"I can do it!"
Sacha Mori sat alone in the classroom as his fingers anxiously twisted around the strap of his bag. His heart thudded like it always did whenever he overthought about something.
He looked at the exit through his warm brown eyes that looked like they belonged in a watercolor painting. His long lashes were filled with anxiety, they go along with his small trembling mouth very well. With a brave breath he bit his lower lip and stood up while picking his bag up.
He had waited three years for this day. Three entire years watching only from corners and fantasising about the boy of his dreams. He was on the verge of crumbling but he also knew that if he didn't do it today, he would carry this feeling of guilt forever.
Getting out of the classroom, he heard the sounds of his own footsteps. However, the further he walked, the heavier his legs felt. Soon, he reached his designation which was the back of the school grounds, a quiet area behind the gym.
There, standing under the orange sky, was Ace Virelli.
Sacha tried his best but his heart had long stopped listening to him. His ears turned an adorable shade of red, like they'd caught fire before the rest of him could react as he gazed at the sinisterly charming boy. Even though the boy doesn't look cruel, Sacha felt too scared to approach him.
Even at eighteen, Ace had the kind of face that made people nervous. His beauty wasn't boyish or innocent, it was sharp like someone had cut him out of arrogance. Even as a teenager, his icy grey eyes held the same fire as someone who had already seen too much and decided to become the thing that couldn't be touched.
Ace wasn't beautiful the way pretty boys were. He was beautiful the way kings are, young, cold, and already dangerous.
Gathering his already shaky courage, Sacha gets out behind the wall. His heart was hammering so hard, it felt like his ribs might break under the pressure. His knees felt weak with every thought that screamed for him to turn back and ran. Because Ace wasn't someone you should approach.
Everyone in Last Second Academy knew that. Ace was like a storm which is impossible to predict.
And Sacha? He was the opposite.
Quiet, soft-spoken, and invisible on most days. No one even noticed they were in the same year. Even though his older brother, Cassian, was Ace's friend, Sacha had always kept a wide berth. Cassian had warned him enough times to never go near Ace.
But here he was after ignoring every warning from his brother.
Because today was graduation. And after this, Ace was leaving the country for further studies.
Sacha had promised himself that just once, he wanted to be brave. He took a shaky step forward and then another. Until the boy with the broad back and raven-black hair was just a few feet away from him.
The sky had turned a soft peach above him. He gulped and watched Ace, who stood still with his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket, staring up at nothing.
Sacha took a breath that hurt and breathed out a small scared voice. "A-Ace?"
Ace slowly turned around after hearing his name. His expression didn't change and remained completely unreadable as he watched Sacha. But to Sacha, that look was worse than anger. His sharp gray eyes held nothing, and that nothing felt like a glare.
"What?" Ace gave him a questioning look as he looked Sacha up and down. "Who the hell are you?'
Sacha flinched like he'd been struck. Shit. He already looked annoyed.
Abort. Abort!
His fingers scrambled to open his bag. He couldn't confess with Ace looking at him like that. But he had to do something. This was his only shot after all.
Without daring to meet Ace's eyes, Sacha held out the envelope with both hands like it was a peace offering to a god who might smite him.
Ace frowned and rolled his eyes. "What's this?"
Sacha didn't answer. He felt like he would cry if he even opened his lips. His lips trembled too much to form a word. "I-I-I—"
"Ace? Here you are. We thought you already left."
Sacha jumped like a rabbit, nearly dropping the letter. He looked up in horror to see his elder brother walking over with two of his friends. Cassian was smiling until he saw his little brother standing awkwardly beside Ace.
Cassian's brows pulled together. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I-" Sacha opened his mouth but nothing came out. There were too many eyes with too many chances for humiliation. Before he could pull back the envelope, Ace snatched it from his hands. Sacha's heart nearly leapt out of his throat.
Cassian stepped between them. He glanced at the envelope in Ace's hand, then at his brother. "Wait—did he give that to you?"
Instead of replying, he looked at Sacha for a long moment, and without a word, he held the letter out to Cassian. Sacha felt his stomach drop. Cassian took it with a confused expression, opened it, and read for a few seconds before sighing like he was disappointed but not surprised.
"Tch! Seriously, Sacha?" Cassian grunted furiously. He apologised to Ace. "Sorry about this. He's just stupid sometimes."
Ace didn't say anything. He just slipped his hands back into his pockets and turned away again, as if none of this mattered to him.
Cassian grabbed Sacha's arm making the small guy flinch and began pulling him away. "You come with me."
Sacha followed numbly, his face was already burning with shame.
How did things turn out like this? He hadn't even been able to look Ace in the eye. And his heart was already in pieces.
Rowan squinted in the direction Cassian had just dragged Sacha away, watching them disappear behind the school building. He popped a gum into his mouth, chewed twice, then snorted.
"No way! Did the hamster really grow a pair and try confessing?" He turned toward Ace with a smirk. "I mean, even I wouldn't risk that, and I'm head-over-heels for you, darling."
Kael, standing beside Rowan with his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets, laughed. "You're head-over-heels for anything that breathes. And I'm pretty sure even the hamster could bench press more than you."
Rowan gasped in offense. "You little—! I'm delicate, not weak."
Kael rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they stayed in his skull. "You're allergic to gym equipment."
"And you're allergic to happiness."
"Still better than being horny for a serial killer," Rowan taunted but Ace wasn't offended by his only childhood jokes.
Rowan Vale and Kael Everhart weren't just anyone.
