The gunshot echoed, then silence. It was the aftermath of a duel, not of blood, but of bullets. Uriel and Marcus, Uriel's mother's private bodyguard, had just finished their contest of skill. The prize: bragging rights for the most shots on target. A few maids stood nearby, waiting under the shade of the lounge, holding a tray of fresh towels and a pitcher of orange juice.
Uriel laid his gun on a table and walked to the targets. He counted the holes on each board, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "Nice shot, Marcus. I see you've improved," he said with a hint of sarcasm. "But you're still three shots behind." He ran a hand through his hair.
Marcus bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for the compliment, young master. Thanks to your training, I will improve faster."
Uriel scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked back to a lounge chair. A maid poured a glass of orange juice and served it to him. He gulped it down in one go before lying back. "A good rest never hurts," he said, closing his eyes. "It helps the brain relax for better plans." He placed a sleep mask over his eyes as two maids began fanning him.
The rhythmic clicks of heels on the tiled floor announced Catherine's arrival. Dressed in a white linen suit and matching custom heels, she exuded an air of elegant authority. The maids and Marcus bowed in greeting. Uriel, acutely aware of his stepmother's presence, remained unfazed, knowing a lecture was on the way. She was always worried about his health whenever he practiced with a gun.
Catherine gave Marcus a hard stare before patting Uriel's shoulder. "Uriel darling, I know you're not sleeping. Wake up." When Uriel didn't move, she added, "If you don't wake up, you might as well hear that I've ended my pathetic life."
Uriel shot up, pulling off the sleep mask. "Catherine, what is it?"
"It's not cool to frown," He said folding his arm.
"Easy for you to say," She replied. "How many times have I told you not to engage in a shootout? It's too dangerous..."
"For my health, Catherine, I get it," he interrupted, holding her shoulders. "That's enough. I know when to quit, and I don't want you to be worried about my health."
"If I can't worry about your health, what am I supposed to worry about?" she asked, cupping his chin, her dark eyes filled with emotion. "You're my little baby boy, and it's my responsibility to worry about you. Don't put yourself in a difficult situation."
Uriel smiled down at her. "Fine, Catherine, I've heard you."
She rolled her eyes, unconvinced, before walking away. "Women are really something else, aren't they, Marcus?" Uriel said.
"Yes, young master," Marcus replied. "But your mother is only looking out for you, if I may say so myself."
Uriel hissed, draping his jacket over his shoulder before sauntering away.
Catherine and Uriel walked into the living room to find Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Armani seated on the couch. Mr. Armani stood up as soon as he saw Catherine and held out his arm, pulling her into an embrace. "It's good to see you, Catherine," he said. She smiled in return, a gesture that made Uriel smirk, who immediately stalked out of the room.
Uriel stood in his massive garage, a sea of luxury cars sprawling before him. To him, they were just toys—invaluable, perhaps, but ultimately disposable. He rarely drove, preferring the swift, impersonal flight of a helicopter even for a trip to the mall. But today, a car felt right. His mood dictated the machine: the red Ferrari for anger, the Maserati for happiness, the Lamborghini for a storm of mixed emotions.
He waved a hand, and his guards sprang to life, testing each engine, a chorus of revving and humming filling the cavernous space. Suddenly, his phone chimed. A notification: Megara was online. He had created a fake account just to watch her, and it was working perfectly.
He unlocked the screen, his thumb hovering over her Facebook profile. He clicked, and a photo appeared that made his jaw clench. There was Megara, smiling, her hand in Hugo's. The caption read, "A DAY AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY WITH MY BEST PAL."
Uriel rubbed his hand over his face, a muscle in his jaw ticking. "At the library with your best pal, huh?" he muttered to himself, his voice low and dangerous. "We'll see about that." He snatched a key from a waiting guard. He hit the button, and a siren blared, followed by flashing lights in the distance. He strode toward the sound, a sleek black Ferrari 488 Spyder waiting for him. He yanked the door open and zoomed out of the mansion, leaving a trail of rubber and fury in his wake.
Meanwhile, at the library, Megara's brow was furrowed in concentration. She was wrestling with a math problem, one that usually came to her with ease. Across from her, Lacey was scrolling on her phone, avoiding her own math woes, while Hugo was so lost in staring at Megara that he forgot he was holding a magazine. Megara glanced up, catching his eye. He quickly looked away, a blush creeping up his neck.
"What's the problem?" she asked, a small smile playing on her lips. "Do I have a math problem on my forehead?"
Hugo scoffed, bringing the magazine up to hide his face. "There's nothing on your forehead. You just looked so serious solving that math problem," he complimented, his voice soft. "It's like you're a German soldier, you know, with all the numbers here and there."
