The first time He saw her cry, she didn't know he was there.

And if she had known?

She probably would have murdered him.

The memory remained painfully clear even after all these years.

Law School.

Winter.

Fifteen years ago.

The campus library had already closed.

Most students had gone home hours earlier.

Only the obsessive ones remained.

Which meant him.

And her.

At the time, He knew only three things about Her.

First—

She was annoyingly brilliant.

Second—

She was the only student capable of challenging him academically.

Third—

She absolutely despised him.

The feeling had appeared mutual.

At least on the surface.

That night, he had been searching for a misplaced casebook when he noticed a light still on inside one of the study rooms.

Curious, he glanced through the glass.

And froze.

She sat alone.

Head lowered.

Shoulders trembling.

For a moment he thought she was sick.

Then he saw her wipe tears from her face.

His first instinct had been disbelief.

Because this was her.

The woman who argued with professors.

The woman who dismantled opponents during debates.

The woman who looked at challenges and somehow became stronger.

She wasn't supposed to cry.

Yet there she was.

Completely alone.

Trying desperately to hide it.

Something tightened unexpectedly inside his chest.

Before he could think better of it, he stepped closer.

A mistake.

Because he overheard enough to change the way he saw her forever.

A phone call.

A woman's voice shouting through the speaker.

Cruel.

Demanding.

Accusing.

She listened quietly.

Never raising her voice.

Never defending herself.

Just accepting every harsh word.

As though she had heard them a thousand times before.

Then came the sentence he would never forget.

"Sometimes I wonder why we even took you in."

Silence.

Then the call ended.

She lowered the phone.

Closed her eyes.

And sat perfectly still.

As if moving might break whatever fragile control she had left.

He should have walked away.

Should have minded his own business.

Should have forgotten the entire thing.

Instead he stood there.

Watching.

Unable to reconcile the fierce woman he knew with the lonely girl sitting inside that room.

And for the first time—

He realized he knew absolutely nothing about her.

A few minutes later she gathered her books.

Wiped away every trace of emotion.

Lifted her chin.

And transformed once more into the woman everyone recognized.

Strong.

Proud.

Untouchable.

Her the world knew.

She who would eventually become his greatest rival.

She who would spend years driving him insane.

She who would unknowingly become the most important person in his life.

Neither of them understood it then.

Not when they were young.

Not when every conversation turned into an argument.

Not when every challenge felt like a competition.

But some stories don't begin with love.

Some begin with curiosity.

With admiration.

With seeing someone at their weakest and quietly deciding you'll never look away again.

Theirs began on a winter night.

With a girl crying alone.

And a boy who couldn't forget her.

Not then.

Not ever.

Hey there, it's my first time writing a book or generally anything, so do tell me what do you think about the prologue.
Also, English is not my first language and I'm writing for the first time so please bear with me if i make any mistakes or grammatical mistake or spelling errors.
Thank You,
XEVIA