Love beyond rivalry

AMBER'S POV: My name is Amber Anderson. I grew up in Toronto, Canada, with my best friend, Sandra Williams. Yeah, you guessed right—we have been best friends since birth. Our mothers were friends long before we were born, so Sandra and I practically grew up together. We attended the same schools, went on vacations together, celebrated birthdays together, and even bought a few identical clothes. Sometimes people actually mistook us for sisters. Sandra was the only person who knew almost everything about me. She knew when I was happy, when I was angry, and especially when I was pretending to be fine. There was just one thing we had never done together. Dating. Don't get me wrong. I loved romance. I enjoyed watching romantic movies and reading stories about love, but when it came to actually falling in love, I was different. I was scared. Maybe it was because of the way my family treated me. I was the only girl in the Anderson family, which automatically made me the family princess. My mother spoiled me, my father was extremely protective of me, and my two older brothers acted as if every boy who came near me was a potential criminal. Mom was the only one who supported the idea of me having a relationship someday. Dad? Let's just say he wasn't exactly thrilled about it. My father, Andrew Anderson, was a billionaire and the owner of one of the biggest companies in Toronto. His company was powerful, respected, and extremely successful. But there was one company that always seemed to stand in our way. Rivers Corporation. The Rivers family was almost as powerful as ours. In fact, my father often referred to Rivers Corporation as his biggest competition. I had heard the name countless times while growing up, but I had never really cared about business. My brothers, Kelvin and Alvin Anderson, were twins and were already being prepared to take over Dad's company one day. As for me? I wanted something completely different. I wanted to become an actress and model, just like Mom. Mom had been a model when she was younger, and she occasionally appeared in movies. She always told me that I had what it took to follow in her footsteps. I wasn't trying to boast, but I knew I stood out. I was tall, had caramel-colored skin, and blue eyes that Mom always said were my best feature. I was also one of the most popular girls in school. At least, that's what everyone seemed to think. And honestly, I didn't mind the attention. The sound of the school bell echoed through the hallway as I stepped out of my Bentley. The huge gates of Crescent High School stood in front of me. The moment I stepped onto the school grounds, I noticed the familiar reaction. Heads turned. Whispers began. Some students smiled and waved while others simply stared. I was used to it. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and started walking toward the entrance. "Hey, Amber!" I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned around and saw Sandra hurrying toward me. She was dressed stylishly as usual, her hair neatly arranged, and she had a huge smile on her face. "Sandy," I called. She caught up with me and immediately grabbed my arm. "Amber, you won't believe what happened!" I raised an eyebrow. "Knowing you, it's probably something dramatic." She laughed. "Well, this one is actually interesting." "What happened?" "We have a new boy in our class." I sighed. "That's it?" "No!" she exclaimed. "You haven't heard the best part." I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Tell me." "He is tall, and apparently he's really handsome." Sandra's eyes lit up. I couldn't help laughing. "Of course. That's the first thing you noticed." "Don't judge me," she said dramatically. "You know what I like." "And apparently, tall boys." "Exactly." She laughed. We continued walking toward our classroom. "So what's his name?" I asked casually. Sandra suddenly became quiet. "What?" "You didn't ask his name?" "I did." "And?" She leaned closer to me. "His name is Jason." "Jason what?" "Jason Rivers." I stopped walking. For a moment, I thought I had heard her wrong. "Who?" "Jason Rivers," she repeated. I stared at her. "Rivers?" "Yes." My stomach tightened. "Are you sure?" Sandra nodded. "Apparently, he's the son of Henry Rivers." I knew exactly who Henry Rivers was. Henry Rivers. The man whose company was constantly competing against my father's. The man my father had spent years trying to surpass. And now his son was attending my school. "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered. Sandra looked at me strangely. "What? Why are you suddenly acting like that?" "You know who his father is." "Of course I know. But that doesn't mean Jason is anything like him." I shook my head. "This is going to be a problem." Sandra laughed. "Why? It's not like you're planning to marry him." "That's not the point." "Then what's the point?" I didn't answer. Because, honestly, I didn't know. Maybe it was because I had grown up hearing my father talk about the Rivers family. Maybe it was because I knew how competitive our families were. Or maybe it was simply because something about the situation felt strange. Before I could say anything else, we reached our classroom. The moment I entered, several students turned toward us. Then I noticed someone sitting near the window. A boy I had never seen before. He was quietly looking through a book while the other students whispered about him. Sandra nudged me. "That's him." I looked at her. "Jason?" She nodded. I looked back at him. So that was Jason Rivers. The heir to Rivers Corporation. The son of my father's biggest rival. And somehow, he was now sitting in my classroom. As if sensing someone watching him, Jason slowly lifted his head. Our eyes met. For a second, neither of us said anything. Then the teacher walked into the classroom. "Everyone, settle down. We have a new student joining us today." The entire classroom became quiet. The teacher gestured toward Jason. "Please introduce yourself." Jason stood up. "My name is Jason Rivers. I'm seventeen, and I recently moved back to Toronto." A few students whispered excitedly. Sandra leaned toward me. "See? I told you." I ignored her. Jason sat down again. The teacher looked around the classroom. "Amber, since you know the school better than most students, I'd like you to help Jason get familiar with everything." My eyes widened. "Me?" "Yes." Sandra covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. I glared at her. This couldn't be happening. Out of all the students in the classroom, why did the teacher have to choose me? I looked toward Jason again. He was already looking at me. And for some strange reason, I suddenly had the feeling that my ordinary life was about to change. I just didn't know how much it was going to change. Because Jason Rivers wasn't just the new boy at Crescent High. He was the son of the one family my father had warned me to stay away from. And somehow... he was about to become a very important part of my story.