Megara bit the end of her pencil, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "I get that a lot. But hearing it from you, I don't know if I should take it as a compliment or a reminder that I have to study harder until I pop."
Hugo closed the magazine, dropping it on the table between them. "I know the exams are hard on you, but you've got to relax and enjoy yourself. It's the weekend," he said, gesturing at Lacey. "She's enjoying her weekend, and that's maybe what you should be doing. That's why I lied your way out of the house."
Megara looked away from him, burying her nose back into her book. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I have a math exam the first day of next week. And my intuition tells me it's going to be all about exponentials and cosine rules." She punched a few numbers into her calculator.
Hugo nodded, pulling his own textbook closer. "This is a sign that I should probably study too," he said, patting Lacey's arm.
"What is it, fashion disaster?" Lacey grumbled, her brow furrowed. "Speak up, I don't have all day."
Hugo waved a hand in front of her face. "Don't you think you have some studying to do?" he asked. Lacey just rolled her eyes and turned away.
Just as Megara was getting immersed in her work, her phone rang. Hugo and Lacey both looked up as she quickly silenced it. She hoped Uriel would stop, but he didn't. The phone blared again, the ringing attracting the librarian's attention. The woman pointed to a sign: all phone calls were to be taken outside.
Lacey leaned in, a smirk playing on her lips. "Why are you avoiding the call? A boyfriend, perhaps?" she teased. Megara shot her a sharp glare, and Lacey zipped her lips.
Megara groaned, silencing the call again.
"Aren't you going to take that? It's disturbing everyone," Hugo complained, oblivious to who was on the other end. "He doesn't look like he's going to stop calling."
Megara finally answered, her voice tight with frustration. "Hello? What's wrong with you? I'm in the middle of something important, and you keep calling. Are you trying to get me banned from the library?"
He laughed, a click of his tongue echoing through the phone. "It's good to hear from you too. Took you long enough to answer."
"What library are you at?" he asked, completely ignoring her frustration.
"The National Library," she answered, then slapped a hand over her mouth. "No way. What did you feed me in that apple juice that I have to answer you correctly when you call?"
"It's because you find me handsome," he teased. Megara almost gagged, but Hugo didn't miss the small smile that flickered on her face.
"Look, I'm busy. Stop calling me and don't you dare come here to wreck havoc for me," she warned, her voice stern. "Uriel, I'm serious. If you step in here, I'm going to beat you up so hard you won't feel your limbs."
"Don't get your hopes up, sweetheart. I'm at the art exhibition in Oxford," he lied smoothly. "What would I be doing in a library with you?"
"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes before hanging up.
Hugo's face was a mess of emotion, his heart clenching in his chest. Uriel was a threat, and he knew he had to eliminate him. Megara looked up, saw his angry expression, and he quickly straightened up, pretending nothing was wrong. But beneath the table, his hand was clenched into a fist.
He forced a smile. "I never knew you had Uriel's number."
"I don't know how it got there, but all I know is he won't rest. He's drained my entire energy," she complained, her focus returning to her book.
"Look, I want to warn you about Uriel," he said, his voice hinting at a warning. "He's not exactly the kind of guy you think he is. He isn't the kind of guy you should be alongside with. All he's going to bring is nothing but trouble and anger for you."
Megara scrunched her nose, drumming her pencil against the book. "I totally get it, and I appreciate the warning. But there's nothing going on between him and me," she replied.
Lacey shot her a look that said, "Seriously?"
"Well, Megara, that doesn't look like it to me," Lacey interjected, still typing on her phone. "You should have seen the way you two talk."
Megara frowned, then threw her mini notepad, hitting Lacey squarely in the head. "Ouch!" Lacey screamed, rubbing her head. "What did I do? I'm just saying what I saw."
"Don't be ridiculous," Megara warned, turning her attention back to Hugo. "What's going on between you and Uriel? I thought you two were the best of friends. I know I don't like his gut, but that's not enough reason for you to hate him."
"I don't hate him, but emotions to Uriel are like toys, and I don't want to see you get hurt, Megara," Hugo said, his voice filled with genuine concern.
Megara shook her head, focusing on her book. "Let's just study and leave relationships out of the matter for now," she advised, her eyes still laser-focused on the math problem. "Relationships are overrated and exhausting."
Three minutes later, Megara was helping Hugo solve a problem, their heads bent over the textbook. Just then, a huge math encyclopedia slammed down on the table, startling all three of them.
Megara looked up, her eyes popping out of their sockets as she saw Uriel standing there, a goofy grin on his face. "Hello, sweetie," he said, waving a hand in front of her face. "Did you miss me?"
