Chapter 1: The Boy Everyone Feared
Samantha's POV
The hallways of West Bridge High School were louder than I expected.
Students moved in groups, laughter echoing against polished walls as expensive perfume filled the air. Everywhere I looked, people wore designer shoes, luxury watches, and confident smiles that made me feel painfully out of place. I tightened my fingers around the strap of my old school bag and lowered my eyes.
Maybe coming here had been a mistake.
My mother had spent weeks encouraging me to accept the scholarship, reminding me that this school could change my future. But standing in the midst of teenagers who looked like they had never worried about money a day in their lives, I just felt small.
A loud bell suddenly cut through the noise.
“Oh no!” I muttered, my heartbeat quickening.
I glanced down at the paper in my hand, trying to find my first lecture hall. Panic rushed through my chest. I hurried down the hallway, weaving through the thick crowds. Without looking where I was headed, I turned sharply around a corner—and slammed straight into a solid chest. Books flew from my hands and a loud gasp spread across the hallway.
I stumbled backward, completely losing my balance, and landed hard on the polished floor.
“Ouch,” I muttered softly, rubbing my stinging wrist.
The hallway went dead silent.
I slowly lifted my head.
A tall boy stood over me, wearing a black tee-shirt and navy trousers. He casually pulled a black varsity jacket onto his broad shoulders. His dark hair was perfectly messy, and his sharp jawline made him look more like a celebrity than a high school student.
Girls nearby stared at him like he was royalty, whispering his name excitedly.
Peter Kingston.
Even though I had only arrived that morning, I had already heard his name twice. He was the richest boy in school. The boy every girl wanted, and the boy everyone feared.
Peter looked down at the books scattered around my feet, his eyes slowly settling on my face. Disgust immediately crossed his expression.
“Hey,” he snapped coldly. “Don’t you watch where you’re going, you wretched thing?”
A few students laughed quietly. My cheeks burned with humiliation.
Gathering my trembling fingers, I quickly bent down to scoop up my books, forcing myself to stay calm.
“Excuse me?” I asked softly, standing up to face him. “I’m sorry for bumping into you, but don’t refer to me as a wretched thing.”
The hallway froze. Several students stared at me in absolute shock. No one ever dared to talk back to Peter Kingston.
Peter’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He stepped closer, towering over me. “Wait. What did you just say?”
I swallowed hard, but refused to back down. “You heard me.”
Peter let out a short, humorless laugh. “How dare you talk back to me? Who the hell do you think you are? Do you even know who my father is?”
Before Samantha could respond, he slapped her, the sound echoing through the hallway.“You are a guest here on a handout. Know your place before I make sure you’re thrown out of it.”
The cruelty in his voice rippled through the crowd, but nobody moved. Nobody dared to help me while he was standing there.
I stood there in disbelief, my eyes stinging with tears. I refused to let fall. Peter looked down at me without a single trace of guilt.
“Watch the way you speak to people next time,” he muttered coldly. He stepped over my fallen notes, intentionally treading on one of my papers as he walked past. The crowd slowly parted for him, and just like that, the ambient noise of the school returned.
I remained frozen, my chest tightening with humiliation. This was my first day. My very first day, and it had already become the worst day of my life.
The whispers around me grew louder.
I wiped away the tears before anyone could see them. My hands curled into tight fists, my entire body trembling—not from fear anymore, but from pure rage.
I spun toward the direction he had gone.
"Peter Kingston!" I screamed.
The students gasped, stopping dead in their tracks. My eyes blazed with fury as tears finally streamed freely down my face.
"Go to hell!" My voice cracked, but I didn't care. "I swear you'll pay for this!"
Every single eye in the hallway was fixed on me.
"One day..." I shouted, pointing down the corridor where he had vanished. "I'll make sure you experience this exact same humiliation. I'll make you regret ever treating me this way!"
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the hallway.
Then, from somewhere far down the corridor... Peter stopped walking.
Slowly, he turned around.
