THE BILLIONAIRE'S ASSASSIN

CHAPTER 14

Damian stood facing the tall building before him. He lifted his gaze, scrutinizing the building as it rose heavenward.

“Crown Ridge Academy,” he murmured the words under his breath, then scoffed.

Crown Ridge was known for its high competence in hierarchy; students here were the offspring of big names in New York.

A frustrated groan escaped his lips, he had to deal with spoiled rich brats again. “I hope this time things end up differently.” He mumbled to no one in particular.

In Crown Ridge, power mattered more than rules, even teachers here didn't have the right to stand up to elite students.

He had already been there the previous night to check the school out. He was a little disappointed at their security system, but everything else was OK.

He found his locker in a matter of seconds. It was located in the hallways where middle tier wealthy students were, while the elite students' lockers were in the private locker room.

He scoffed, mumbling, “Talk about social discrimination.”

He pressed his index finger onto the digital keypad. A soft beep sounded, and his locker opened.

“Hi,” a voice sounded beside him.

Damian's movement paused momentarily at the sound of a somewhat feminine voice. He couldn't see the face because of the locker separating them, but he didn’t feel at ease, it was only the first day, and now he had to talk to someone.

He closed the locker, and slowly turned towards the voice.

Damian paused again, he tilted his neck to the side, “Oh you’re a guy.”

“Yeah, I'm a guy,” he said shyly, tucking his blonde hair behind his ears.

“Uhm, I'm Kai, by the way. I'm the student liaison assigned to give you a tour of our beautiful academy and help you with whatever you need,” he extended his hand forward for a handshake.

“Also, I guess we're both blond,” he added, tucking loose strands of his hair behind his ear again.

Damian's gaze lingered on his hand, then to his face. He had a feeling Kai wasn't straight, but he looked more of a cute nerd with his glasses than gay — maybe he was mistaken about Kai’s sexuality, but who was he to judge?

“Nice to meet you Kai, I'm Damian and— uhm you look cute,” he didn't know why he said the last part, it just slipped out.

Kai’s cheeks flushed a pink hue, he wasn't used to compliments, especially from a random hot guy like Damian.

Damian kept staring at Kai while he blushed, his uniform fitted his slim body to perfection, from his midnight blazer, ivory dress shirt, and perfectly fitted pants. Unlike Damian, Kai had a tie on which heightened his cuteness.

“Uhm, I like your hair too, but I think it's more blond and a little longer than mine,” Kai said, trying to reciprocate the compliment. He wasn't wrong, though he liked Damian's hair, especially how he styled it in a half-man bun.

Damian frowned, “I don't enjoy compliments.”

“Oh, erm—” Kai cleared his throat. “Let me show you around, this way please.”

Damian rolled his eyes, and followed him anyway.

Kai turned abruptly, and Damian raised an eyebrow.

“Rule number one. Always stay away from the queen bee, make sure you never cross paths with her,” Kai stated firmly.

Damian nodded, he wasn't interested in anything related to whatever Kai had to say.

Kai stared at him for a while, hoping to get a question from Damian, but Damian kept mute.

“You're not gonna ask anything?”

“No.” Damian replied simply.

Kai nodded and they continued their tour.

{LUNCH BREAK, CROWN RIDGE ACADEMY}

Damian sat alone at the far end of the cafeteria ready to feast on the chocolate mousse cake before him. Crown Ridge's cafeteria wasn’t like other school cafeterias he’s been at. Crown Ridge was on a whole other level. If the students weren’t in uniforms, he would have thought the cafeteria was a luxury dining hall for elites.

He picked up his fork about to grab the first bite, when suddenly Kai showed up. He dropped his fork with a sigh, it hadn’t been hours since they parted, and now here he was smiling at him.

Damian knew Kai wasn't gay. At least that's what he chose to believe, he just couldn't stand the feeling of people leeching around him.

“Mind if I join you?” Kai asked.

“Knock yourself out.” Damian replied.

Kai flashed him a sweet smile, “Thanks.”