Megara blinked, trying to process the fact that Uriel was before her. It was either a dream or the after-effects of too much math. "How are you here?" she whispered.
"I'm here to see my future wife," Uriel announced, a playful, low rumble in his voice. He punctuated the thought with a slow, deliberate wink in Megara's direction.
Megara's frown deepened as she snapped her book shut, the sound echoing in the otherwise quiet library. "Uriel, behave yourself. And stop calling me your wife. This is a library, not a circus," she warned, her voice a hushed but sharp whisper. Uriel, however, seemed to have already tuned her out. He pulled a vacant chair from a nearby table, his gym bag thudding heavily as he dropped it onto the wood. He settled in, a long, contented sigh escaping his lips as he stretched out.
A tense silence fell over the small study space. Hugo shifted uncomfortably, his eyes locking with Uriel's in a cold, silent stare-down. "Don't you have something important to do, Uriel?" Hugo's voice was laced with an almost taunting sweetness. "Like, somewhere else to be?" Uriel just smirked, a hint of danger in his eyes, and chose to ignore the jab entirely.
His focus shifted back to Megara. She had reopened her book, pretending to be engrossed, her eyes scanning the page. Uriel leaned in, his gaze fixed on the dense text, his face drawing closer to hers. Megara, startled by his proximity, looked up, her eyes widening as she met his. She recoiled, pulling back so fast and immediately forward that her forehead connected with his forehead with a dull thud.
Uriel flinched, a hand flying to his head. "Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, feigning pain.
Hugo shot up from his seat checking on her forehead. "Are you alright? He asked his voice laced with concern.
He nods ignoring him momentarily and facing Uriel pointing at him accusingly. "I told you to behave," she shot back, a slight blush creeping up her neck. "This is a library…"
"And not a Circus, I know," he finished for her, a sly grin playing on his lips as he gently poked her head. He then looked over at Hugo, a challenge in his eyes, trying to get a rise out of him. It worked. Hugo's brow furrowed, a vein in his temple pulsing slightly. "Why aren't you studying, Hugo? Something else on your mind?" Uriel asked, his voice dripping with false concern.
Hugo forced a tight, thin-lipped smile. "The same reason you're here." Megara looked between the two, a confused expression on her face, before sliding a sheet of paper with a few complicated equations scribbled on it toward them.
Uriel glanced at the paper in his hand and slid it back. "These equations are nothing, sweetheart. I'm not here to study; I'm here to watch you study," he said, his gaze softening as he looked at her.
Megara groaned, a quiet frustration bubbling up inside her. "Can you please stop with that?" she pleaded. "If you're not here to study, just go home and stop distracting me."
"Fine, I'll study," Uriel conceded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But you're coming with me after this." Megara shot him a hard, skeptical glare. "Don't even think about asking where we're going because I'm not telling you."
Megara scoffed in disbelief, giving him a withering look. "Who says I was going to ask? I was just trying to come up with the best possible excuse to say no."
A sharp, slapping sound echoed through the library as Hugo slammed his hand, and the paper he was holding, onto the table. Uriel slowly turned his head, his amused expression fading into a cold mask. "Can you take your... flirtation outside? It's an eyesore," Hugo said, his voice low and tight with annoyance.
"Be my guest," Uriel replied, a smug smile returning to his face. "The door is right there."
Lacey, who had been sitting quietly nearby, finally looked up, her face a mask of exasperation as she stared at the three of them. "Ugh, do you all realize how loud you're being?" she hissed.
"Says the girl who's on her phone," Hugo retorted, his gaze locked on Uriel's.
Megara had reached her wit's end. Without a word, she lunged forward, grabbing both gentlemen by their ears. They yelped, hands flying up to pry at her unyielding grip, but it was no use.
"Ouch! You're going to pull my ear off!" Uriel cried, trying to hold her hand in place. Megara just pulled harder. "Megara, stop that!"
"Since I've warned you repeatedly and you won't listen, you'll both wait outside until you can resolve your differences," she declared. She yanked them toward the door, and behind them, Lacey burst into a fit of laughter, snapping a picture on her phone.
A moment later, Megara returned. A huge expression of relief washed over her face as she sank back into her chair, returning to her studies.
Lacey leaned in, her closeness a distraction. "Do you think they'll leave, or just destroy themselves?"
"They care more about their reputation than anyone here does," Megara replied, not looking up. "Now, shut up and sit down, or you can join them."
"Okay, okay," Lacey said, holding up her hands in surrender. "Evans will be here any minute."
Megara simply gave a non-committal hum, her attention already back on her books.