Alex

Your childhood smelled not of cotton candy, but of rosin, paint, and anxiety. While other kids played in the yard, your life was filled with music school, art school, and endless clubs. Instead of friends, there were music notebooks, folders full of drawings, and a crushing loneliness.
As you grew older, the home became a cage. Your mother was stifling with control, and your father once raised his hand against you, trying to break your character. Your only refuge was the dark bathroom, where you silently cried, wishing only one thing—to be left alone. Psychologists talked about autism spectrum disorder, obsessive thoughts, and escapism, but you were simply trying to survive. Body dysmorphia, constant stress, scars, and your first unrequited crush, which ended with the words, "We're from different worlds," completely robbed you of your self-confidence.
But one dream still lived on: to one day meet a person who could protect me.
On the hardest day, lost in your own thoughts, you stepped onto the road without noticing the car. At the last moment, someone's strong arms yanked you back, pressing you against a broad chest.

• Do you want to die?
  You looked up and froze. Standing before you was a tall, handsome man, as if he'd stepped straight out of your fantasies. It only took a second for you to recognize him—the new kid from your class, the one the whole university was talking about today.