Page 1 of Broken by my Bully (Lessons in Cruelty Dark Academia #1)

Bastian

Anyone can be cruel.

It’s an innate ability we’re born with.

An emotional muscle.

Some let it wither, even atrophy. Others take delight in exercising it.

I’ve cataloged distinct varieties of cruelty in the undergraduate population alone. From social exclusion and petty gossip to genuinely innovative forms of psychological warfare disguised as academic competition.

What’s more fascinating than their cruelty, though, is watching them justify it afterward. How I savor the backflips they’ll perform to avoid seeing themselves as the villain in their own dull narratives.

Often, we’re our own worst enemy.

Maybe because it doesn’t trigger our conscience.

Maybe because no one will judge us for internal bullying.

Or maybe because we’re all a little sadistic…and twice as masochistic.

My Lessons in Cruelty course attracts many students each year. Undergraduates looking to score some easy credits. Scholarship students who want to get the biggest bang for their financial aid buck. Special grant chumps who don’t have a fucking choice, and usually wish they did.

Then there are the…others.

Sadists hunting for inspiration.

Sociopaths upping their game.

I love figuring out who’s who in the zoo. Professor Rooke’s intimate, rigorously controlled, mindfuck of a zoo.

Sometimes, rarely, I even find a pet to add to my private collection.

This year, I found two.

A pair of wounded creatures circling each other, unaware they’ve wandered into my territory. One running from pain, the other relishing it.

Neither realizes they’re being stalked by an apex predator.

And neither will…until it’s too late.