Chapter 1

My archenemy, Tyler Levesque, forced a kiss on me.

Rage and resentment swirled and churned within me and made me feel like I was going to explode.

I woke up with a start.

Whew!

Thankfully, it was only a dream.

Just as I thought that, a dark figure pressed me down.

“Ah—Mmph!”

A hand muffled my scream.

“It’s me. Quiet!”

Tyler’s voice was low and husky. His eyes burned.

He grabbed a scarf and shoved it into my mouth.

I struggled viciously, but Tyler was a ruthless man, and I had never beaten him before.

His body was hot, and his breathing was ragged.

“Be good. If you don’t behave, I’ll post photos of you sleeping online.”

My hands were tied to the headboard. Shame flooded me and made me feel even angrier. I glared daggers at him.

He smirked, and his eyes glinted. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s so tempting.”

“You’ll regret this,” I wanted to say. Unfortunately, I could not speak, so all that came out was a bunch of muffled nonsense.

I had just woken up from a nightmare, but it seemed like reality was even worse.

“You won’t escape me, Henry Levesque!”

…

When I was eighteen years old, I lost my mother. She had been my only family.

A few days later, a well-dressed middle-aged couple showed up and took me to the hospital for some check-ups.

It turned out that I was the Levesque family’s long-lost son.

Tyler had been prized and pampered in the Levesque family for eighteen years. Suddenly, he lost half of his parents’ love and attention. Because of that, he had broken down.

“He’s just a country bumpkin. There’s no way I’ll ever consider him my older brother. He’s not worthy!”

Tyler looked exactly like the typical rich boy: handsome, arrogant, and spoiled.

I stood there with my ill-fitting clothes, feeling awkward.

My supposed birth mother, Natalie Levesque, spoke to Tyler softly to ease the tension.

“It’s okay if you can’t. But he’s only just a few days older. Just be nice to him, okay?”

Natalie seemed to be in a good mood. She put my hand in Tyler’s.

“All of a sudden, I have two handsome sons. It’s like a dream!”

With a dark face, Tyler flung my hand away.

“I’m not even your biological son. Who knows? You might kick me out one day.”

He turned and stomped upstairs.

…

Tyler did not come downstairs to have dinner that evening. Meanwhile, my birth parents were very nice to me and treated me with the greatest care.

However, I did not feel very comfortable.

My bedroom was right opposite Tyler’s.

When I opened my door, a snake fell on me. My face went pale, and I took a step back instinctively.

After that, a rat sprang out.

I was not afraid of them, but it was surprising that they would show up in such a lavish villa.

Tyler, with his arms folded, leaned against the wall. He grinned in delight.

He said mockingly, “Wow, for someone from the countryside, you sure scare easily! Don’t you guys see stuff like this all the time there? I can’t stand fake people.”

Natalie heard the commotion from downstairs. “What’s wrong, Henry? Your bath’s ready. Come down when you’re done unpacking.”

Tyler forced me into a corner. His fists were clenched tight, and he threatened me. “Don’t you dare snitch on me! If you do, it’ll only get worse.”

I huffed and pushed him away.

“Well, at least you admitted it was you.”

I went back into my room to pick up the toy snake. “How immature! Don’t worry, I don’t have time to waste on this.”

I threw the snake and rat into the bin, grabbed my pajamas, and went downstairs.

…

On the way to school, I stuck to the right side of the sidewalk, and Tyler kept to the left. We did not even want to breathe the same air.

When I stood up to introduce myself in class, I heard some girls whispering to each other.

“Wow, he’s really handsome!”

Tyler sat in the very last row in class.

He scoffed and said, “How very boring!”

We had PE class in the afternoon.

Out of the blue, a basketball hit me in the head. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

Tyler shot me a careless glance.

“Oops, my bad! Didn’t see you there.”

A group of people huddled over. “Hey, Ty, isn’t he your friend?”

Tyler dribbled the basketball as he moved away, but his voice was firm and clear.

“We’re not friends.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous because you aren’t the only handsome guy in class anymore! Is that it?”

Some people really liked to watch the world burn as they poured more fuel over it.

I was ready to leave the scene before things escalated.

Tyler suddenly got in my way. His gaze was filled with disdain as he assessed me.

“How about a little challenge? Just a simple three-point shootout. Let’s see who’s better.”

He spun the basketball lazily on his finger.

Meanwhile, some guys fanned the flames and hyped him up.

“Hey, he’s obviously a star student. He’s not like you, Tyler. He doesn’t mess around on the basketball court all the time!”

“That just means he’s chicken!”

Someone else tried to speak up for me.

“This isn’t fair, Tyler. You’re obviously trying to bully him!”

I turned around and snatched the basketball from Tyler. With practiced ease, I ran a few steps forward and made the shot. It went right through the hoop with no fanfare.