WORSHIPPED
He ruled in silence. She laughed too loud. And somehow, the world stopped to watch.

At Blackwell University in New York, two names are whispered more than any lecture: Sebastian Gray and Ray Lin.

Sebastian—filthy rich, razor-sharp, cold as winter. Tattoos run down his arms like warnings, and silence follows wherever he goes. Professors hesitate. Security guards stiffen. Students lower their voices. No one messes with him—not unless they have a death wish.

And then there’s Ray—a second-year psychology student who wears her heart on her sleeve and her jet-black hair down to her knees. Clingy, clumsy, dramatic, cheerful to a fault—Ray is chaos in motion, kindness wrapped in glitter, and everyone from seniors to janitors absolutely loves her.

They come from two different worlds.
He owns skyscrapers.
She barely makes rent.
He’s feared.
She’s adored.

But when their lives collide, everything changes. Behind his cold façade and her bright smile, something raw sparks—intense, confusing, and impossible to ignore.

One look from her shatters his defenses.
One word from him makes her heartbeat stutter.
And in a university where everyone either worships or fears them…
only they know how dangerous this could become.

I blinked at him. Hard. So hard I probably looked like I had something in my eye. Or like I'd just swallowed a whole wasp.


"Wait." I stepped back, clutching my glittery bag like it had answers. "Wait. Hold on. What did you just say?"


Sebastian Ashford—stone-faced, storm-eyed, never-smiles-at-anything Sebastian—was watching me with the most frustratingly unreadable expression.


"You love me?" I blurted. "You love me?!"


I screamed. Like not-out-loud-but-in-my-soul screamed.


I flung my arms around his neck, legs off the ground, just like always, and tackled him in the hallway. He caught me—again—like it was second nature. Like I belonged there.


"You love me?!" I said into his ear, nearly sobbing and shrieking at the same time. "You LOVE me?"


"Yes, Ray," he said, a little breathless from catching all of me. "I love you."


"OH MY GOD SEBASTIAN ASHFORD LOVES ME," I wailed, peppering his face with kisses like a crazy person. "I'm going to faint. I'm going to cry. I'm going to do both at once. I love you too, I love you too, I LOVE YOU TOO!"


Lip gloss—yes, the cherry pink one with shimmer—was everywhere. His cheek. His jaw. His nose?!


"Don't care," I squealed, tightening my hold like a koala. "You're stuck with me now. You said it. You said it. I'm never letting go."


"I'm going to name our kids after coffee flavours—don't look at me like that, Seb. This is serious."


He groaned, but his hands were still around my waist. And his forehead dropped to mine. And I felt his heart beating like crazy against mine.


I sniffled. "I thought you'd never like me. Like, actually like me."


"I never stood a chance," he whispered.


And I swear, right then, in that moment—I knew.


That the glitter, the chaos, the noise—it wasn't too much for him. It was perfect.


Chapter 19 - He Loves Me?!