Sebastian Blackwood
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Rhett Calloway
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Damian Cross
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Lucien Moreau
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Blackridge University was the kind of place that appeared in prestigious magazines and academic brochures. Its historic buildings, perfectly maintained gardens, and the influential names associated with the institution made any student dream of studying there. For most people, getting into Blackridge meant success, opportunity, and a bright future.
For you, it meant exactly the opposite.
Everything began years ago when your mother, Elena, married Richard Alexander Blackwood. After years of raising you on her own, she finally found stability alongside a man who seemed as though he had stepped straight out of a perfect story. Richard was respected, intelligent, and successful; the founder of one of the most important companies in the country and someone whose mere presence commanded authority. Yet behind all that influence, he was a surprisingly kind man.
From the very first day, he tried to treat you as though you were part of the family.
He never saw you as someone else’s son or daughter.
He never made you feel like an obligation.
He opened the doors of Blackwood Manor to you, took an interest in your studies, listened to your opinions, and offered you the same opportunities he offered his own son. Over time, he came to care about you so genuinely that anyone looking from the outside would have assumed you shared the same blood.
The problem was never Richard.
The problem was always Sebastian.
Sebastian Blackwood was everything the world expected from a perfect heir. Intelligent, disciplined, admired by professors, respected by students, and in possession of an almost flawless reputation. Wherever he went, he seemed to stand out effortlessly. People followed him. Listened to him. Admired him.
And he despised you.
You never knew exactly why.
Not even he seemed capable of explaining it.
From the moment you entered his life, something in him rejected you immediately. There were no dramatic scenes or explosive arguments. Sebastian was far too controlled for that. His contempt revealed itself in far more subtle and persistent ways. Cold glances. Carefully calculated remarks. Impossible expectations. That constant feeling that no matter what you did, it would never be enough.
When the time came to choose a university, Richard insisted on paying your tuition at Blackridge. He genuinely believed that studying there would open doors that otherwise would never have been available to you. He was also convinced that sharing the same environment would finally help you and Sebastian find a way to get along.
It was one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
Because Blackridge was not just a university. It was Sebastian’s territory. And Sebastian was not alone. It was there that you met Rhett Calloway, Damian Cross, and Lucien Moreau. The three of them were just as popular and influential as Sebastian, although for very different reasons. Rhett possessed a smile capable of winning over an entire room and an almost supernatural ability to turn any situation into entertainment. Damian barely needed to speak to intimidate those around him. And Lucien had an unsettling talent for making people trust him before using that trust for his own benefit.
At first, you thought you might be able to get along with them. It did not take long to realize how wrong you were. What began as occasional jokes slowly became routine.
Rhett found amusement in every mistake you made. Lucien seemed to enjoy watching your reactions. Damian used his mere presence to make you feel out of place. And Sebastian watched it all without intervening. Sometimes he was even the one who started it.
As time passed, the mockery, comments, and humiliations became part of your daily life. Nothing ever happened that was serious enough for someone to step in. There was never any evidence. Never any important witnesses. Everything was carefully calculated.
That was why nobody believed you. Professors saw Sebastian as a model of excellence. Students adored Rhett. Lucien was known for his charm and kindness. And although Damian intimidated many people, nobody could point to a single serious mark against his record.
To the rest of the world, they were exemplary young men. To you, they were the reason every day at Blackridge had become a battle.
Your mother tried to help, but her optimism had become a blindfold over her own eyes. She always insisted things would improve. She always said everyone simply needed time to adjust. She always found a less painful explanation for what was happening.
Richard did not understand the truth either.
He loved you.
That was never in question.
But he viewed the world from far too privileged a position to imagine what really happened when he was not looking. Every time he noticed tension between you and Sebastian, he assumed it was nothing more than normal family conflict. Youthful rivalry. Problems that would eventually resolve themselves.
He never imagined they had been getting worse for years.
And so, while everyone remained convinced that you had been lucky enough to join a powerful family and attend one of the best universities in the country, you were living a completely different reality.
Because behind the elegant walls of Blackwood Manor and the prestigious facade of Blackridge University, there was a truth that nobody seemed willing to see.
You had spent years surviving in a place where you were not welcome.
And the four most influential people on campus seemed determined to remind you of that every single day.
⸻
The main cafeteria at Blackridge University was as crowded as ever during lunchtime. The constant murmur of hundreds of conversations filled the space while students from every faculty occupied tables, moved through the aisles, or stood in line in front of the food counters. It was an ordinary scene, just one of the many that made up university life, yet for you it remained one of the most uncomfortable moments of the day. Long ago, you had learned that crowded places significantly increased the chances of running into certain people, and experience had taught you that such encounters rarely ended well.
Holding your tray, you made your way through the crowd while searching for an empty place to sit. All you wanted was to eat lunch in peace before your next class, something that should not have been such a difficult request. Yet the moment you looked up, your stomach tightened as you recognized an all-too-familiar sight.
At the far end of the cafeteria, occupying one of the largest and best-positioned tables in the room, sat Sebastian Blackwood, Rhett Calloway, Damian Cross, and Lucien Moreau. As always, they seemed to attract attention without making any effort at all. Some students approached to greet them, others appeared content to admire them from a distance, and a few simply looked for excuses to remain nearby. It was difficult to blame them. Between the four of them, they embodied almost everything Blackridge admired: prestige, influence, attractiveness, talent, and a reputation so spotless that it made them seem untouchable.
No one would have imagined that behind that perfect image existed an entirely different reality.
You looked away, intending to ignore them and continue on your way. After years of sharing a home with Sebastian and constantly running into the other three around campus, you had learned that the best strategy was to remain unnoticed whenever possible. Unfortunately, luck never seemed to be on your side when it came to them.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds. An abandoned backpack lying in the middle of the aisle caught your foot, forcing you to stumble forward. You did not fall, but the sudden jolt was enough for part of your drink to spill across your tray. Under different circumstances, the accident would have been insignificant, but the noise attracted the attention of several nearby students, and the first laughs began almost immediately.
You tried to compose yourself before it turned into a larger spectacle, but it was already too late. When you lifted your head, you discovered that several pairs of eyes had turned toward you, including four you would recognize anywhere.
Rhett was the first to notice what had happened. The smile that appeared on his face was so immediate that he did not even attempt to hide it. Lucien looked up moments later, clearly intrigued by the interruption, while Damian observed the scene with the same unreadable expression that rarely changed. Sebastian was the last to lift his attention from the documents in front of him, but it took only an instant for his gray eyes to find yours from across the cafeteria.
The look lasted only a few seconds.
Even so, it was enough.
Because after all these years, you already knew exactly what it meant when all four of them started paying attention to you at the same time.
And it never meant anything good.
