The dorm room was filled with laughter and jokes, the four friends sprawled across the couches, unwinding after a grueling week of classes. Max Reid sat on the edge of his bunk, his mind elsewhere, though he offered the occasional nod and smile.“You guys see that Porsche in the parking lot this morning?” Dan asked, his eyes widening. “That’s David Lesley’s new car—the Carrera GT. Man, two million dollars. Can you even imagine?”“Lesley’s living the life we all wish we had, huh?” muttered Jake, shaking his head in disbelief.Just then, their dormmate, Ethan, burst into the room, panting with excitement. “Guys! David Lesley is proposing to Lily Ginn right now—on live stream!” He held up his phone triumphantly, opening the Groove app, where the proposal was indeed trending.“Are you serious?” Dan leaned in, his eyes glued to the screen. “This guy doesn’t waste time.”Max, however, remained seated, his expression neutral. Lily wouldn’t say yes, he told himself. She’s with me. She told me

Max stood outside the Sky Golden Hotel, every word Lily had spoken replaying painfully in his mind. Her cold, indifferent voice cut deeper than he’d ever imagined possible. The woman he had poured his heart into had ended their relationship publicly, dismissing him as easily as a stranger."Lily… why would you do this to me?" he asked, his voice breaking.Lily sighed, her gaze flat and uncaring. “Max, I’ve made it clear. I need a life that you could never give me. David can. I’m with him now, and it’s for the best.” Her words dripped with finality, her disinterest a knife twisting in Max’s chest. She met his gaze one last time, her voice as cold as her stare. “Goodbye, Max.”Max felt the weight of her rejection, his chest tight and breaths shallow as he struggled to process the betrayal. But before he could even respond, David stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Lily, a smirk on his face.“Looks like you’ve been dumped, Max,” David sneered, folding his arms.

Max wandered the empty streets, his mind adrift, every step heavy with exhaustion. The day’s events weighed on him, each memory sharp and unrelenting. Lily’s betrayal replayed in his mind like a cruel joke, her words lingering, hollow and cold. David’s smug expression, the laughter of onlookers, the sting of the police slap—they all reminded him of his limitations, his lack of status, and the poverty that defined his life.He soon found himself in a quiet park, a sliver of peace amid the chaos. The moon cast a gentle glow over the trees and empty benches, giving the place a sense of calm he hadn’t felt in ages. Max sank onto one of the benches, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees as he buried his face in his hands.What if things were different? he wondered, a fleeting, desperate thought. If he had the wealth that people like David flaunted, would Lily have stayed? Would he be sitting here now, alone and humiliated? In his mind, he pictured a life of luxury, a life where he never

Max stared at the documents spread out before him, the intricate logos of renowned companies gleaming up from the pages. His hands shook as he flipped through the lists, each name sending a fresh wave of disbelief washing over him.“Groove Inc.,” he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. The very platform that had broadcast his humiliation with Lily and David. And now… he owned it?Next came another familiar name: Nix Inc. He remembered researching it for a project at university—a global powerhouse with groundbreaking innovations in tech. He’d spent hours analyzing their business strategies, marveling at the sheer scale of their operations, yet he’d never even imagined his life would intersect with theirs like this.“Groove, Nix, Ember Oil, Apex Luxuries…” Max’s mind reeled as he skimmed through the assets his family controlled, each company more influential and financially commanding than the last. Hotels, tech giants, oil companies, mineral mines, and luxury brands—all connected, all

As Max held the sleek black card in his hand, his grandfather extended another envelope toward him. “There’s also a transfer to your regular bank account,” Mark said, his gaze steady.“Consider it some pocket money. It should cover your immediate expenses and allow you to… adjust to acting like the head of the consortium.”Max opened the envelope, revealing a card with his usual bank’s logo and a printed balance receipt. His eyes widened at the amount. Pocket money, his grandfather had called it, but to Max, it was an unfathomable sum—more than enough to settle his debt to his friends, buy clothes, and support himself for years if needed.This was a different world, a world where “pocket money” carried more zeros than his lifetime of savings combined.He took a deep breath, a mixture of excitement and anxiety churning within him. “Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll… I’ll do my best to manage everything responsibly.”Mark’s gaze softened, pride evident in his expression. “I know you will, M