chapter 1: The King Has Arrived

Adrian's POV

The roar of a black Lamborghini Aventador shattered the peaceful Monday morning at Blackwood University.

Heads turned.

Conversations stopped.

And from the steps of the enormous university library, three girls nearly forgot how to walk.

“He's here!” one of them squealed, grabbing her friend's arm.

The Lamborghini swept through the iron gates, its glossy black body reflecting the morning sunlight. It rolled past the manicured lawns, the enormous marble fountain, and the rows of luxury vehicles parked outside the university's magnificent academic buildings before coming to a smooth stop directly in front of the main entrance.

The driver's door opened.

Adrian Blackwood stepped out.

Six feet three inches of broad shoulders, muscular arms, and effortless arrogance emerged from the luxury car. His jet-black hair fell carelessly across his forehead, and his dark eyes swept over the courtyard with the disinterest of someone who had seen everything and found nothing worth his attention.

He wore a black fitted T-shirt beneath an expensive leather jacket, dark jeans, and sneakers that probably cost more than some students' monthly rent.

A silver watch glimmered around his wrist.

His expression remained cold.

He didn't smile at the girls whispering his name. He didn't acknowledge the boys who greeted him. He didn't even glance at the student who nearly dropped his coffee while trying to photograph him.

Adrian simply slammed the car door shut and walked toward the university entrance.

The crowd parted.

It always did.

“Good morning, Adrian!” a blonde girl called, hurrying toward him.

He kept walking.

“Adrian, wait! Are you coming to the Sigma party on Friday?”

“No.”

“You haven't even heard what the theme is!”

“Still no.”

His best friend, Mason Carter, burst out laughing as he jogged down the steps to meet him.

“You're a horrible person.”

Adrian tossed him his car keys.

“And you're talking too much.”

Mason caught them. “You know, most people say good morning when they arrive somewhere.”

“Good morning.”

“You didn't even look at me.”

“Would you prefer a written apology?”

Mason grinned. “There he is. The charming prince of Blackwood.”

“Keep talking, and I'll replace you as captain's assistant.”

“You wouldn't dare.”

Adrian stopped walking and looked at him.

Mason immediately straightened.

“Keys are in my hand. Your car is beautiful. You look terrifying. Let's get to class.”

Adrian continued toward the building.

Behind them, two girls were already arguing about whether his hair looked better messy or styled. Another was whispering that she had seen him at an exclusive nightclub over the weekend, where a bottle of champagne reportedly cost more than her tuition.

Adrian heard none of it.

Or perhaps he simply didn't care.

His phone vibrated.

DAD.

He stared at the screen for several seconds before answering.

“I'm on campus.”

“Your results have been released,” Richard Blackwood said.

Adrian's expression hardened.

“I know.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Where do you stand?”

Adrian looked toward the glass doors of the university building.

“Second.”

The silence on the other end was immediate.

“Second?”

“It's the first assessment, Father.”

“Your excuses are becoming predictable.”

Adrian's jaw tightened.

“The semester has barely started.”

“And yet somebody has managed to outperform you.”

“Her name is Valentina Reyes. She's an exchange student.”

“Then you should have no difficulty beating her.”

Adrian said nothing.

His father continued.

“I did not send you to Blackwood University to socialize, play hockey, or parade expensive cars around campus. You are a Blackwood. You will graduate at the top of your class, captain your team to another championship, and prepare yourself to take over this family's business.”

“I'm aware of my responsibilities.”

“Are you? Because your older brother—”

“Don't.”

The word escaped before Adrian could stop it.

Silence fell.

His father's voice dropped dangerously low.

“Excuse me?”

Adrian closed his eyes briefly.

Alexander had been gone for years. His family insisted that his death had been an accident, but Adrian still remembered the last argument between his brother and their father. He remembered Alexander's furious voice, the sound of a door slamming, and the terrible emptiness that followed.

He had never been allowed to ask enough questions.

“I said I'll handle it,” Adrian replied.

“You will do more than handle it. You will win. I will not tolerate another disappointment.”

The call ended.

Adrian lowered his phone.

Mason had heard enough to understand.

“Your father?”

“Who else?”

“Maybe you should tell him to stop calling you before breakfast.”

“Maybe you should stop giving advice you wouldn't have the courage to follow.”

Mason's smile faded.

“I'm trying to help you.”

“I didn't ask you to.”

Adrian turned and walked into the building.

He had learned a long time ago that kindness made people believe they could get close enough to hurt him.

He preferred distance.

He preferred silence.

And above all, he preferred winning.

Unfortunately, someone had already managed to take first place from him.

He intended to correct that mistake.

Valentina's POV

Three hundred kilometres away, Valentina Reyes was fighting with a suitcase that had apparently decided it would rather remain in Colombia.

“Come on,” she muttered, dragging it over the uneven pavement. “You survived two airports, a delayed flight, and a man who tried to put his suitcase inside your seat. You are not going to defeat me now.”

