Luis groaned.
Emily ignored him and continued, "And don't spend too much time talking to your peers."
"Why?"
"The real reason for this celebration isn't just the Unity Holiday. Half these parents are here to find future sons-in-law and daughters-in-law for their children."
Luis groaned
"I mean it," Emily warned. "I don't want another repeat of last year. I'm still recovering from the drama."
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"No more charming girls into obsession and then breaking their hearts because you're bored. I'm tired of different girls calling me 'Mother-in-law' after dating you for two weeks."
Luis looked away innocently.
Emily wasn't fooled.
Her son was a disaster disguised as a handsome young man. He attracted people effortlessly, made them fall for him, then lost interest the moment they became attached.
The amount of angry parents who had tried to arrange marriages after their children developed crushes on him was enough to give her headaches.
"If you fool around with sister, cousin friends and so on and try to dump the cleaning on me I will break your leg." Emily said
"Sure, sure." Luis waved dismissively. "I'm not even in the mood anyway."
He paused.
"By the way, where's Ava?"
Emily's expression softened.
"On the balcony."
"Doing what?"
"Talking to her crush."
Luis nearly choked.
"Simp much "
Emily laughed.
It seems Ava is really serious in this one . Unlike himself who sleeps around Change girl everyday highest relationship he has last a week, Ava rarely kept her attention on one person for long. Most of her relationships lasted only a few months before she got bored and moved on which was better than him.
"Good luck to them," Luis muttered.
Emily patted his shoulder sympathetically before leaving the room.
The moment the door closed, Luis stared toward the balcony.
For some reason, he suddenly felt sorry for whoever Ava was talking to.
Ava leaned on the balcony railing, phone warm in her hand. She glanced at the screen and grinned when a new message from Matthew popped up.
Matthew: Ava, don't you have anything better to do?
She could almost see him raising an eyebrow. Of course he'd text her that—he'd blocked her number the night before, and she'd been using different ones since Tuesday to get his attention.
She tapped out a reply, amused.
Ava: You're the one who asked to be friends, then blocked me. What the hell, Matthew.
Matthew: If you were me I'd block yourself, you pervert.
Ava stuck out her tongue. She felt bold tonight.
Ava: Matthew, are you a virgin? I'd love to see your face if I asked that in person. Would be fun. I want to pluck your cherry.
It took him a minute to answer, which only made her smile wider.
Matthew: Ava, you're a pervert. Pluck your own cherry.
Ava: Come help me pluck it. Don't you know some things take two people? It's not the same if you do it yourself.
There was a pause long enough for a bird to cry somewhere below.
Matthew: How did this conversation even get here?
Ava: I'm talking about Fruit, duh. What were you thinking, dirty boy? You're so naughty. I'll bet you're blushing. I want to bite your ear.
She sent a winking emoji, then laughed at herself.
Matthew: Ava
Just one word. A warning.
She could practically see him hovering over the block button.
Ava: Fine, fine. Relax. I'll stop—my shy baby.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Matthew: Keep pushing your luck.
Ava burst out laughing and leaned back against the railing, already planning her next tease.
Later that evening, Prim came out of his room dressed in an oversized dark brown crewneck sweatshirt with a small white cursive logo across the chest.
He paired it with baggy beige cargo pants featuring large utility pockets and classic white low-top sneakers. A simple silver chain rested around his neck.
After getting ready, he left the house and took a taxi to the gathering.
To his surprise, Drew had somehow managed to reserve a private room at the newly opened NOX AURELIA Restaurant.
It seems Drew really struck it rich, Prim thought.
When the taxi arrived, he paid the driver and stepped out.
The restaurant stood before him like a palace of glass and gold.
Towering crystal walls reflected the city lights, while elegant fountains decorated the entrance. Luxury vehicles lined the driveway, and every guest entering looked wealthy and influential.
Prim pulled out his phone and messaged the curly-haired girl that he had arrived.
Coincidentally, she had just left the private room to use the restroom. Seeing his message, she immediately decided to come and guide him upstairs.
"Hey, Prim!"
Her voice echoed through the lobby as she stepped out of the elevator.
Prim turned.
The curly-haired girl froze for a second.
Then she groaned dramatically.
"Seriously? It's only been a short while since I've seen you, and you're already even more handsome."
She walked over and pinched his cheek.
"You look like a fallen angel."
Prim immediately blushed.
Unfortunately, that only made him look even more attractive.
Several people passing through the lobby couldn't help glancing in his direction.
The girl sighed.
"See? Even strangers are staring."
Prim rubbed his cheek helplessly.
The two entered the elevator together.
As the doors closed, Prim asked casually,
"It seems Brother Drew has really made it."
The curly-haired girl nodded vigorously.
"I know, right?"
"Do you know how difficult it is to get a reservation here?"
She lowered her voice dramatically.
"Forget a private room. Getting a normal table is already hard enough."
"I heard this restaurant doesn't accept advance reservations for regular dining. Most people have to wait or rely on connections."
She gestured around excitedly.
