Nina Carter
Control and anarchy were only two sides of a thin line, and I was dancing on it.
I felt myself the one in charge the minute I signed the contract with Enzo. I had the match in hand.
These days, though?
I started to doubt more recently.
Because everything was whirling out of control.
Jake was disintegrating. Enzo was approaching just too closely. And me as well?
I was messing around with fire.
And the worst aspect is also here.
I wanted to keep on. Stopping seemed unnecessary.
Everyone was still buzzing about the brawl by Monday's arrival.
Nowadays, Jake and Enzo were not only rivals.
They were rivals.
I could feel everyone staring at me as soon as I entered the classroom.
Not only observing them, however.
Their eyes were on me.
By now I ought to have utilised it. The hints. the glances. The people handling my life as if it were a nasty soap show.
But today?
Today, the air was different.
Because the moment Jake walked in, bruised from the fight but still standing too tall, too confident—I knew.
This wasn't over.
It was just beginning.
I didn't see Enzo until lunch.
By then, the rumours had only gotten worse.
"Did you hear? Enzo got suspended from practice for fighting."
"Jake threw the first punch, though."
"Doesn't matter. Nina's the reason it happened."
I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to snap.
I hadn't asked for any of this.
But now? It was my reality.
The second I walked into the cafeteria; I felt him before I saw him.
Enzo.
Sitting at his usual table, completely unbothered, fingers drumming against the table like he had all the time in the world.
But the moment he saw me?
His entire body shifted.
I barely made it two steps before he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto his lap.
The cafeteria gasped.
I stiffened, but his grip didn't loosen.
"You okay, princess?" he murmured, voice low.
I exhaled sharply. "You can't keep doing that."
He smirked. "Why not? You looked tense."
I shot him a glare. "I was tense because everyone's acting like I'm the reason you and Jake nearly killed each other."
Enzo tilted his head. "Aren't you?"
I opened my mouth—ready to argue, ready to fight.
But the words never came.
Because deep down, we both knew the answer.
And the worst part?
I didn't regret it.
I barely made it out of the cafeteria before Jake caught up to me.
"Nina."
I ignored him. Kept walking.
He grabbed my wrist.
I yanked it free. "Don't touch me."
Jake's jaw clenched. "You're really doing this?"
I turned to him, arms crossed. "Doing what, exactly?"
His eyes darkened. "Letting Enzo use you."
I laughed. A sharp, bitter sound. "You don't get to say that to me, Jake. Not after what you did."
"I made a mistake," he said, voice low, almost desperate.
I froze.
Because Jake never admitted when he was wrong.
"Don't let him win," he murmured. "Don't let him turn you into something you're not."
A sharp, burning pain shot through me.
Because the truth?
I wasn't sure who I was anymore.
And maybe, just maybe—I didn't care.
That night, I should have gone home.
I should have walked away.
Instead, I found myself standing outside the hockey rink.
I didn't know why I was there.
But when Enzo found me, I stopped questioning it.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching me. "Carter."
I exhaled. "I don't know what I'm doing here."
He smirked, stepping closer. "Liar."
My breath hitched.
Because he was right.
I knew exactly why I was here.
And when he closed the distance between us—
When his fingers skimmed my jaw, his voice dropping—
"I'm not gonna stop, Nina," he murmured. "So if you don't want this, say it now."
I didn't say anything.
I couldn't.
And when his lips finally met mine—
I knew.
I was already burning.