The music didn’t stop.But everything else did.For a split second, the entire ballroom seemed to tilt on its axis as Beth’s lips pressed against Kyle’s. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t shy.It was bold, claiming, and deliberate.A statement.Gasps rippled through the students like wildfire.Adrian’s hand froze mid-step, his fingers still wrapped loosely around Kelly’s. His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing dangerously as he watched the scene unfold.Kelly… didn’t move. But her smile faded.Slowly.Kyle could see the burning of anger and hatred in her eyes.Kyle, on the other hand, felt his heart slam violently against his ribs. For a moment, he forgot everything—Adrian, Stephan, the whispers, the humiliation. All he could feel was Beth… her hand gripping his collar, her body pressed against his like she was daring the entire world to challenge her.And when she finally pulled away, the silence was deafening.Beth tilted her head slightly, her lips curving into a victorious smirk as she looked

"I am going to pay! Just heal her, doctor!" Kyle yelled, running his hands through his hair. The nurses could be seen running into the V.I.P. ward and rushing out. A man in a white jacket stood in front of him, his gaze slightly worried. "I am sorry, Kyle. I thought you knew," he said slowly. "What are you talking about? I am missing something?" Kyle asked, trying to hold the dam of tears that was trying to burst through his eyes. "Alice never told you that she was battling cancer?" The doctor asked. Kyle froze. His gaze suddenly dropped, his body weakened, and he collapsed to the floor. The doctor bent, hovering over his body. "You can do this, Mr. Kyle. Now is the time you need to be strong for the both of you. I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do. All I can promise you is that we can buy her time." Kyle raised his head slowly; his eyes were filled with so much pain. "How much? How long can you help preserve her life?" he asked. The doctor let out a deep, long sigh.

Kyle’s voice echoed through the hall, ricocheting off the lockers and drawing the attention of every student in the main hall. The crowd’s excitement became a low hum of anticipation, like the quiet before an actual fight. Stephan froze for a split second, clearly caught off guard by the fire in Kyle’s eyes. His gaze was unlike before when he bowed his head and begged when he needed too. The taunting smirk that had dominated his face was replaced with a flicker of unease.“You think yelling is going to scare me, Kyle?” Stephan finally said, his voice forced calm, but his eyes betrayed a hint of fear. “You think a few tears and a fancy family can change who you really are? News flash, no one cares! No one cares if you date the most sort after girl or even hail from a rich family. You are nothing!" Kyle’s hands remained clenched, his face betraying the anger he had been trying to subdue. He took a slow, deliberate step closer, letting the anger build in each measured movement. “I

Adrian’s voice dropped lower, stripped of its earlier mockery and now edged with something far more dangerous.He licked the corner of his mouth with a feisty look on his face. The air immediately became more tense and everyone could feel it. The laughter died.The whispers vanished.Even the ones who had been shouting bets moments ago now stood frozen, watching with wide eyes as the tension thickened into something suffocating.Kyle could feel it too.That change in the atmosphere even made him more scared. That moment where a fight stopped being a joke and became something real.The fight between brothers. The fight for legacy. Adrian rolled his neck slowly, the faint crack echoing in the silence. His shoulders relaxed, but it wasn’t carelessness—it was control.His stance adjusted again, smoother this time, more grounded.His left foot slid back slightly, his weight balanced perfectlyProfessional.Adrian was not just a student but a professional boxer. Kelly walked in that

Kyle’s breathing came out uneven, each inhale shallow, controlled—as if his body had learned that taking in too much air would only invite more pain.Zack noticed it immediately.“Don’t try to talk,” he said softly. “Just focus on breathing.”Kyle let out a faint, dry chuckle that quickly turned into a wince. “Since when did you become the calm one?”“Since you almost died,” Zack shot back, his voice tight.Silence fell between them for a moment.Belinda moved around the room, jotting down a few notes on a clipboard, though her attention clearly lingered on the two boys. She had seen this before—the aftermath of pride, of rivalry, of young men trying to prove something they didn’t fully understand yet.Kyle shifted slightly, his face tightening again. “How bad is it?”Zack hesitated.Belinda answered instead. “Bad enough that if you throw another punch anytime soon, you might not wake up next time.”Kyle turned his head slightly toward her, studying her face. “You’re exaggerating.”“I