STERLING HEIRS

The Golden cage (Cole's POV)

Episode 8

Cole Ashford was tired of being perfect.

He was tired of the rehearsed smiles, the polished student council speeches, and the heavy burden of being the Ashford empire's golden heir. Everyone at Sterling Heights wanted a piece of him. Girls threw themselves at him for his status, and guys copied his style to feel important. To the world, Cole had everything. But inside, he felt completely numb.

Until a girl with a magnificent afro completely turned his world upside down with a single look.

Cole sat at his mahogany desk in his upperclassman block, his eyes completely bypassing the textbook in front of him. He had spent the entire morning pulling her file from the administration database after tracking her name. Adunni Bello. A freshman scholarship student from Lagos, Nigeria. A girl who had crossed an ocean with one duffel bag to drag her family out of poverty.

When he had intercepted her in the hallway after her morning class, desperate to apologize for the airport mishap and keep her from getting turned around in the school's maze, his heart had instantly leaped into his throat. He had wanted nothing more than to look out for her.

But she hadn't let him play the hero.

"Look out for me? Save your charity, blondie. I can look out for myself," she had snapped, her sharp, icy tone cutting right through his good intentions before she turned on her heel and swished away.

Cole had been completely stunned. Nobody spoke to him with that much disdain. Nobody turned their back on an Ashford. But as he watched her march away with the composure of a queen, his shock transformed into something else entirely.

Fascination. Complete, breathless adoration.

She didn't want his protection. She was a firecracker, a force of nature wrapped in charcoal and gold. Watching her defiance had made a fierce, possessive ache tighten deep in his chest. He didn't just want to keep her safe from the school; he wanted to keep her close to him.

But Cole knew the dangers of Sterling Heights better than anyone. And his biggest worry was standing right next to him.

Later that afternoon, Cole was walking toward the athletic complex when he saw Keiran standing in a quiet corridor, a dark, dangerous smirk plastered on his face as he stared down at his own hand.

Cole’s jaw tightened. He walked up to his lifelong best friend, his blue eyes flashing with a warning he rarely showed. "What did you do, Keiran?"

Keiran didn't look up, his fingers still tracing his skin. "Nothing, mate. Just admiring the local wildlife."

"I told you to stay away from Adunni," Cole stated, his voice dropping into a low, authoritative register. He knew Keiran’s games. Keiran liked to break things that were beautiful and pure, just to see how they worked. "She's not a target."

Keiran finally raised his stormy grey eyes, a mocking, cold glint reflecting in them. "A target? Oh, Cole. You always did have a soft spot for stray things. But I think you're miscalculating this one. She isn't a stray. And she certainly doesn't want your pity."

Cole clutched his fists inside his pockets. The underlying tension between him and Keiran had been brewing since the airport, but right now, looking at his best friend, Cole realized the alliance they had held since birth was fracturing.

Determined to keep an eye on her, Cole skipped his afternoon sports elective entirely. He followed the sound of authoritative clapping toward the modeling runway studio, slipping in through the back glass doors just in time to see Adunni step onto the catwalk.

His breath completely caught in his throat.

She was walking in simple school loafers, but she commanded that stage like she owned the entire city of Seattle. Under the bright, blinding studio lights, her golden-brown skin glowed like pure wealth, and her hazel fox eyes burned with a fierce, untamed fire. She was breathtaking. A flawless, independent diamond.

But as she reached the end of the runway, Cole felt a sudden shift in the air. He glanced to his side.

Keiran was standing right next to him, his arms crossed, his grey eyes locked onto Adunni with a dark, intense hunger that made Cole's blood boil. Keiran wasn't just amused anymore; he was obsessed.

Across the studio, Adunni caught both of their gazes. She looked at Cole's protective stance, then at Keiran's dangerous frame, her full lips curving into a tiny, clever, devastating smile before she turned away.

Cole's chest heaved. He realized right then that Adunni knew exactly what she was doing. She wasn't running from the wolves—she was daring them to fight.

Let Keiran try his dark games, Cole thought, his blue eyes hardening into ice as he watched her walk off the stage. I’ll build a golden cage around her before he can even lay a finger on her. She belongs with me.