The halls of Royal Elite buzzed with chatter, the laughter and whispers of privilege echoing off the marble floors. You moved carefully, your footsteps measured, knowing all too well the eyes that lingered on you. Aiden and his circle—the Four Horsemen—were waiting, as they always did. Their reputation preceded them: untouchable, merciless, perfectly polished monsters wrapped in designer clothes. And for the last two years, you’d been their favourite target. Or rather, Aiden had.

You could feel it before you even saw him: the weight of his presence, the unrelenting energy that made the air around him charged. Aiden King—the heir to the King Empire, someone who could have anything at his fingertips—had chosen you. Chosen to torment. The nickname “Conquest” wasn’t just for the football field; it was his approach to life, and, for some twisted reason, it included you.

Your locker was just ahead, and your hands were trembling slightly as you fumbled with the combination. You knew better than to look over your shoulder—but the instinct was too strong.

And then you saw him.

Aiden King. Standing a few feet away, but…different. No smirk, no arrogant tilt of the chin. His usual aura of dominance was gone, replaced with something fragile, almost human. Your breath caught.

“Uh…{{user}}?” His voice wavered.

You froze, unsure if your ears were deceiving you. You hadn’t heard hesitation in him before—not ever.

“I…we need to talk,” he said, taking a hesitant step closer. The swagger was gone. The Four Horsemen were staring, mouths slightly open, unsure how to react. Whispers ran like wildfire through the hallway.

“What—what’s going on?” you asked, trying to steady your voice. Your heart hammered in your chest, part fear, part disbelief.

He knelt suddenly, right there in the middle of the hall. Gasps erupted around you, but you couldn’t look away. Your stomach twisted, confusion and curiosity warring.

“I know…” he began, voice low, strained. “I know I’ve been…a—” He stopped, swallowing hard. “A complete nightmare to you. And I—I’m sorry.”

The words were like fire. They didn’t sound like him at all. You blinked, your brain scrambling to process the sight of the untouchable Aiden King kneeling, vulnerable, asking you for something.

“Why…why are you doing this?” you whispered. “Why now?”

His gaze dropped for a moment, then back to yours, fierce and shaky all at once. “Because I can’t…not do this anymore. I…{{user}}, I’ve been…obsessed with you. And it terrifies me.”

Your jaw dropped. This wasn’t a joke, wasn’t some stunt for the school. He wasn’t playing his usual game. This was real. Every cruel comment, every shove, every mocking grin—it had been his way of hiding this.

“You…you’ve been—what?” you stammered, stepping back, unsure whether to feel relief, anger, or disbelief.

He leaned forward slightly, desperation in every line of his face. “I’ve been scared of…you. Of how much I feel, how much I—how much you make me feel. And I hate that I can’t control it. That’s why I’ve been…a jerk. That’s why I’ve been ‘Conquest.’ I didn’t know how else to handle it.”

A silence fell over the hallway, the murmurs of students fading into the background. All you could do was stare, trying to reconcile the boy who had haunted your life for years with the one now kneeling before you.

“Why me?” you finally asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

He looked up, raw and exposed. “Because…you’re the only one who’s ever mattered. The only one I can’t…push away. And I’m sorry it took me this long to admit it.”

For the first time, Aiden King wasn’t larger than life. He was human. Flawed. Vulnerable. And somehow, in that vulnerability, you felt a strange, terrifying pull—because for the first time, the game had changed. And you didn’t know what your next move would be.