Chapter 16: The reality
1365 Words
"Uh, hi," I said, stumbling. I realized I hadn't prepared a script for a woman who didn't look like she was about to fire me. "I’m Cole. I’m a... friend of Maya’s from school. I came to return her book"
I held out the textbook.
Her face transformed into a radiant smile. "Oh! Please, come in! I’m Maya’s mother."
"I... I wouldn't want to intrude," I said, the "gentleman" training from my mother kicking in automatically.
"Oh please. Maya!" she called back into the house, her voice full of a casual affection that sounded foreign to my ears. "Your friend is here!"
A moment later, Maya appeared in the hallway. She looked different. She wasn't the clinical, sharp-tongued student from the café. She was wearing an oversized Dukes University sweatshirt and leggings, her hair piled into a messy knot on top of her head.
When she saw me, her expression didn't shift into anger—it shifted into a guarded curiosity.
"Cole?" she asked, stepping up to the door.
I watched the way her mother reached out and squeezed Maya’s shoulder as she passed—a small, unconscious gesture of closeness. Maya didn't pull away; she leaned into it for a split second, her hand moving to her mother's back, before stepping toward me.
It was a silent language of safety that I didn't recognize.
"I brought this," I said, handing her the book.
"I've been looking everywhere for that," she admitted, her fingers brushing mine as she took it. "I thought I’d lost a semester's worth of notes."
"You must come in for a moment, Cole," her mother insisted. "I just took some biscuits out of the oven."
"Mom, he’s actually in a rush," Maya said, her voice firm. She looked at me, an unspoken plea in her eyes. "He’s on his way to meet his friends for practice. Right, Cole?"
"Yeah," I said, finding my mask again. "Lacrosse practice. Coach is a stickler for punctuality, and I’ve already used my 'emergency' excuse for the week."
"Such a shame," her mother said, though her smile didn't fade. "Well, let me leave you two."
She retreated back into the house, leaving us alone on the porch. The morning air was crisp, and for a second, the silence between us wasn't a battleground.
"Did you read it?" Maya asked, hugging the heavy book to her chest.
I let a smirk play on my lips, the protective layer of the "King" sliding back into place. "What, the Property Law cases? I considered it, but I figured I'd leave the heavy lifting to the future Chief Justice. I was mostly looking to see if you’d hidden any diary entries about your secret crushes or the fantasy life you live in."
Maya rolled her eyes, but I saw a ghost of a smile. "I don't have time for fantasies, Cole. I'm too busy dealing with reality. But thanks," she paused. "For the ride, and for the book."
I let a moment pass.
We just stared at each other but it felt... good --and scary at the same time.
"Don't get used to it," I said, stepping back toward the truck. "I have a reputation to maintain. Can’t have people thinking I’m actually 'thoughtful.'"
"Of course," she said softly. "The King can't be seen doing favors for the commoners."
"Exactly."
I turned and walked back to the truck, feeling her gaze on my back until I pulled away.
As I drove back toward campus, the image of that house stayed with me—the smell of flour, the warmth of the hallway, and the way her mother hadn't asked Maya about "alliances" or "milestones." The way they interacted with each other.
I pushed the thought away, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles were white.
That wasn't my world.
My world was at the gym, where the air was thick with competition and the stakes were clearly defined.
I pulled into the campus athletic center parking lot twenty minutes later. The smell of sweat and the sound of weights clanging filled the air, a familiar symphony that usually made me feel grounded. I found Jax and Theo at the bench press, looking like the poster boys for the University’s athletic department.
"There he is!" Jax shouted, racking the bar with a loud clank. "The King returns. We haven't seen you since you stormed out to meet café girl. Give us the play-by-play. Did the 'Ghost Dad' story actually work, or did she bore you to death with legal jargon?"
Theo grinned, wiping his face with a towel as he sat up. "Yeah, when I saw the rain coming down pretty hard last night, I figured it's either you were having a cinematic moment or you got stuck waiting for her to finish a lecture on ethics."
I leaned against a weight rack, crossing my arms to hide the slight tremor in my fingers. I felt the weight of the Saturday dinner invitation in my pocket, the pressure of my mother's expectations clashing with the quiet warmth of Maya’s porch. I forced a slow, shark-like grin onto my face.
"Are you kidding?" I said, my voice smooth and utterly convincing. "She fell for it perfectly. By the time I dropped her off, she was practically vibrating with sympathy. The 'Ghost Dad' leak worked like a charm. She thinks she’s finally cracked the code of Cole St. James."
Jax barked a laugh, slapping me on the shoulder. "Big Boss. Never doubt the King. But hey, don't get too comfortable in your victory lap." His expression shifted into something more calculating. He checked the digital watch on his wrist. "You realize what tomorrow is, right?"
I stiffened. "Tomorrow?"
"The deadline, Cole," Theo added, his voice dropping. "One week. That was the bet. Tomorrow is the final day of the seven-day window. You haven't 'hit it' yet, have you?"
The reality of the bet hit me like a physical blow. In the chaos of the café and the visit to her house, I’d almost forgotten the original goal. I was supposed to be the one in control. I was supposed to be the hunter.
"I’m working on it," I said, my voice cold.
"Working on it isn't finishing it," Jax challenged, his eyes dancing with mischief. "If the 'Hollow King' gets rejected by a law student after a full week of effort, the crown is going to look a little tarnished, won't it? You’ve got twenty-four hours to finish the game."
"The game is already finished," I snapped, the anger bubbling up, hot and jagged. "I told you, she’s soft now. She’s vulnerable. I’ve got her right where I want her."
"Then prove it," Jax said, shrugging. "Tomorrow night. One week on the dot. Either you're the guy who holds the crown, or you're not Cole. Simple"
I looked at them—my "alliances," my friends. They didn't know about the red door. They didn't know about the way my mother sounded on the phone. They only knew the "King," and if I lost this bet, that person ceased to exist.
"Don't worry," I said, standing up and heading toward the lockers. I looked back at them over my shoulder, the mask perfectly in place. "The next day won't end before I hit it."
I turned away, the sound of their laughter following me. But as I walked, I realized a terrifying truth that had nothing to do with the bet.
Maya’s house hadn’t been a kingdom, and her mother hadn't been a CEO. But for a few minutes on that porch, I’d seen a version of "real" that made my floor-to-ceiling windows and my navy suits feel like a cheap stage play.
The scary part wasn't that I was losing the game—it was that I was starting to hate the person I had to be to win it. And tomorrow, I had to be that person one more time.
- Writer
