// Best YA Romance in the Romance Fiction Awards 2021//
Thrill Hawthorne, keeping up to his name, lives his life on the edge. Or so people think.
Ignatius Rookwood is the darling son and the sole male heir to a gigantic business corporation. Or so...
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Ignatius was in a foul mood, so bad that even Food Fair's paradise chicken burger with extra cheese was not helping.
"This is the best thing I've ever had," Seraphina cried through a mouthful of food.
Ignatius did not reply. Though he did not see Soleh anymore after their heated encounter, he was still pissed. The idea of him with Thrill made Ignatius want to scream and throw something at someone.
And then there was the whole deal with Drayden. The way he reacted to Ignatius' question was outright fishy. If he didn't have feelings for Thrill, he could've just said it, right? On the other hand, if he was attracted to Thrill... Ignatius knew that'd mean bad news. He did not need to be a genius to know who Thrill would pick if he had a choice between Ignatius and Drayden...
Ignatius sniffed and gulped down a can of coke. On top of all this mess, why was it so fucking sunny? Ignatius was drenched in sweat and there were times when he felt so hot he wanted to tear off his skin or something. Was this how his life was going to be from now on? No AC? No money to even buy this stupid, delicious burger?
And what the fuck was this stupid march anyway? They had just been sitting there in front of the Parliament building - with policemen surrounding them and reporters buzzing in and out - shouting slogans. As the hours went by, the more hopeless it all seemed. Celebrities joined them in the late afternoon, taking over the spotlight in front of the reporters and probably spewing a lot of nonsense; Ignatius knew most of these celebrities, knew they were double-faced morons who did not give two shits about the community.
Ignatius kept wondering how Thrill must be doing. It had been over twenty-four hours since his arrest. On asking Adrisa, she said he was fine, her father was with him, but Ignatius did not trust the police. But then again, at this point, he did not trust anyone.
"This is the thirty sixth time I'm asking you, Ignatius," Seraphina said, swallowing the last of her burger with the coke, "what's wrong?"
Everything.
"Nothing."
Seraphina tilted her head and threw an arm around Ignatius' sweaty shoulder. "I know you're worried about Thrill, but don't worry. The Hawthornes have a lot of power, they'll get him out."
The bit about their power was true - the throng of people around them was proof enough. And this was just in their city! All over the country, similar protest marches were being organised. And all of it was brought together by Aseem - the organization Adrisa had mentioned. It was the biggest LGBTQ+ organization of the country, funded by the Hawthorne enterprises and... co-founded by Drayden.
Things weren't looking too good. Drayden founded a whole-ass pro-LGBTQ organization, definitely for Thrill. That time when Thrill kissed him, he kissed him back. When Ignatius kissed Thrill, Drayden punched him.
