Sienna leaned forward, her pink-tipped hair falling over her shoulder. "Tell me everything. Don't leave out a single detail."
Lila sighed and pulled her knees tighter to her chest. "We got off the plane. I was walking through the terminal, minding my own business. Then he bumped into me with his bag. Didn't apologize. Didn't even look at me at first. Just told me to move faster if I was in such a hurry."
Sienna's nose wrinkled. "Rude."
"It got worse." Lila's voice dropped. "He cut in front of me near baggage claim. Almost stepped on my foot. When I called him out, he leaned against a pillar like he had all the time in the world. Crossed his arms. Looked me up and down like I was something stuck to his shoe."
Sienna's eyes narrowed. "What did he say?"
Lila looked down at her hands. Her fingers were twisting together. "He said... some people think a small ass and a fancy bag make them important."
Sienna's mouth dropped open. "He said WHAT?"
"He body-shamed me, Sienna. Right there in the airport. In front of everyone. Like it was nothing."
Sienna's face turned red. "That's insane. Who does that? Who looks at a girl and just... says something like that?"
"An asshole," Lila said flatly. "That's who."
Sienna shook her head slowly, her hoop earrings swinging. "Men are trash. All of them. Every single one. Derek cheats on you after two years together. Two years, Lila. And then some random guy on a plane insults your body for no reason. For what? For walking? For existing?"
"Don't forget the teacher who slept with her student," Lila added. Her voice was bitter. "That was all over the news in California. Some female teacher got caught with an eighteen-year-old boy. The whole thing was crazy."
Sienna threw her hands up in the air. "See? Men. Women. Everyone is trash. Nobody knows how to act anymore. Nobody has any loyalty. Nobody has any shame."
Lila laughed. A real one this time. It felt good in her chest.
"You're not wrong."
Sienna leaned back against the headboard and stared at the ceiling.
"I'm never dating. Ever. I'm going to adopt five cats and die alone in a small apartment. Maybe six cats. A whole army of cats."
"Can I visit the cats?"
"Only if you bring snacks. And don't bring any drama. The cats don't like drama."
Lila smiled. "Deal."
The two girls sat there for a moment. The sun had fully set outside. The city lights were starting to blink on one by one — tiny dots of gold and white scattered across the darkening sky. Somewhere in the distance, a car horn honked. Then another. The sound of Singapore waking up at night.
Sienna turned her head and looked at Lila. Her voice was softer now. "You okay? For real?"
Lila thought about it. Really thought about it. The cheating. The humiliation. The airport asshole. The whole mess of the last few months.
"I will be," she said finally. "Eventually."
"Good." Sienna sat up and swung her legs off the bed. She stretched her arms above her head and let out a loud yawn. "Now show me what you brought back from California. I know you didn't come home empty-handed. You never do."
Lila smiled and walked toward her suitcase. It was still sitting by the closet, unopened.
"Close your eyes," Lila said.
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
Sienna rolled her eyes but closed them. "Fine. But if this is a prank, I'm stealing one of your bags."
Lila unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a small box wrapped in gold paper. "Okay. Open."
Sienna opened her eyes. Her face lit up. "Is that ..."
"Open it."
Sienna tore the paper off like a kid on Christmas morning. Inside was a leather jacket. black, with silver zippers on the sleeves. Exactly the one she had been sending Lila pictures of for months.
"You didn't," Sienna whispered.
"I did."
Sienna held the jacket up like it was made of gold. "I'm going to cry. I'm not a crier, but I'm going to cry."
"Don't. You'll ruin the leather."
Sienna pulled the jacket on and spun around. It fit perfectly. "I look hot in this."
"You look like a biker gang leader."
"Even better." Sienna grabbed Lila and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you. For real. I missed you so much."
Lila hugged her back. "I missed you too."
---
Back at the Voss mansion, Kai shut his bedroom door with a soft click.
