The first snowfall of December had settled over the university campus, softening the brick buildings and quieting the usual rush of students hurrying toward finals. It was the last morning before winter break, and the parking lot outside the dormitories buzzed with parents loading suitcases into expensive SUVs. Y/N stood on the sidewalk with one gloved hand wrapped around the handle of her suitcase. Her family’s black luxury SUV waited at the curb, the driver already placing luggage into the back while her mother fussed over whether she’d packed enough sweaters. She had grown up in a world where Christmas looked like magazine covers. An estate wrapped in thousands of white lights. Towering trees decorated by professionals. Crystal glasses, live orchestras, and dinners where everyone somehow knew which fork belonged to which course. Every year was the same. Her parents. Her four grandparents. Her aunt. The people who had watched her grow from the only daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the state into the woman she was now. But this year… there would be one difference. Axel. The low rumble of a motorcycle echoed through the parking lot before anyone saw him. Heads turned. A matte-black bike rolled between rows of polished cars before coming to a stop beside her. The engine died. Silence followed. Axel pulled off his helmet, revealing short black hair tousled by the wind. Tattoos disappeared beneath the sleeves of his black thermal shirt before reappearing across his hands, neck, and fingers. Broad shoulders stretched the fabric over a muscular frame built from years of physical work instead of expensive gyms. He looked nothing like the men her family invited to charity galas. Nothing like the clean-cut sons of executives who wore tailored suits and inherited companies. He looked real. His boots hit the pavement as he climbed off the motorcycle. Y/N smiled before she even realized she was doing it. He walked over, slipped an arm aroun