Heir In The Shadows

Chapter Three – The Morning After

The morning sun bled through the curtains, soft and golden, but it felt like a spotlight burning into my face.

I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the phone still in my hand. The message from midnight glowed faintly on the screen, as if it wanted to remind me,  The world is yours.

A knock echoed at the door.

“Enter,” I called, my voice still hoarse from the night before.

The door opened, and a man in a tailored suit stepped in. His hair was neatly combed, his posture sharp. He wasn’t from the university, nor any place I knew.

“Good morning, young master,” he said, bowing slightly.

I blinked. “Who are you?”

“Luther. Your personal aide, assigned by the Cole estate. From this day forward, I will oversee your daily affairs.” He straightened, his eyes calm but sharp. “A car is waiting outside. There are documents for you to sign. And… breakfast has been prepared.”

I rose slowly, the weight of his words sinking in.

“Young master.” The title still felt foreign, like it belonged to someone else. But Luther spoke it with such certainty that I almost believed it.

I walked to the window and pulled the curtains wide, Three black cars gleamed at the curb, engines humming. Men in suits stood at attention beside them. Pedestrians slowed to stare, whispering, pointing, My chest tightened.

This was real, The humiliation of last night pressed at the back of my mind, Sophia’s laughter still sharp in my ears. But outside, the world already looked different.

I dressed quickly. The suit Luther provided fit perfectly, as if tailored for me long before today. When I stepped outside, the morning air carried a new weight, eyes turned, strangers whispered, but no one laughed. Not anymore.

The car door opened.

“Where to, young master?” Luther asked as I slid into the leather seat.

“Campus,” I said after a pause. “There’s something I need to do.”

His brow twitched. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” My voice was steady. “I won’t hide. Not anymore.”

The university campus buzzed with leftover energy from last night. Videos of my humiliation had already gone viral, students clustered in groups, laughing at their screens, whispering, reliving the moment again and again.

I heard fragments as I passed.

“Did you see his face when she laughed?”

“That ring! I swear it came from a vending machine.”

“Best graduation entertainment ever.”

The laughter followed me, but today… it felt distant, I walked with calm steps, Luther a shadow at my side, carrying a leather folder that looked out of place among backpacks and textbooks. Heads turned, brows furrowed. Whispers shifted.

“Who’s that with him?”

“Is that… security?”

“No way. Daniel doesn’t know anyone like that.”

The sneers faltered, curiosity creeping in, I pushed open the classroom door. Conversation died instantly. Every pair of eyes swung to me. For a moment, silence reigned, Then

“Well, look who showed up,” a voice drawled. One of the boys who had mocked me last night leaned back in his chair, smirking. “Shouldn’t you be hiding under a rock after what happened?”

Laughter rippled through the room, but it was thinner than before, less certain, Sophia sat near the front, radiant as ever, her new boyfriend beside her. She glanced over her shoulder, her lips curling into that same cruel smile.

“Well, well. The beggar boy still has pride.” Her voice carried easily. “I half expected you to transfer out of shame.”

Her boyfriend chuckled. “Don’t be so harsh, Sophia. He’s here because he hasn’t learned yet. Let’s teach him again, in front of everyone.”

Snickers rose, eyes narrowing toward me, I met her gaze. For the first time, I didn’t look away. Sophia’s smile faltered just slightly.

I dropped into a seat calmly, Luther standing behind me like a shadow. The atmosphere shifted, unease threading through the mockery.

“Who the hell is that guy?” someone whispered.

“Bodyguard? Assistant?”

“Since when does Daniel have anyone following him around?”

Sophia’s boyfriend leaned back in his chair, pretending not to notice his classmates’ unease.

“A rented suit and a hired actor. Nothing more. Don’t let him fool you.”

But even as he said it, his eyes lingered on Luther’s sharp posture, the way he scanned the room with silent authority.

For the first time, doubt flickered across their faces, And I said nothing. Because silence, I realized, was sometimes louder than words. The tension in the room thickened,  Whispers grew louder, bouncing off the walls, circling me like vultures.

Sophia leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. Her perfectly polished nails glittered in the light.

“I almost admire your courage, Daniel. To show up here, knowing everyone’s laughing at you” she tilted her head, feigning pity,

“that’s either bravery or stupidity. Personally, I think it’s the second.”

The class snickered. Her boyfriend smirked, resting one arm around her shoulders as if to stake his claim. “Sophia, don’t waste your words. He probably doesn’t understand the difference.”

More laughter, louder this time. A boy in the back added, “Hey, Daniel, why don’t you show us that ring again? I need a good laugh before the ceremony!”

“Or maybe he sold it for a sandwich,” another girl piped in, her friends giggling.

The room erupted in jeers. I let it wash over me. My hands rested calmly on the desk. My breathing was steady, unlike theirs, too quick, too loud, desperate to prove something.

Luther stepped closer, placing the leather folder on my desk with a crisp thud. The sound cut through the noise like a blade, Eyes shifted.

“What’s that?” someone muttered.

I didn’t open it. Not yet. Instead, I looked up at Sophia. “You’re right,” I said quietly.

Her smirk widened. “About what?”

“That I don’t belong in your world.” I let the words hang, watching the satisfaction flicker in her eyes. Then I added, “But what you don’t understand… is that your world is a very, very small one.”

Confusion rippled across the room.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” her boyfriend scoffed.

“Nothing you’d understand,” Luther said evenly, his voice deep, measured. He wasn’t loud, but the authority in his tone drew every ear. “The young master has no need to prove himself here.”

Young master.

The words struck the air like a hammer, For a heartbeat, silence. Then a burst of laughter, sharp and mocking.

“Young master?!” someone choked out. “What is this, a drama script?”

