STERLING HEIRS

The Games begin

Episode 6

Adunni took a slow, deep breath, shutting out the glaring eyes of the elite students. Mama, look at me now. I won't bring shame.

She stepped onto the wooden runway. She wasn't wearing designer heels like the other girls—just her standard, school-issued loafers. But the exact moment her foot touched the wood, something inside her shifted. Her shoulders dropped back. Her long neck elongated. Her hazel fox eyes locked onto Madame Laurent with a fierce, untamed intensity that instantly stole the breath from the room.

She didn't just walk. She marched like a queen reclaiming a throne. Every stride was deliberate, full of raw, effortless, African grace. Her golden-brown skin glowed brilliantly under the harsh studio lights, and her afro framed her face like a royal crown.

When she reached the edge of the catwalk, she didn't smile. She gave a sharp, high-fashion smolder that practically pierced right through the glass mirrors.

Madame Laurent’s hand flew to her mouth. "Mon dieu..." she breathed, utterly captivated.

Adunni turned on her heel with a sharp, fluid pivot and walked back down, leaving the entire class in a stunned, breathless silence. Christina's face turned a violent shade of red, her manicured nails digging into her palms in pure envy.

"Incredible! The structure, the fierce gaze... you are a natural, Miss Bello!" Madame Laurent gushed, clapping frantically.

As Adunni stepped off the stage, wiping a faint bead of sweat from her forehead, she noticed two figures standing by the glass double doors at the back of the studio.

The blond boy, Cole Ashford, was leaning against the frame, a breathless, mesmerized smile on his face, his blue eyes overflowing with absolute adoration. He looked completely captured.

Right next to him stood the gray-eyed British boy, Keiran Voss, his arms crossed over his chest, watching her with a dark, intense hunger that made her skin prickle with goosebumps.

Adunni caught both of their gazes across the studio. She finally knew who they were now—the two most powerful, billionaire heirs in the entire school, best friends since birth, and rulers of the academy's social hierarchy.

But as she looked at them, she saw the undeniable tension between them. They were staring at her, but they were also hyper-aware of each other.

A dangerous, clever spark lit up inside Adunni's chest. Poverty back in Lagos had taught her how to survive wolves, and these two were the biggest predators in the forest. They both wanted her—one wanted to protect her, the other wanted to cage her.

If the heirs want to fight over me, Adunni thought, her lips curving into a tiny, almost invisible smile as she turned away, I might as well give them a war. I’ll drive the wedge myself.

The game had officially begun.