Damian picked up his fork again about to devour the dessert before him. Out of nowhere, loud gasps erupted in the cafeteria. He dropped the food and palmed his face. He didn't like the constant distraction, and Kai giggled at his reaction.

They both turned to where the commotion came from, and Kai’s expression changed to that of a scared one when he saw what was going on at the elite table.

Damian's eyes narrowed when he saw some girls bullying another girl. “What’s happening?” he whispered to Kai.

“That’s the queen bee of our school, Arianna Cross,” Kai answered in a soft whisper.

“Arianna Cross,” he dragged, “Another rich spoilt brat, huh?” He let out a scoff.

“Her father was among the founders of Crown Ridge, so basically she’s highly valued and respected here,” Kai said.

Damian studied Arianna intently. She was one of those rich brats he despised. It was a surprise to him as how he hadn’t heard about her.

Arianna stared furiously at the trembling girl before her. If looks could kill, the girl would have been six feet under. Lily had spilled water on her, she knew it wasn't deliberate, but she was Arianna freaking Cross. Mistakes are not meant to be forgiven, they are meant to be corrected.

“On your knees Lily, now,” she commanded, and her voice echoed through the hall.

Lily went on her knees immediately, “Please, I'm sorry, I won't make such a stupid mistake again,” hot tears streamed down her face as she begged. She knew Aria wouldn’t forgive her, but she had to try.

“If she isn’t taught a good lesson, I’m sure she’ll make the same mistake over and over again,” Aria’s friend, Chelsea chirped in. She was Arianna’s right-hand wing, they were inseparable and always together.

Aria grabbed Lily’s jaw roughly, “You hear that Lily, you need to be taught a lesson.”

“Please.” Lily’s words came out as a desperate whisper.

All her pleas fell on deaf ears. Arianna grabbed her hands, took the hot coffee Chelsea had brought, then she poured the content on Lily’s hands. Lily’s scream echoed through the hall as the hot coffee came in contact with her skin.

Damian dropped his fork at the sound of the shrill scream. He had managed to ignore whatever they were doing, so he was able to take two bites. He stood up sharply, but Kai held his hand. “Wait, you can’t leave.” Kai mumbled.

Damian glanced at Kai’s hands on his, and his eyes darkened, “The next time you touch me, I promise to f*cking punch you hard on that pretty face of yours.”

Kai let his hands go after seeing the terrifying expression Damian had on. He didn’t mean to touch him, he only wanted to tell him that no one could leave until Arianna did.

Damian headed to exit the cafeteria. He had an itch to get involved, but he didn’t want to be considered a night in shining armor, he preferred being the villain in a story.

“Halt, not another step.” Arianna's voice thundered through the hall, making Damian halt on his tracks.

Damian dipped both his hands into his pocket, then leisurely he turned. “What?”

Arianna frowned at the bravado of the blond guy before her. His face wasn’t familiar, so she assumed he was a scholarship student.

“I guess you’re new, but no one leaves until I'm done,” she stated, confidence oozing from her voice.

Damian nodded, “Ok.” He turned, and with lazy strides he walked out of the cafeteria.

The entire hall rippled with student murmurs, some pitied Damian, while others were proud of his actions.

Arianna felt like exploding inside, she clenched her fist, and stormed out of the cafeteria with Chelsea trailing behind her.

[A HOTEL ROOM]

Chloe’s eyes snapped open, she tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her, and it felt as though the entire room was spinning.

With great difficulty, she managed to get down from the surprisingly large bed. She found her phone, and the screen came to life. Her eyes widened, “F**k it's noon already,” she whispered to herself.

Suddenly, memories of the previous night flooded her mind, she turned to the stranger, and her mouth curved into a warm smile. Even though she couldn’t remember his name, she was grateful she met him, he made her night spicy.

She got dressed then headed straight for the door,

“Goodbye handsome,” she muttered in a small voice, then blew him a kiss.

The door shut behind Chloe, and Steve's eyes snapped wide open.