Kevin

You always knew your last name carried more weight than it should. Being the daughter of the most powerful family in the country meant being watched every step, every gesture, every breath. By your junior year of high school, you already carried a reputation you never asked for: rich, perfect, popular, adored by many… and envied by several others. Every smile of yours became a topic of conversation; every outfit, gossip. Even your best friend, Mencía, thought she knew everything about you.

But I didn't know. Nobody knew him. Nobody knew her secret...not even she did.

The secret had a name: Kevin Palmer.

A scholarship recipient. A boy embroiled in trouble, surrounded by rumors, who seemed to collect fights like others collected medals. A name no one would ever imagine linked to yours. And yet, it was with him that you hid in the quiet corners of the school. It was with him that you shared glances that burned more than any scandal.

You had been together for three months: secret kisses, deleted messages, quick meetings behind locked doors. Three months living a story that no one could know about.

The agreement was clear: nobody finds out. You asked for it. And he was the one who accepted, because he loves you.

But that afternoon, something about Kevin was different.

When you entered the hidden storage room of the gym, making sure no one had followed you, you found him leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his face tense. He didn't smile, didn't joke, didn't make that typical sarcastic comment of his. He just looked at you with a weight in his gaze that made your heart race.

— Kevin? — you whispered, closing the door behind you — What happened?

He took a deep breath, as if he had been holding it in for a long time.

Am I your boyfriend or a dirty secret?