He leaned against it for a long moment. His head pressed against the wood. His eyes closed. The house was quiet now — no more shouting, no more footsteps, no more of his father's voice cutting through the walls.
Just silence.
He opened his eyes and looked around.
The room looked different from how he left it years ago. Dark walls. King-sized bed with new black sheets. exactly the way he liked it. A massive window overlooked the pool and garden. The glass was spotless. The curtains were new.
Everything was clean and perfect. Like his mother had been waiting for him every single day, getting his room ready, hoping he would come back.
He dropped his backpack on the floor and walked to the window.
Outside, the sky had turned deep orange. The sun dipped behind tall buildings in the distance, leaving streaks of pink and purple in its wake. Singapore at night always looked expensive. Lights from the city glittered like someone had scattered diamonds across the horizon.
But right now, none of it felt free.
His father's words kept replaying in his head like a bad song on repeat.
You will finish your studies right here. Under my watch. Grounded. Prove you can be useful.
Kai ran a hand through his messy dark hair and let out a heavy breath. The kind of breath that came from deep in his chest.
Grounded. Like he was some little kid who stole candy from a store. He was eighteen, not eight. He had done things. Seen things. And now his whole life was going to be lived inside these walls and whatever fancy school his dad had picked for him.
He walked over to the bed and dropped onto it. The mattress was soft. The sheets were cool against his skin.
He stared up at the ceiling.
The memories from America came rushing back. One after another. Whether he wanted them or not.
---
It had all started so small.
Back at that private school in California, he was known as the bad boy. The one who showed up late. Skipped classes when he felt like it. Still scored top marks without even trying. The teachers hated how easily everything came to him. The girls loved it.
Whispers followed him down every hallway.
That's Kai Voss. Yeah, the hot one who doesn't care about anyone.
He remembered sitting in the back row during literature class. Mrs. Elena Harper was the new young teacher. Fresh out of university. Couldn't have been more than late twenties.
Long wavy auburn hair that she sometimes twisted up with a pencil. Full lips that always wore red lipstick. A body she liked to show off in tight blouses and pencil skirts that hugged every curve.
Every guy in class noticed her. Every single one.
But she only had eyes for one person.
Kai.
At first, it was just little things. She would call on him more than anyone else. Kai, what do you think about this passage? Even when his hand wasn't raised. Her eyes would linger on him a second too long. A small smile playing on her lips when he gave the right answer.
The other girls in class noticed too. Some of them started throwing jealous glances his way.
One afternoon after class, his friend Jake had walked up to a cute classmate named Riley. the one Jake had been crushing on for months. Jake tried his best line, smiling nervously. Riley barely looked at him. Instead, she glanced across the hallway at Kai, who was just standing by his locker with his bag over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Jake," she said flatly. "You're nice and all, but I only want Kai. Tell him if he wants me to do anything — anything at all — I'm down. Just get him to notice me."
Jake came back looking crushed. "Dude, even the girls who pretend to be innocent only want you. It's not fair."
Kai laughed it off back then. He never chased anyone. They always came to him.
But Mrs. Harper was different.
She was older. Smarter. And she knew exactly what she was doing.
That fateful day, she walked into class wearing a white button-up blouse that was just a little too tight. A black skirt that stopped above her knees. Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as she moved to the front of the classroom.
She taught the lesson like normal. Her voice was calm. Professional. But her eyes kept finding Kai in the back row. Again and again.
After the bell rang and everyone started packing up, she called out clearly.
"Kai Voss. Stay behind. You failed the assessment test I gave last week. Come see me in my office."
The whole class went silent for a second. A few kids turned to look at him.
Kai knew it was bullshit. He had double-checked every answer before handing it in. He was never wrong on those tests. Never.
He waited until the room emptied. The last kid walked out. The door swung shut.
Then he stood up. Walked to her office at the end of the corridor.
The door was already open. Mrs. Harper sat behind her desk, legs crossed, twirling a pen between her fingers. Her red lips curved into a small smile.
"Close the door," she said softly.