2025-05-08 19:34:41Chance stood outside his girlfriend, Vinita Iron’s, front door, heart pounding like a bass drum. The flowers in his left hand had begun to droop slightly because of the summer heat, and the box of gourmet chocolates in his right hand was slick with sweat. He tried to talk himself out of being nervous, but his sweaty palms wouldn't let up.
He had spent every last cent of his savings—five thousand dollars scraped together from his three part-time jobs—for this moment. It was her birthday eve, and he wanted to do something unforgettable for her. He'd been planning this for months. The sleepless nights spent scrubbing restaurant floors or catching up with schoolwork in the library—they were finally going to pay off.
He hadn’t told her he was coming. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. There was no way she would be expecting this caliber of gifts from him.
She had warned him before about surprises like this. Their relationship was a secret, and according to Vinita, it was imperative to her survival in the school that nobody knew about their relationship. He'd done his best to be careful. He knew that Vinita liked surprises, just not the kind that messed with her image. And he could understand that. At Elite Society University, everything was about reputation.
In a school where everyone was of the elite class and from families who had a net worth of nothing less than $1 billion, your reputation was everything. The kids at ESU took snobbishness to a whole new level. If it was even rumored that you weren’t from a rich family or didn’t have millions in your account, it was over for you. And as someone who had been found out by these spoiled rich brats and humiliated and scorned at every turn, he knew it was something he didn't want the girl he loved to go through.
Vinita was kind of like him—from a humble family but talented and smart enough to gain a scholarship to ESU. Vinita was so beautiful. She was one of the popular ‘baddies’ in the school. An upcoming model and social media influencer. And she’d been very discreet about her background, so to these kids, Vinita belonged with them. She didn’t have to suffer the taunts and humiliation that people like Chance did. In ESU it was either get humiliated or become a dedicated worshipper of your bullies.
He was proud of her for distinguishing herself like she had, but Vinita didn't see it that way. She was always on high alert for anything that could possibly expose her, and these days it was like Chance topped that list.
But Chance was in love—deep, stupid, hopeful love—and he believed that this gesture, this act of romantic spontaneity, would touch her heart even if she had guests she didn't want to see him.
He knocked.
When the door swung open, the expression on Vinita’s face was anything but touched. Except maybe touched with rabid annoyance.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, voice sharp.
“H–hi,” Chance stammered, offering a shaky smile and the flowers. “I wanted to surprise you.”
From behind her, a girl with long, dark curls and designer sunglasses perched atop her head stepped into view, peeking over Vinita’s shoulders. She was about two inches taller than Vinita.
Courtney Wiley.
The name alone could buy a wing of their college. She was rich, bold, and ESU elite royalty—and Vinita’s new best friend.
Chance’s stomach dropped. He could already feel the trouble that was to come with her presence.
“Oh my God,” Courtney gasped with a twisted grin. “This is your boyfriend?”
Vinita’s face turned pale, then red. “No, he’s not. Not anymore.”
Chance blinked, his mouth going dry. “Nita?”
She stepped out, pushed him backward, and snatched the flowers and chocolates from his hands, then tossed them into the trash can beside the door with such vigorous hatred that Chance stumbled backward.
“This. Is. Trash!” She spat out as she pushed them further into the bin angrily.
“Th–that cost five thousand dollars,” he whispered.
“And yet it looks so cheap,” Courtney smirked from inside the doorway.
Then, with cruelty only the rich can afford, Courtney pulled a thick wad of bills from her Prada purse—ten grand at least—and hurled it at his chest. “Here, go buy yourself some self-respect.”
The money hit him and fluttered to the floor.
Witnessing treatment like this, no one would believe he and Courtney were the same age.
“You’re so embarrassing,” Vinita hissed, vibrating with what looked like anger but what he was sure was shame. He'd fucked up again. This is what she'd warned him about severally.
She pushed him further back and leaned in out of Courtney's earshot. He had to bend his 6’2 frame to her 5’6 height so as not to appear nonchalant, as she’d once accused him of.
“Do you know what this could do to my chances with the elite circle? What Courtney must think of me now?” she whispered ferociously at him, her eyes blazing.
“I just wanted to—”
“You wanted to ruin my life!” she snapped. “Get lost, Chance. I can't even look at you right now.”
“B– but—”
She turned around and stomped inside. Courtney smirked, then slowly raised her middle finger. Chance’s face turned red, and she cackled breathily as she turned to go inside, slamming the door shut in his face.
He stood there for a long minute, winded. Then turned and began walking. There was an ache in his chest as he thought about not just Vinita’s treatment of him but the money that’d practically just been thrown away.
Behind the closed door, Courtney pulled out her phone, thumbed a quick message to Roy Brown.
[News for you on our boy. Costs twenty grand. You in?]
Seconds later, her phone pinged with a reply:
[Send account details.]
A credit alert followed. Twenty thousand dollars. Courtney smiled and typed her final message:
[Chance has a girlfriend. It's Vinita.]
