LEVI'S POV
Checkmate Is Only the Beginning
The weight of the bracelet still lingered in my palm long after I handed it over. That stupid matching set Liam had custom-made with their initials. I hated how it even looked good—woven threads, clean silver clasp. Quietly beautiful, just like Zara.
When I told him, "She asked me to give it to you," I saw something in Liam Hunter's eyes snap. A fracture he tried to hide behind a shrug, but I could see it all.
And I drank it in.
He tried to play it cool, tossing it on his bedside table like it didn't mean anything. But his hand lingered. Just for a second. Just long enough for me to know that it burned.
Perfect.
I stepped out of the hospital room and into the sterile hallway, my boots thudding against the cold tile. My mind was anything but still. My plan, so carefully laid out, had just taken a leap forward.
This was never supposed to be personal. It started as a simple idea: take down the golden boy. He needed to fall—hard. For years, Liam had skated through life like the rules never applied to him. Breaking hearts, laughing his way through betrayals, crushing anyone who didn't serve his ego.
And then Zara happened. The one girl who actually believed him. The one girl he broke with more cruelty than I thought he had in him. I'll never forget how she looked when she walked out of prom. Eyes glossy, shoulders trembling, still wearing that stupid bracelet. Still loving him.
It wasn't fair.
He didn't deserve her love.
And she didn't deserve that pain.
So I stepped in.
At first, it was just curiosity. What made her fall for him? What made her—the sharp-tongued, motorcycle-riding, art-obsessed girl—so vulnerable?
And then I started watching more closely.
The way her walls were made of fire, but her heart was still soft beneath. The way she always defended people—even when it cost her. She was fierce and kind in equal measure. Too rare to be ruined by someone like Liam Hunter.
Somewhere along the way, the plan twisted. It wasn't just about hurting Liam anymore.
It became about her.
I wanted her to see me. To notice the way I always showed up at just the right time. The way I didn't flinch when she was angry, or emotional, or difficult. I wanted her to realize I wasn't playing her—I was protecting her.
At least that's what I've been telling myself.
But am I really?
Because I did lie. I told her I didn't know about the plan when I did. I told her I tried to stop Liam—which is only half true. I told her I cared.
And the sickest part is, I do.
But I care about winning more.
Zara is the only thing that Liam ever had that was real. The only person who made him doubt himself. And now, she's mine to break or protect. That kind of power? It's intoxicating.
Still, she's not like other girls. She doesn't fall easy. She's suspicious, smart, cautious. She sees through games. And if I'm not careful, she'll see through me too.
I've been planting seeds. Tiny things. A hand offered when her bike broke down. A lie carefully dropped to protect her hope. A conversation that feels genuine even when it's calculated.
The trick is to blur the line between who I am and who I pretend to be. If I can convince her that I'm the one who never wanted to hurt her—that I'm different from Liam—she'll come closer.
And when she does?
She won't even realize she's walking straight into the second heartbreak.
The one I'll deliver with a smile.
Or at least… that was the plan.
But now I'm not so sure.
Because when she shoved the bracelet into my hand today, her fingers brushed mine. Her eyes met mine. And for a split second, I wasn't thinking about Liam, or revenge, or winning.
I was thinking about her.
Her pain. Her strength.
The way her voice cracked when she said, "Give this back to Liam."
The way she asked me to stay away like it killed her to say it.
It haunted me all day.
And maybe that means I'm in too deep. Maybe that means I've already lost the game I designed.
Because Liam may have broken her heart first…
But if I'm not careful, I'll be the one who truly shatters it.
And I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop myself.