2026-09-14 23:28:28
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22. Mixed up feelings
"He hurt Lily, Dad," Daniel repeated, quieter now. "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing." His voice dropped further. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to cause you trouble." He looked down at his hands, eyes stinging with tears he refused to let fall, his chest still tight with leftover fury."Robert, I think you should reconsider this arrangement." Gabriel's voice cut smoothly through the silence. "The boy clearly isn't ready for a responsibility this heavy. Give him a few more years in the business world first — it'll be easier for everyone once he actually understands what he's stepping into."Robert said nothing for a long moment, weighing it. Then he turned to Lily instead. "What do you think?"Still reeling from what she'd just heard Daniel say in front of his father, she blinked hard, struggling to string her thoughts together. "Sir? I — I think he can learn as he goes," she said, distracted."Robert, the two of us have spent years building this company." Gabriel pressed
21. Breaking point
"Hey, bitch!"Someone grabbed Daniel from behind, hard enough to force him to a stop."You deaf? Didn't you hear me?"He exhaled slowly and turned to face Michael. "What now, freshman?" He wasn't in the mood for this, not with his emotions still raw and unsteady from the call with Lily earlier that afternoon, not when he didn't trust himself not to do something he'd regret."What, you in a bad mood?" Michael's grin was all teeth. "You letting people get to you now? Don't do that." He leaned in, voice dropping into something meaner. "Just because you're somebody's bitch doesn't make you any less of a dog. Honestly, it just proves that's exactly what you are."Something in Daniel's head gave way, clean and total.It wasn't the first time someone had tried to bait him, Charlie had done it a hundred times over. But this hit somewhere different, somewhere raw and unguarded."If you know what's good for you," Daniel said, voice low and dripping venom, "back off." His eyes had gone red-rimme
20. Unraveling
The next morning, Daniel's phone wouldn't stop buzzing with notifications from the school blog. It had been going off since seven a.m. He didn't bother checking because he already knew exactly what it would be about.By noon, sitting in the cafeteria with a plate he hadn't touched, curiosity finally won out over dread. The headline hit him before anything else: “CRESTMONT'S UNCLAIMED DOG SLEEPS HIS WAY TO CAMPUS KING.”Beneath it sat a photo of him and Lily, taken the day she'd picked him up from the police station.The article claimed their relationship had started that very day, that they'd been sleeping together ever since, and the comment section had exploded into a feeding frenzy of speculation. Some insisted it had been going on even longer. Others painted Lily as some kind of predator, someone who trawled prisons and back alleys for younger men to use and discard, paying them off once she was finished.The angrier he got, the harder it was to stop reading. If the school blog ha
19. The kiss
Daniel had half expected Charlie to speak up in his girlfriend's defense, but he stayed silent. Though Daniel couldn't say the silence surprised him. Charlie had never once been the type to defend someone else. Instead, people had always done that for him. "As I was saying," Daniel continued, unbothered, "Crestmont is meant to be a prestigious institution. When the founder built this school, the motto was simple, unite students from every walks of life, and give each of them equal footing to become something in life." He let that settle for a beat before going on. "That's exactly what I intend to do with this year's dance." Charlie scoffed audibly. Daniel ignored him and pressed on. "The Dean has already voiced his full support for the plan. It seems, however, there are some minor disagreements." The two lecturers stiffened, clearly not appreciating being reduced to a footnote. Mrs. Olivia's jaw tightened, and something behind her eyes hardened into quiet resolve, whatever it took
18. The meeting
The gigolo rumor kept spreading across campus, gathering weight with every retelling, until half the school seemed convinced Daniel had been lying about everything from the start."After acting so righteous, I can't believe he'd actually do something like this.""Explains how he paid for everyone's drinks at the party, doesn't it?" another student agreed, nodding like they'd just solved a mystery.One thing about Crestmont students Daniel doubted he'd ever fully understand was their complete lack of shame about talking behind someone's back — and directly to their face, often in the same breath. He genuinely couldn't decide if that made them bold or simply cruel.Walking down the hall, he caught someone calling him a prostitute loud enough to carry, and he nearly laughed out loud at the sheer audacity of it. No one stopped him as he passed. No one pointed. They just kept talking, openly, without a shred of discretion, like his name belonged to the public record now.Rachel was the onl
17. A statement
The next day, the first person to approach Daniel at school was, unsurprisingly, Charlie."Well, well, well. I knew you were up to something, you little bastard." He planted himself directly in Daniel's path, blocking the way to class.A few students had gathered around, curious to see how the interaction would go. Something in Daniel's chest tugged at the familiarity of it, Charlie and his usual crowd of goons, cornering him just like old times. The only difference now was that no part of him would ever allow Charlie, or anyone else to bully him, ever again."So that's how you got everything you own," Charlie sneered. "Sleeping your way into it. Should've guessed. It suits you, honestly." His friends broke into laughter behind him. Daniel found nothing about it funny.Someone must have saw him getting into Lily's car and had taken a couple of photos, posting them online with a caption claiming he was sleeping with her for money. The thought made something cold settle in his stomach,
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