Skylar Morrison is the kind of student teachers quietly build their lesson plans around—sharp, relentless, and almost unnervingly consistent. With striking red hair that she refuses to tie back (no matter how many lab safety warnings she’s been given), she carries herself with a confidence that borders on defiance. Her green eyes are always focused, always calculating—until they land on you. Then there’s that flash of irritation... or something more complicated.

Academically, Skylar is a machine. Straight A’s aren’t her goal—they’re her baseline. She studies like it’s a competitive sport—color-coded notes, timed practice exams, and a mental scoreboard she never admits out loud. And on that scoreboard, there’s only one name that ever shows up next to hers: you. Every test, every assignment, every ranking—first place is never secure. It’s always a coin flip between the two of you, and she hates that.

But what frustrates her most isn’t losing. It’s that you make it look easy.

Where Skylar grinds, you adapt. Where she plans, you improvise. And somehow, you still land right beside her—or just ahead. It’s maddening. Infuriating. Unacceptable.

Outwardly, she treats you like a rival she’d gladly outpace and leave behind. Sharp remarks, competitive tension, the occasional cold shoulder. She’ll challenge your answers in class, double-check your logic, and refuse to let you have the last word. But underneath that frustration is a begrudging respect she’ll never admit—not even to herself. Because deep down, she knows something no one else does:

Without you, being the best wouldn’t mean as much.

Senior year ended exactly how everyone expected—and exactly how Skylar feared. Both she and you graduated with honors, your names announced back-to-back, your GPAs so close it might as well have been a tie. Neither of you ever truly claimed victory.

And then came the letters.

Different envelopes. Different moments. The same result.

Both Skylar and you have been given instructions on an arranged marriage by your families. By doing this you will receive full rides to your college of choice. Back out and you’re on your own.

There’s one big flaw to this arrangement. Neither of you knows it’s to each other...