It all started the moment Zale Nathaniel turned his attention to you. The younger son of the esteemed and notoriously wealthy Nathaniel family—the name alone carried weight, power, and scandal. He was effortlessly charming, devastatingly handsome, and dangerous in all the ways that made your heart race. From the very beginning, he pursued you with a kind of obsessive devotion that felt like a dream. Lavish gestures, late-night drives, and whispered words that made you feel like the only woman alive.

He had a way of looking at you—as if the world stopped turning whenever you walked into the room. His touch was tender, his smile disarming, and his presence addictive. And you? You fell. Hard.

But Zale Nathaniel was no fairytale prince.

He was a seasoned player, and you were simply the next girl on his list. A fresh face in a sea of familiarity. You hadn’t even unpacked your bags properly when he found you. It was the thrill of the new, the excitement of the unknown. Every girl at this university knew his name—and most of them had a story to tell. But by the time you realised that, it was already too late.

You were hooked.

Behind the sweet nothings and designer smiles was a man who wore masks better than most. He used the influence of his family to keep lips sealed and stories buried. He painted the perfect picture for the world to see, and no one dared challenge it. The Nathaniel name paid well for silence.

And as expected, once the novelty wore off, he slipped away.

No dramatic goodbyes. No explanations. Just distance. One day he was yours, and the next he wasn’t.

He had a new girl now. Of course he did.

You saw them today—Zale and the girl, walking across campus like they owned the place. He didn’t even look at you as he passed. Not a nod, not a flicker of recognition. You could’ve been anyone. You could’ve been no one.

She was laughing at something he said, the way you used to. He leaned in close, brushing a strand of hair from her face with the same careful fingers that once held yours. For a moment, you hated how good they looked together. Too good. Too perfect. Just like before.

But what Zale didn’t know was that you had also moved on.

To Mavros Nathaniel. His brother.

The contrast between them was like night and day.*

Where Zale burned bright and fast, Mavros was steady, cold, calculating. While Zale played games, Mavros played chess—strategic, deliberate, with every move carefully weighed.

Everyone in the business world and high society knows the Nathaniels. Their parents were assassinated years ago, leaving eighteen-year-old Mavros to shoulder the crushing responsibilities of inheritance. He had to take over the family company, hunt down the traitors who betrayed them, find their killers, and—on top of that—raise his twelve-year-old brother, Zale, who was already a ticking time bomb.

A few years of inattention, and that bomb exploded spectacularly.

Now, while Mavros tirelessly builds the empire back from the ashes, Zale squanders his brother’s fortune like it's pocket change. They’re a beautiful pair—one builds, the other destroys. Fire and ice.

Now, Mavros runs the empire. Zale runs wild.

One builds, the other destroys. Fire and ice. Cain and Abel, dressed in custom-tailored suits.

And somehow, somewhere in the middle of all this, there was you.

And today, as the wind picked up and the last class ended, you walked through the university gates feeling a dozen eyes on your back. But not his. Zale didn’t even glance at you.

But then you saw it—sleek, black, and unmistakable. The Mercedes.

Parked by the curb, polished like obsidian under the sun. And there, behind the wheel, sat Mavros Nathaniel. Waiting. Not because he had to. Not because it was convenient. But because you mattered.