me to give you space. You didn't say I had to ignore you sneaking out of your house with a flash drive and adrenaline in your eyes."

She exhaled. "Okay, fair. But I didn't want you to see this."

Kian took a cautious step forward. "Why?"

"Because the more you know, the more you're involved. And the more involved you are, the more dangerous this gets."

He didn't flinch. "You think I scare that easily?"

"I don't want you to get hurt, Kian."

"And I don't want you to keep breaking pieces off yourself just to keep everyone else safe."

For a long moment, they stared at each other across a battlefield of silence and secrets.

Finally, Vale turned the screen back on. "Someone's threatening Lila. I think it's tied to… people I dealt with years ago. Online. They were dangerous then. They're worse now."

Kian sat beside her, shoulder brushing hers. "Show me what you've got."

She hesitated, then slid the screen toward him. "You won't understand half of it."

"Maybe not," he said with a smirk. "But I trust the girl behind it."

Those words gave her the courage to dig deeper. Together, they traced the breadcrumbs—each click unraveling a past Vale thought she'd buried.

When the final firewall broke, a message flashed on screen:

"Thought you'd grow out of your little talents, Carter. Guess not. See you soon."

Kian looked at her, jaw tightening. "Who the hell is that?"

Vale whispered, "Someone who doesn't like losing."

Chapter 12: Late Night Code