Prologue
338 Words
In a world dictated by the harsh reality of wealth, the masses find solace in a familiar fantasy: the wealthy prince falling for the impoverished girl, or the dazzlingly beautiful elite choosing the overlooked outcast.
Audiences crave these stories because they demand a "Happily Ever After."
But life is not a fairy tale.
A happy ending does not freeze time; the clock keeps ticking, and the living must face whatever comes next. Cynics understand that money is the ultimate authority a force that can buy anything, including people. In the real world, no one is Cinderella.
Enter Ryka Santos. Her name is as simple as her appearance, a girl born into a family she jokingly labels "The Great Job Hunters." To support herself and her younger brother, Ryka balances an exhausting rotation of part-time gigs. She survives by a strict personal doctrine:
"If you were born poor, it is not your fault; but if you die poor, that is the worst tragedy."
To the world, Ryka is entirely transparent-naive, innocent, and safely predictable. But appearances are the ultimate deception. No one suspects that beneath her fragile exterior lies a carefully guarded secret.
On the other side of the social divide stand four young men known collectively as the "Royal Punks" (RP). Regal, staggeringly wealthy, and armed with a dangerous, flaming charisma, they rule their elite circle with a fiercely competitive spirit. They are princes accustomed to absolute control, used to reading people like open books.
Until the day their paths unexpectedly cross with Ryka's.
As she drifts into their lives, the facade of the simple, struggling girl begins to fracture. The Royal Punks find themselves ensnared by an enigma they cannot solve. Her innocence starts to look like calculation; her simplicity feels like a trap. Haunted by her anomalies, the leader of the RP finally corners the girl who refuses to fit their narrative.
Looking into eyes that suddenly betray a cold, profound depth, he demands the one answer money cannot buy:
“Who are you?”
-Pikachachi
- Writer
