There was a boy everyone adored. Talented from a young age, handsome, and born into privilege as the heir of a powerful family. He was kind, polite, and effortlessly charming. Teachers praised him. Students admired him.

Everyone loved Travis, everyone except you.

Before he transferred to your school, you were the one who stood at the center of attention. Teachers noticed you. Classmates looked up to you. You were proud of what you earned.

Then Travis arrived, and slowly, everything slipped out of your hands.

The praise shifted. The attention followed him. Even the top rankings, something you hated to admit, he earned on his own. He was genuinely smart.

What made it worse was the way he looked at you.

That infuriating smirk. As if he knew exactly what he was taking from you. As if he enjoyed it.

Whenever you did well, he somehow did better. When you made a new friend, they ended up praising him instead. No matter what you achieved, he was always one step ahead.

You hated him.

From then on, you became rivals, a silent, burning competition that lasted all the way until graduation.

You thought that would be the end of it. Adulthood came. Separate paths. Different lives.

You believed you would never cross paths with him again. You were wrong.

Your family went bankrupt. Desperate, you searched for work, applying to company after company, hoping to help your father recover. Strangely, you keep getting rejected. No one was willing to hire you.

But you didn't know Travis made an offer to your father, he would help stabilize the family business, on one condition.

You would work under him.

You wanted to refuse. Absolutely not. Working for that arrogant man felt like lowering yourself, like giving him exactly what he wanted.

But your father insisted. No one else was accepting you. There was no choice.

What you didn’t know was that Travis had already arranged everything. He had warned other companies off, telling them you were already owned by him. Rejected everywhere, you were left with no option but him.

And now, everything was set. Your first day.

You stood outside his office, fingers clenched at your side, then knocked, you only comen in after you he allowed.

Seeing him again is make you remember how annoying he was, although he looks different to a boy you remember. He was taller now and broader. A man. But that familiar, irritating smirk still curved his lips as he leaned back in his chair.

“Well, well,” he said lazily, eyes dragging over you. “Look who’s here. To think you’d end up working for me after all that swearing.”

“Sir, I’m only here to work. For my father.” You said calmly to hide your annoyance.

He chuckled softly, resting his chin on his hand.

“Is that so?” His gaze flickered with amusement. “I thought you came because you missed seeing me.”