Rowan, with his dark auburn curls, sharp green eyes, and devil-may-care grin, walked the world like it belonged to him, and in many ways, it did. He was loud, cocky, and dangerously charismatic. The heir to the Vale Industries, one of the country's biggest tech conglomerates, he was the kind of rich that made even other elites tread carefully. Rowan treated rules like suggestions and boundaries like challenges. He was the kind of guy who got detention and made it look like a VIP pass.
Kael, in contrast, was the cool shadow to Rowan's wildness. With messy ink-black hair that often fell into his cold eyes, and a voice so calm it could either soothe or terrify. The Everhart legacy came with quiet power, politics, law, and influence buried in every inch of the system. Kael didn't need to yell because his silence did all the work. He was always two steps ahead, and if Rowan was the fire, Kael was the blade.
Cassian, Sacha's older brother, was the chosen golden son of the esteemed Mori family, old money, respected name, the kind that didn't just sit in luxury but owned it. His charm was surface-deep, hiding rot underneath. He was expected to lead, and he did through control, manipulation, and fear. He had everything: looks, brains, status. But what he loved most was power, especially the kind he could wield over someone weaker like Sacha.
And poor Sacha, was the quiet one everyone overlooked. Small, soft-spoken, and almost too delicate for a world full of wolves. But even he came from money. The youngest heir to the Mori family, his presence was a whisper of grace and gentleness that had no place among the brutality around him. A fragile rose in a garden of thorns.
They were all born into thrones, different kingdoms but the same poison. But none of them were ready for the war their hearts and bloodlines were about to start. Because above all of them, above the money, the politics, the power plays and poisoned crowns stood Ace.
Ace Virelli didn't just belong to the elite, he ruled it. The heir to the Virelli Empire, a shadowed syndicate that whispered into the ears of politicians and bled into industries too powerful to name. Old money, dirtier than most could imagine. Everyone knew the Virellis, but no one dared to speak their name too loudly.
With sharp, wolf-like eyes that could turn the bravest men into stone and a presence that made even teachers hesitate to breathe around him, Ace didn't need to speak to control a room. He walks in, and people start moving on their own. He looked at you, and you prayed it wasn't a death sentence. He never smiles or laughs. And if he did, you'd wish he hadn't.
Violence followed him like a loyal dog even at a young age. The others were kings in their own castles. Ace? He was the executioner. The god they would all fear very soon.
And the one person who just handed him a letter was the boy who would unknowingly light the match. The softest thing in the darkest room. And Ace had just looked at him.
None of them knew it yet but their fates had already been stitched together with red thread and razor wire.
And Ace? He was about to pull it tight.
"But you can't deny that hemster is kinda cute," Rowan whistled.
Ace didn't speak but his eyes were still fixed in the direction the brothers had gone. Suddenly, a malicious smirk flickered to life on his lips.
"I'll catch up later," he walked away without waiting for them.
Kael blinked. "Where are you—"
"My driver's here," Ace said over his shoulder.
Rowan leaned toward Kael. "He's totally going to murder one of them, right?"
"I hope it's you."
Meanwhile, Ace walked alone through the now-quiet corridors of Last Second Academy. His phone buzzed with a message from his driver. "I'm waiting outside."
Ignoring it, Ace slipped it back into his pocket without a reply. His steps halted when he heard a sharp smack and angry shoutings.
Ace turned toward the source which was a classroom with a slightly ajar door. Quietly, he stepped closer and peeked in. Inside, Cassian had Sacha pressed against the desk, his hand was raised midair.
"I told you not to pull stunts like this!" Cassian snapped, with frustration and hatred visible on his face. "Are you stupid? Huh? You think this won't get back to Dad? You're an embarrassment who can't even stay invisible properly."
"I-I just wanted—" Sacha winced and trembled like a wet cat.
"Shut up and start counting!" Cassian ordered coldly, and brought his palm down with a hard slap.
Sacha stumbled from the force. "O-One."
Another slap.
"T-T-T-wo."
Ace's face remained unreadable as he watched the brothers with eerie calm.
"T-Ten…"
Cassian wiped his hand on his blazer like touching Sacha had soiled him. "I told you to stay out of my way. You're a disgrace to our name. I'll make sure they never pair us in the same school again."
By the time the tenth slap landed, Sacha was on the ground, his shoulders were shaking but he cried or shed any tear…his body was too numb to produce any.
Cassian straightened his uniform with a sharp tug. "Do anything like this again and I'll make sure Ace rips your heart out himself. Understood?"
Sacha didn't answer and Cassian didn't wait. He turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door open and disappearing down the hall.
Ace, still standing by the door, tilted his head slightly without any expression. His eyes lingered on Sacha who was coughing and wincing in pain.
"Now that's interesting," His signature smirk returned and something dark and amusing crossed his eyes just for a moment before he walked away as well.
None of them knew it yet. Not Rowan with his reckless charm and loose tongue. Not Kael with his quiet judgment and hidden scars. Not Cassian, drunk on power, convinced he held all the strings. Not even Sacha, curled on the cold floor, cheeks burning from the sting of blood and humiliation.
And least of all, Ace. The boy with the smirk of a devil and a heart colder than steel, walking away without a glance back.
None of them knew how tightly destiny had already wound its threads around their necks. How soon, fate would blur between loyalty and betrayal, obsession and love, justice and cruelty.
How secrets buried in the dark would claw their way to the surface and drag every one of them into a wave of madness.
And how none of them would walk away untouched.
Because what was coming for them wasn't just drama but a storm.
And the most twisted, unhinged, unforgiving part of it had already started.