Chapter 12 – Shadows and Sparks
Alice's POV
The diner was finally quiet. The kind of quiet that weighed on my chest after hours of noise. I wiped down the last table, my hands moving automatically while my mind refused to stop.
Brian.
His name was a whisper in my head I didn't want there. His eyes, the way they caught mine, the way they seemed to see past everything I tried to hide. I hated it. Or maybe I hated that I didn't hate it at all.
By the time I finished cleaning, I was drained. The silence pressed in, making me feel smaller, more tired. I grabbed my bag and walked out into the cool night air. The streets were dim, shadows stretching long.
That's when headlights swept over me. My heart jumped until I saw her. Sophie. She rolled the window down, her grin bright and familiar.
"Get in, loser. You look like you're about to faint."
Relief washed over me. I climbed in, sinking into the passenger seat. "What are you even doing here?"
"Saving you from yourself, obviously." She glanced at me and smirked. "What, you thought I was going to let you drag your half-dead body across campus all alone?"
I tried to laugh. It came out shaky. Sophie noticed, because she always did.
"You've got that look," she said, turning onto the main road. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
She raised a brow.
I sighed. "Brian came to the diner."
The grin that spread across Sophie's face was pure trouble. "Well, well. No wonder you look like your brain short-circuited."
"It's not funny," I muttered.
"It's hilarious," she shot back. "So? What happened? Did he stare at you like you were the only person in the world? Did time stop? Did violins play in the background?"
I groaned. "Sophie..."
Her smirk widened. "Oh, it did. Didn't it?"
I looked away, heat rushing to my cheeks.
Her voice softened, just a little. "Alice, you know what this means, right?"
"It means nothing," I snapped quicker than I should have. "He's engaged. To Clarissa."
The name hung heavy in the car.
Sophie's smile faded. "Yeah. I know." She drummed her fingers against the wheel, eyes flicking toward me. "Just... be careful, okay? Clarissa's not the type to forgive. She doesn't need a reason to hate you, Alice. She'll make one."
I nodded, swallowing the knot in my throat.
We drove in silence for a while, only stopping to grab milkshakes from a café Sophie loved. We sat in her car, sipping and laughing at stupid things until I felt lighter. Almost normal again.
When she dropped me at my building, she leaned over and poked my arm. "Text me when you're inside."
"Yes, Mom."
She flipped me off with a grin, and I laughed as I climbed out. But when I glanced back, she was still there, waiting. Watching.
And for the first time all day, I didn't feel completely alone.
Sophie's POV
I stayed parked until Alice's window light flicked on. Only then did I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Something about tonight unsettled me. The way she said his name. The way her face betrayed everything she tried so hard to bury.
Brian Carter.
I'd seen him too. The way his gaze lingered on Alice wasn't casual. It wasn't polite. It was want. And that scared me more than I wanted to admit.
Not because Alice wasn't enough. She was more than enough. But because I knew the world Brian came from. It was my world too.
The polished, perfect world of money, power, and expectations.
I gripped the wheel tighter, my reflection in the windshield staring back at me.
It wasn't long before I pulled into my family's estate. The tall gates swung open automatically, the manicured gardens glowing under golden lights. Everything about the house screamed wealth. Marble steps, glass walls, staff moving silently in the background.
I should have been used to it. This was my life. But sometimes it felt like a cage.
My father was in the study, probably still on the phone with board members, plotting deals that would affect people he'd never meet. My mother was likely hosting yet another dinner, smiling too wide at people she couldn't stand. My brother, Marcus, was the heir, the golden child. And me? I was the afterthought.
"Try not to embarrass us, Sophie," my father always said. "Stay in line. Be respectable."
Respectable. As if my sharp tongue and refusal to bow to Clarissa's little empire made me a liability. Maybe it did.
I climbed the stairs to my room, peeling off my jacket. From the outside, I had it all. Designer clothes, a trust fund, a name that opened doors. But none of it mattered when I saw Alice dragging herself home after two shifts, barely keeping her head above water.
She worked for every crumb she had. And she never complained. Not really. That's why I couldn't stomach the way people like Clarissa sneered at her. Like Alice was less. Like she didn't deserve to exist in their perfect little bubble.
I sat on my bed, staring at my phone. I could still hear Alice's voice, low and trembling, when she admitted Brian had shown up.
I knew what Clarissa was capable of. I'd seen her ruin people for less. And if she caught even a hint of what I saw in Brian's eyes tonight, Alice wouldn't stand a chance.
Unless I made sure she did.
Because Alice wasn't just my best friend. She was my family. The one person who saw me for me, not for my last name, not for my father's money, not for the reputation I was supposed to uphold.
I'd burn every bridge in this city before I let Clarissa destroy her.
As I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, one thought wouldn't leave me.
The spark was already lit.
And sparks always turned into fire,
