The hand on Marcus’s shoulder didn’t just rest there, it grabbed him with a heavy, solid grip that felt like it was pinning him in place before he could even think about moving. Marcus didn't panic, instead he turned around slowly to find a man who looked like he was built out of concrete, with broad shoulders and thick arms that seemed to obscure his whole view of the hallway.“Who are you?” Marcus asked, his voice staying low and steady even as the man’s mouth twisted into a viscous, mean smile.“I am your reckoning,” the stranger growled, and without giving Marcus a second to breathe, he swung a massive punch aimed straight at his face.Marcus barely ducked in time, feeling the rush of air as the fist cut through the space where his head had been a second earlier, the sheer force of the miss making him stumble back against the wall.Before the attacker could get his feet set to swing again, a sharp electric crack echoed through the hallway and a flash of blue light lit up the marb

The Koenigsegg gave off a low, steady purr as Marcus pulled into the underground parking of The Imperial Hotel, the sound echoing off the concrete walls as he brought the car to a stop. There was no ambush waiting for him this time— no shadows hiding in the corners and no sudden hands grabbing his shoulder— just a heavy, peaceful silence that felt almost strange after the last few days.He stepped out of the car with a calm expression, handing the keys to the valet before walking toward the private elevator that led straight to his floor. As the doors began to slide open, he caught a quick glimpse of Jack standing near one of the large stone pillars in the distance. Jack wasn't being obvious about it, he was just there, a constant and silent presence that Marcus acknowledged with the smallest smile before stepping inside and letting the doors shut.Upstairs in the suite, the silence felt a bit heavier than usual as Marcus loosened his collar and walked over to the floor to ceiling win

Marcus stood by the classroom door for a long, silent moment, his gaze shifting from the back of the room to where Jason was currently lounging in his seat. Freya was sitting right next to him, her posture stiff and her eyes glued to her desk as if she were trying to disappear into the wood grain. For a heartbeat, Marcus didn't move, he just looked at Jason, then at the stolen seat, and finally at Freya, who felt the weight of his stare and looked up just long enough for their eyes to meet.She quickly looked away, pretending to mess with her notebook while her fingers tightened so hard around her pen that her knuckles twitched. Jason, of course, noticed every single detail of the exchange, and a slow, arrogant smile spread across his face as he leaned back even further in the chair, looking like he was enjoying every second of the awkward silence.“Oh,” Jason said casually, his voice cutting through the quiet of the room, “I can tell the tension is still there between you two. It’

Jason stared at Marcus with an expression that sat somewhere between pure confusion and total disbelief, as if he literally couldn't wrap his brain around what he had just heard. The silence in the luxury boutique was heavy, broken only by the faint, rhythmic ticking of a hundred expensive clocks on the walls.“Who exactly do you think you are?” Jason asked, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register that replaced his earlier playful tone. “And what on earth gives you the authority to challenge a purchase I’m making?”Marcus didn't answer right away, which only seemed to agitate Jason more. He let out a short, dry laugh and shook his head, looking Marcus up and down with genuine disgust. “I just transferred to your school, and from everything I’ve gathered so far, you’re just some broke scholarship kid running around licking people’s boots for a few hundred dollars. Am I wrong?”The shop assistant, who was still hovering nearby, let out a quiet snort of agreement. Jason steppe

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for, the kind of night that usually only happened in movies or the dreams of people who spent too much time scrolling through billionaire lifestyle feeds. The Galaxy Event Center didn't look like a place a bunch of college students was supposed to be able to afford, it looked like money itself had sat down with an architect and designed a temple. The hall was massive, commanding the attention of anyone who stepped through the heavy doors. The ceiling stretched so high it felt like a cathedral built for people who didn't believe in anything but their own bank accounts. Crystal chandeliers hung in perfect symmetry, dripping soft, amber-gold light over marble floors that were polished until they looked like liquid.The walls were paneled in a mix of white and champagne gold, with subtle black lines trimming the edges to give everything a sharp, modern finish. Towering glass vases at every corner held arrangements of fresh white roses that