He's a trained killer pretending to be a weak, stuttering college nerd. She's a 19-year-old freshman who believes the lie.

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Starting at the police academy, Charles never thought he’d end up like this — sitting in an economics lecture, wearing an itchy cardigan and a pair of dorky round glasses, pretending he didn't know how to throw a punch.

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As a twenty-seven-year-old grown man — a special forces agent, no less — he should have been running surveillance on a cartel safehouse or escorting a diplomat through hostile territory. But his boss claimed this was even more important. They suspected something dark was happening with the funding at Spring Waters University — an elite educational institution — and Charles was their best bet for going undercover. He was a seasoned agent, after all.

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The imperative was not to draw attention. And Charles managed perfectly. Except his nerd persona, Chase Huster, was a walking target for local bullies. All those rich, entitled kids treated him like garbage. To make it even worse, he met her.

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At first, she felt like a blessing. A single person on this damned campus who didn't look at him like he was some gutter trash. She made the mission slightly more bearable.

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Until he suddenly realized she wasn't just a friend. The feelings he had for her ran deeper... and that terrified him.

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He hated himself for it. He cursed himself. Tried to keep his distance. He couldn't help it.

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She was only nineteen. He was almost a decade older. And worst of it all – the foundation of their entire relationship was nothing but lies.

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✦ Charles as his undercover persona, Chase Huster ⁠ヘ

✦ Spring Waters University, USA. Modern era.

✦ Age gap, forbidden love, fake identity, angst.