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Chapter 121
The night was heavy, the kind of silence that pressed down on Chance’s chest even as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep did not come easily—not after the week of grief, of arguments, of impossible decisions clawing at his mind. But eventually, exhaustion dragged him under.And when it did, he found himself standing in a vast hall.The air was thick, ancient, humming with a resonance that seemed to seep into his bones. Dark marble stretched beneath his feet, polished to a perfect sheen yet cold as ice. Tall pillars, carved with symbols he couldn’t understand, rose up endlessly into shadows. There was no light source, and yet the entire place glowed faintly, eerily, as if alive.“Where am I?” Chance whispered, his own voice echoing too loudly in the cavernous hall.The answer came not in words at first but in sound—the rhythmic thump of approaching footsteps. They rang with the weight of inevitability, each step reverberating like a war drum.From the shadows, a figure emerged
Chapter 120
Roland Kwan didn’t waste time before calling for an emergency meeting with other key members of the O'Connor board. Within the hour, the heavy oak doors of the conference room closed behind a gathering of the company’s most influential decision-makers.Though the agenda hadn’t been circulated, the tension in the room was unmistakable. Secretaries hurried in and out, setting down documents and glasses of water, while the board members sat stiffly in their high-backed chairs, their eyes narrowing at Roland, and Harold who were more less the pioneers of the meeting.“Ladies and gentlemen,” Roland began. “Myself and Harold convened this meeting because there’s a matter too urgent to wait. Young Chance O’Connor has been making… moves. Independent moves.”He slid a file onto the polished table and tapped the cover. The members leaned forward as the details were revealed—the acquisition of Regal Motors.The silence broke almost immediately.“You’re saying,” one older member muttered, “that t
Chapter 119
Julia was seated at the edge of her bed, her hands clasped loosely in her lap, staring at nothing. She had hardly moved since morning as grief had suddenly become the weight pressing against her chest, with Philip’s silence only making it heavier. He hadn’t so much as looked at her properly in the last two days, shutting her out in his own grief, leaving her to bear both her sorrow and his coldness.And as if that wasn't enough, her recent argument with Chance over the $600 million to acquire Regal motors still lingered deep, making her wonder if this was just her paying for being too ambitious as a woman.The election results were still being challenged by Senator Norville and she wasn't even sure if it was worth it anymore.She was still in the maze of her thoughts when the sudden buzz of her phone startled her. It vibrated insistently against the surface of the nightstand. With a weary sigh, she reached for it, frowning when she saw the name on the caller ID.Roland Kwan.Julia’s
Chapter 118
Charles Bernard sat in the high-backed leather chair of his penthouse suite, one ankle crossed over the other. The entire Bernard Tower—named after his family—seemed to hum with life beneath him, yet inside the room it was quiet. Too quiet.On the glass table beside him, a Rolex ticked steadily. Each second that passed fed into his anticipation. His lips curled into a smug smile. The deadline was almost here. Chloe Martins had less than three hours left. By nightfall, Regal Motors would belong to him, and the Bernards’ chokehold on the automobile industry would tighten until even the O’Connors would be forced to kneel.His coming back from overseas to take over the Bernard's chain of businesses as the eldest son was to make it clear to the entire business community that the Bernards could match up with the O' Connors and he was determined to make it so.For too long, the O' Connor's name has been sung with too much praise. Every paper, every media outlet, every business summit kept s
Chapter 117
While Gary was still there trying to embrace this new reality, one of the members of the syndicate slid a dagger across the table until it came to rest in front of him. “What’s this for?” Gary asked, his brow furrowing.The woman leaned back in her chair, her lips curving in something between a smile and a challenge.“A choice. You take the oath, and you are one of us. The Stannis fight becomes your fight. Your mother’s vengeance becomes your duty. If you refuse… then you walk away, and we will never speak of this again. You return to your O’Connor step-family, to their lies, to their silences. But you will know, deep down, that you turned your back on Susan, your mother.”At that name—Susan—his heart lurched.Brenda, standing beside him, placed a hand on his shoulder. Her grip was firm, unyielding. She leaned down, her voice sharp, vibrating with restrained fury.“Your mother deserved a son who would stand for her. A son who would not be blind to Philip’s betrayal. Gary, be that son
Chapter 116
Chance hadn’t slept more than a handful of restless hours. His bed had felt like stone, the silence of the night too loud, pressing down on him. Every time his eyes fluttered shut, the same images replayed—Julia’s face cold and unyielding across the kitchen counter, the sharp sound of porcelain cracking against wood, coffee spilling across the table like blood from a wound. And her words.We are mourning Gary, Chance. And the least you could do is respect that.Those words had burrowed into him, deeper than he’d admit, echoing in his skull until he could hardly think straight.Now, as he stood at the tall window of his study, the early morning light spilling over the perfectly manicured lawns, he pressed his forehead against the cold glass. Respect. That was what Julia demanded—respect for grief, for silence, for the dead.But what about the living?He could still see Chloe’s face from the night before. The faint tremble in her voice. The desperation she fought to hide, even as her wo
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