Another boy slapped the desk, wheezing. “Yeah, and I’m the prince of Mars!”

The laughter swelled again, desperate, too loud, as if they needed to drown out the unease that had just been planted.

Sophia covered her mouth delicately, though her eyes glittered with cruel amusement. “Young master,” she repeated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Adorable. Did you hire him to call you that, Daniel? With what money? Oh wait, you don’t have any.”

Her boyfriend joined in, grinning wide. “Maybe it’s a kink thing. Beggar-boy cosplay!”

The class howled, But a shift had already begun. A few faces lingered on Luther, noting the sharp cut of his suit, the precise way he carried himself, the faint earpiece at his collar. He wasn’t a cheap actor. And the cars they had seen outside…

A seed of doubt had been planted, I leaned forward, my voice calm, even. “You’re right, Sophia. I can’t afford your earrings. I can’t buy your handbags. Not with four years of part-time work.”

Her smile widened, thinking she had won again.

“But what I can afford…” I opened the folder.

Inside, neat stacks of documents gleamed under the fluorescent light—shares, ownership certificates, property deeds, each one embossed with golden seals.

Luther flipped one to the top and slid it across my desk, just enough for the nearest classmates to glimpse, Their laughter caught in their throats.

“What the hell is that?”

“Looks… official.”

“Fake,” Sophia’s boyfriend said instantly, though his voice was too quick, too defensive.

Sophia leaned forward, squinting, but even she faltered at the seal stamped in red across the page. The Cole Group. The name alone carried weight, everyone had heard of it.

Her fingers twitched before she drew back, masking it with another scoff. “Don’t be ridiculous. Anyone can print papers.”, But her voice had lost a fraction of its sharpness.

I met her gaze. “Then keep laughing, Sophia. You’ll see soon enough what’s real.”

The room was quiet now, the silence far heavier than the noise had been. Whispers began again, softer this time, filled with unease rather than mockery.

I closed the folder gently. “This is just the beginning.”

Luther retrieved it with a nod, his expression unreadable, And for the first time, I saw it, the faintest crack in Sophia’s perfect mask.

Her boyfriend, though, slammed his palm on the desk. “Enough of this charade! Everyone knows you’re a broke fraud. Stop pretending, Daniel. You’ll never be anything more than a joke.”

The words rang out, desperate, defiant, But no one laughed with him, Not this time. The classroom felt different now.

The laughter that once came so easily had thinned into nervous whispers, uncertain glances. I didn’t have to raise my voice. Silence worked for me.

Sophia tapped her manicured nails against the desk, too sharply, the rhythm betraying her unease. She forced a smile, lifting her chin. “Impressive performance, Daniel. Really. But don’t think a few pieces of paper can change who you are. Everyone here knows the truth.”

Her words fluttered through the room like paper scraps, weak against the tension pressing down on everyone.

“Yeah,” her boyfriend added quickly, gripping the back of her chair as if anchoring himself. “You think you can just pretend to be someone important? Dream on.”, But his eyes betrayed him, darting toward the folder Luther carried, lingering on the seal that none of them could deny looked too real.

I leaned back, folding my arms. “You’re right about one thing.” Both of them stilled.

“I don’t need to prove anything here.” My voice was calm, steady, as though the mockery no longer touched me. Because it didn’t.

The silence stretched, suffocating. The rest of the class avoided my eyes, some shifting in their seats, others biting their lips, all too aware that the dynamic had changed, For the first time since last night, the balance of power had shifted.

Sophia broke the silence with a sharp laugh, brittle around the edges. “You’re still pathetic, Daniel. Money, power, whatever you claim to have, it doesn’t change that you begged me in front of everyone. That humiliation will follow you forever.”

Her boyfriend leaned closer, smirking again now that she’d spoken. “Exactly. Even if you were rich, do you think anyone would forget you kneeling like a dog? You can’t buy back dignity, Daniel.”

The words stung, I couldn’t deny it. My chest tightened with the memory of last night, the heat of their laughter, the crushing shame, But instead of lowering my head, I smiled faintly. “True. But you can lose dignity far easier than you think.”

Confusion flickered across Sophia’s face, Luther stepped forward then, producing a sleek phone. He whispered, “Young master, an urgent notice.”

I nodded for him to continue, He spoke quietly, but the room was so silent that everyone heard

“The market has shifted. Cole Group stock is up three percent since this morning. The board requests confirmation on your next move.”

My classmates froze, Cole Group. The name hung in the air like thunder. Everyone in the city knew the name. Everyone in the world did.

Sophia’s eyes widened before she forced them narrow again. “Cole Group?” she repeated, her laugh shaky. “What, what nonsense is this? You expect me to believe you’re involved with that?”

Her boyfriend scoffed loudly, too loudly. “Ridiculous. Don’t listen to this farce.”

But whispers swirled now, uncontrolled

“Wait… isn’t Cole Group worth billions?”

“I saw that seal earlier, it looked real.”

“Could it be…?”

Sophia’s boyfriend slammed the desk again, desperate to smother the doubt spreading like fire. “Stop staring at him! He’s nobody! Just a pathetic loser trying to play pretend!”

Yet no one echoed his words, Sophia’s phone buzzed then, sharp in the silence. She glanced down, and the color drained from her face.

Sophia, do you know who you humiliated last night? The message glared up at her, sender unknown. You just spat on the heir of the Cole fortune. Pray you never cross his path again.

Her fingers trembled, She looked up at me, her lips parting as if to speak, but no words came. For the first time, her perfect mask cracked, not from scorn, but from fear.

I met her gaze, calm, unshaken. “Class is starting,” I said softly. “You might want to focus.” And I turned away, leaving her drowning in her silence.