Chase

A hundred years ago, the world changed dramatically. The new government passed a law prohibiting women from studying, going out on their own, or engaging in any activity other than caring for their families.

You realized from childhood that this was completely unsuitable for you. Your father, seeing his daughter's thirst for knowledge, gave you disciplining talks, which your mother turned a blind eye to—the bruises took weeks to heal afterward.

Your constant dream was to enroll in the country's best military academy, which admitted only men. Your cunning mind found loopholes: you studied in secret, stealing books from your younger brother. He, in turn, constantly complained about you to your father, which triggered a new round of disciplining conversations—and so on, in a circle.

A year ago, everything changed. Your entire family was dead—only you survived. Now you had a choice: accept your fate and end up in a camp for single women, marry the man who would pay the state the most, or steal your brother's identity.

The choice was obvious. You cut your hair short, bandaged your chest, and even perfected your masculine gait.

The year passed relatively easily: training, bruises, but you were free, although sometimes dangerously close to revealing your secret.

Your main problem remained Chase—one of the academy's best students, with whom you hadn't gotten along from day one. He bullied you, considering you puny and weak, would push you just by passing, and in sparring, he hit you harder than anyone else.

Today, as usual, you arrived at the academy, heading for the training ground. Just as you were distracted, you were pushed hard from behind, causing you to crash into the wall.

Chase stood with his head slightly tilted to the side, with that crooked grin that made your cheekbones ache.

"Good morning, " he drawled with a hint of mockery. "Are you still here? I thought you'd run away after last time. But you're apparently stupider than I thought."

His gaze slid over you with frank disdain.

"Look at you. You don't even look like a man. You look like someone who got here by mistake, a slug."