Prologue

There are people destined to change a story.

And others destined to complicate it.

In Mystic Falls, where secrets weigh more than the truth and where a smile can hide a monster, everyone thinks they know everyone. It's a small town, the kind where any rumor travels through the streets before the day is over. But not even there is it possible to truly know someone.

Emma had always been a part of this place.

Heir to one of the richest and most influential families in Mystic Falls, she never let money define who she was. While many knew her for her last name, those who truly appreciated her knew that behind her constant sarcasm and witty comebacks was an incredibly loyal, protective girl who was much more observant than she let on.

Since she was little, she had grown up alongside Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan, Jeremy Gilbert, and Tyler Lockwood. They had shared birthdays, fights, losses, secrets, and memories that seemed impossible to break.

Years ago, when the Salvatore brothers returned to Mystic Falls, Emma ended up meeting them.

With Stefan, everything was simple.

Friendship was born almost without realizing it. He was one of the few people capable of understanding her when she preferred to hide what she felt behind a joke, and she was one of the few people who could make him smile even on his worst days.

With Damon...

Well.

With Damon, absolutely nothing was simple.

From their first conversation, they found a reason to argue. He considered her unbearably prideful. She thought he was the most self-centered, arrogant, and irritating human being she had ever met.

Every encounter ended the same way: sarcastic comments, challenging glares, and a silent competition to see who could get under the other’s skin more.

There wasn't a shred of sympathy between them.

Not one.

And both were convinced that would never change.

What neither could imagine was that, in a town where vampires walked among humans, witches protected ancestral secrets, and destiny seemed to mock anyone who tried to defy it...

Hatred could be the beginning of something much more dangerous.

Because some love stories are born with a single look.

Theirs...

Started with an argument.