Chapter 1: Life Before the Rise
Westwood High—A Kingdom Where Money Rules
The laughter of the rich echoed through the hallways of Westwood High, a private school where wealth determined your worth. If you weren’t rich, you were invisible. If you were poor, you were a joke.
Xavier Cole knew this better than anyone.
His faded hoodie and worn-out sneakers stood out in a sea of designer clothes. His cracked phone screen, his second-hand backpack—everything about him screamed broke. And in a school filled with billionaire heirs and spoiled trust-fund babies, being poor meant being at the bottom of the food chain.
It didn’t matter that Xavier worked three part-time jobs. It didn’t matter that he had to take care of his sick mother. All that mattered was that he wasn’t one of them.
But despite everything, there was one thing that made life bearable.
Her.
The Girl He Loved… Until Today
Xavier stood in the middle of the cafeteria, holding a small lunch tray. A plain sandwich and a carton of milk. The only meal he could afford.
Across the room, she stood with her back turned to him. Madison Carter. His girlfriend of two years.
Long, silky blonde hair. Perfectly sculpted face. She was beautiful, rich, and untouchable.
And right now, she was laughing—but not with him.
Xavier frowned as he saw the guy standing next to her. Dylan Walker.
Tall. Muscular. Loaded. His father owned half of the city’s biggest businesses. Dylan was Westwood High’s golden boy, the kind of guy every girl wanted. The kind of guy Xavier could never compete with.
A sinking feeling crawled through Xavier’s chest. Something was wrong.
Then it happened.
Madison turned around, tossing her perfect hair over her shoulder, and locked eyes with Xavier. A smirk curled on her lips.
“Hey, babe.” Her voice dripped with mockery.
Xavier took a hesitant step forward. “Madison? What’s going on?”
She laughed, leaning into Dylan’s arms. “Oh, Xavier… you’re so slow. I’ll make this easy for you.”
Xavier’s stomach twisted.
“I’m dumping you.”
Silence.
The cafeteria went dead quiet.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward him. People whispered, chuckled, smirked.
Xavier swallowed, his heart pounding. “Wait, what?”
Madison rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Don’t be pathetic.” She gestured at Dylan. “This is my new boyfriend.”
Dylan grinned, throwing an arm around her waist. “Tough luck, man. But don’t take it personally. She just upgraded.”
The words hit harder than a punch. Upgraded.
Xavier clenched his fists. “So that’s it? Two years, and you just—”
Madison laughed. “Two years of boredom. Be honest, Xavier, what did I even see in you? You’re poor. You can’t buy me anything nice. You can’t even take me on proper dates. Hell, you don’t even own a car.”
A few students chuckled.
“Madison…” Xavier’s voice was low, hurt. “You said you didn’t care about that.”
She smirked. “I lied.”
More laughter. More whispers.
Dylan clapped Xavier on the shoulder, his grin wide and mocking. “Hey, since you’re single now, why don’t you do me a favor?”
Xavier stiffened. “What?”
Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp hundred-dollar bill. He held it up between his fingers.
“Go to the store and buy us some condoms. I want to make sure our first night is… safe.”
The cafeteria exploded with laughter.
Xavier’s vision went red.
The Breaking Point
The world blurred around him as rage boiled in his veins. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his skin.
This was it.
Two years of love—gone. Two years of loyalty—mocked.
And now, he was being humiliated like he was some errand boy.
Dylan waved the hundred-dollar bill in front of him. “Come on, man. It’s the most money you’ll ever see. Don’t be shy.”
More laughter. More whispers.
Xavier’s body trembled. His jaw tightened. Every part of him screamed to punch Dylan’s smug face in.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he took a deep breath, forced his hands to his sides, and turned around.
He walked away.
Behind him, Madison’s voice rang out in the cafeteria, loud enough for everyone to hear:
“Ugh, I can’t believe I ever dated that loser.”
The final knife to the chest.
A Broken Man… for Now
Xavier didn’t stop walking. He moved past the students, past the laughter, past the humiliation.
His feet carried him out of the cafeteria, down the hall, and straight into the boy’s restroom.
He slammed the door shut, breathing heavily.
Then—
CRACK!
His fist smashed into the mirror.
Glass shattered, shards slicing into his knuckles. Blood dripped onto the sink.
But he didn’t feel the pain.
He felt nothing.
Just emptiness.
Just rage.
He gripped the sink tightly, his head hanging low.
“I swear…” His voice was a whisper, filled with hate. “I swear… I will never be humiliated like this again.”
Then—his phone rang.
Still breathing heavily, he pulled it out of his pocket.
An unknown number.
For a moment, he almost ignored it. But something inside him—something deep, instinctual—told him to pick up.
He answered. “Hello?”
A deep, smooth voice spoke on the other end.
“Mr. Cole. My name is Mr. Blackwood. I have urgent news regarding your inheritance.”
Xavier froze.
His what?
And just like that, his life changed forever.