The suitcase caught on a crack.

Valentina nearly fell forward.

A passing taxi driver laughed.

She shot him a look.

“Enjoy the show.”

The driver raised his hands and continued down the road.

Valentina sighed and pushed a strand of brunette hair behind her ear. Her freckles stood out across her nose beneath the warm morning sun, and her brown eyes were tired from the long journey.

She had left Colombia with two suitcases, a scholarship letter, a little money, and a promise to herself that she would not come home a failure.

Blackwood University was supposed to be her opportunity.

A chance to study international business at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. A chance to find a job that paid well enough to help her mother. A chance to prove to her father that being born without money did not mean she was destined to remain poor.

Her family had not exactly celebrated her departure.

Her mother had cried at the airport.

Her father had complained about the cost of the journey, even though the scholarship covered most of her expenses.

“You think a foreign university will change your life?” he had asked her the night before she left.

Valentina had stared at him.

“I know it can.”

“Knowledge doesn't pay bills, Valentina. Money does.”

“Then I'll earn some.”

He had laughed.

That laugh had followed her all the way across the Atlantic.

Now, standing outside a university that looked more like a royal palace than an educational institution, Valentina wondered whether she had been too ambitious.

The buildings were enormous. Glass towers rose beside elegant stone structures, while landscaped gardens surrounded a spectacular fountain. Students crossed the courtyard in designer clothes, carrying expensive bags and drinking coffee from cups that probably cost more than Valentina's breakfast.

A sleek sports car pulled up nearby.

A student stepped out and immediately handed his keys to an attendant.

Valentina looked down at her worn sneakers.

“Right,” she whispered. “Just act normal.”

She pulled out her phone and opened the university map.

Then she walked straight into a tall boy carrying three coffees.

“Oh! I'm so sorry!”

One cup tipped dangerously.

The boy caught it at the last second and stared at her.

“Do you always walk around looking at your phone?”

“Only when I'm trying not to get lost.”

“Maybe look where you're going.”

“Maybe don't stand in the middle of the pavement holding three coffees.”

He blinked.

Valentina blinked back.

Then she stepped around him and continued walking.

“Unbelievable,” the boy muttered behind her.

“Have a wonderful day!” she called without turning.

She heard him laugh.

For the first time that morning, she smiled.

Maybe Blackwood University wouldn't be so terrible after all.

She reached the main entrance and stopped beneath the enormous university crest. Students were gathered around the noticeboards, discussing examination results and the upcoming hockey season.

A girl with blonde hair approached her.

“Hi! Are you looking for someone?”

“Actually, yes. The international student office.”

“Oh, you're new?”

“Is it that obvious?”

The girl laughed. “A little. I'm Chloe Bennett.”

“Valentina Reyes.”

Chloe's expression changed.

“Wait. You're that Valentina Reyes?”

Valentina frowned.

“Should I be worried?”

“No! I mean, you're the exchange student who got the international excellence scholarship. People have been talking about you since the admissions results came out.”

Valentina stared at her.

“I haven't even started classes.”

“Apparently, you're already the smartest person in your department.”

Valentina laughed nervously.

“Let's not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Oh, trust me. You'll want to know about Adrian Blackwood before you get comfortable here.”

“Who?”

Chloe looked at her as though she had just confessed to never having seen the sky.

“The guy who owns half the campus without technically owning any of it. Hockey captain. Billionaire heir. Walking red flag. Ridiculously handsome.”

“Sounds like a lovely person.”

“That's sarcasm, isn't it?”

“I'm Colombian. It's practically a second language.”

Chloe laughed so loudly that a passing student glanced at them.

Then the noise from the courtyard changed.

A deep engine roared outside.

Students began rushing toward the windows.

Chloe grabbed Valentina's wrist.

“Oh, my God. He's here.”

“Who?”

“Adrian!”

Valentina followed her toward the glass doors.

Outside, a black Lamborghini had just pulled up in front of the main entrance. The crowd gathered around it, phones raised, girls fixing their hair, boys shouting greetings.

The driver's door opened.

A tall young man stepped out, dressed in black, his expression so cold that even the people surrounding him seemed reluctant to get too close.

Valentina watched him accept his keys from another student before tossing them casually to a boy beside him.

Then he looked toward the entrance.

For one brief second, his eyes met hers through the glass.

Valentina felt absolutely nothing.

He was handsome, certainly. The kind of handsome that made people forget their own names.

But she had crossed an ocean to build a future, not to admire a stranger's face.

She turned away.

“Come on,” she told Chloe. “I have paperwork to complete.”

Chloe stared at her.

“You're seriously not interested?”

“In what?”

“Adrian Blackwood!”

Valentina shrugged.

“He looks like the kind of man who would argue with a mirror.”

Chloe covered her mouth.

Outside, Adrian had started walking toward the entrance.

And for reasons neither of them could have explained, the first morning of their university lives was about to become the beginning of a war.