"And private rooms are even worse. They're divided by rank and floor."
"There are five floors in total."
Prim raised an eyebrow.
The girl continued.
"I didn't even know this place existed before."
"I looked it up afterward and discovered it's owned by the same people behind NOX AURELIA Club."
"The number one club not only in our city but in the entire country."
She paused before shaking her head.
"Honestly, this place feels like a doorway into another world."
The elevator continued rising.
The girl leaned against the wall and sighed.
"You know what the scariest thing is?"
"What?" Prim asked.
"I always thought the richest people in the world were the ones we see on television."
"The famous CEOs. The celebrities. The senators. The generals."
"But after coming here..."
She laughed bitterly.
"I realized they're not necessarily the people at the top."
Prim listened quietly.
"The truly powerful people are mostly invisible."
"They're only known by other powerful people."
"The people we think are elites?"
She shook her head.
"Some of them only have one foot inside the real elite circle."
"Some aren't even close enough to understand how large the gap is."
The elevator doors opened briefly as several well-dressed guests entered before continuing upward.
The curly-haired girl lowered her voice even further.
"I'm serious, Prim."
"In the past few minutes I've seen senators, generals, CEOs, famous investors, entertainment giants, and people worth billions of CU dollars walking through this restaurant like it's normal."
"My head is still spinning."
Prim chuckled softly.
"You sound traumatized."
"I am traumatized!"
The girl pointed at him dramatically.
"You don't understand."
"If someone told me a month ago that I'd be eating in a place like this, I would've laughed in their face."
Prim looked surprised, even shocked, which only encouraged the curly-haired girl to keep talking.
What she didn't know was that Prim had already seen everything she was describing.
He attended Number One Elite High School, the second-best school in Velmora City after Crownside High School. Both schools ranked among the top ten schools in the world, in fact they are within the top three.
These weren't schools ordinary wealthy families could enter.
The students there came from families worth hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of CU dollars.
Even within those schools, there were grades of status.
Prim had heard that Crownside High focused more on popularity than family background. There were still hierarchies, but influence mattered more than money as the student already knows who is who and studying matters always do.
However, scholarships didn't exist there nor in any of the top three.
Number One Elite High School was different.
That school worshipped hierarchy.
Status.
Family influence.
Power.
Popularity.
And grade
The school's owner had even hidden the fact that Prim was a scholarship student and used his own family name to support Prim's enrollment.
Because of that, Prim had long since seen what true elites looked like.
Compared to them, Drew looked like nothing more than a dog that had suddenly learned how to jump higher than before.
The world, in Prim's eyes, was divided into layers.
The first layer consisted of the poor, the middle class, and the upper-middle class.
The second layer was made up of celebrities, internet stars, successful entrepreneurs, athletes, and newly rich families. These were the people the first layer viewed as the "real rich."
The third layer was where true power began.
The elites.
The people who controlled industries, governments, financial institutions, and entire markets.
To the second layer, these people were legends.
To the first layer, they were almost mythical.
Then came the fourth layer.
The Prestigious Families.
Families with histories stretching back generations.
Families whose influence couldn't be measured purely by money.
Most ordinary elites only knew a few names from this group.
The first and second layers rarely even heard of them.
And above all of them existed the fifth layer.
The Gray Families.
The families that stayed hidden.
The families that rarely appeared in public.
The families that preferred darkness over attention.
They didn't seek fame.
They didn't seek recognition.
Most people didn't even know they existed.
But the truly powerful understood one rule:
Never provoke a Gray Family.
Because if the Prestigious Families ruled the visible world...
The Gray Families controlled the shadows behind it.
For the truly powerful, only the Elite Families, Prestigious Families, and Gray Families mattered.
Everything else was simply another level below.
Thinking about it, Prim almost laughed.
Drew had just stepped into the doorway of the second layer and already believed he had reached the top of the world.
How pitiful.
"Prim? Prim?"
The curly-haired girl waved a hand in front of his face.
"Huh?"
"You zoned out again."
Prim smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. I was just thinking."
The elevator finally stopped at their floor.
The doors opened.
A luxurious corridor stretched before them, decorated with marble floors, crystal lights, and paintings worth more than most people's homes staff members standing neatly on both sides.
They entered the private room.
The room was luxurious enough to make people forget how to breathe.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a warm golden glow across the entire space.
The walls were decorated with dark marble panels mixed with elegant gold patterns.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glittering city skyline, while a massive circular dining table occupied the center of the room.
Soft music played quietly in the background
.
Every chair looked expensive.
Every decoration screamed money.
Even the air felt different and this was just the first floor.
The moment Drew's eyes landed on Prim, a harsh, mocking snort escaped his nose.
But behind that arrogant smirk lay a bitter, rotting truth: Drew couldn't actually afford a single square inch of Nox Aurelia.
This entire setup was a desperate gamble. It had all started on Wednesday, the moment Prim sold him Lucas's business card.
When Drew had use the number to get a private meeting with Lucas,
When Lucas's saw him his gaze had been dripping with pure disappointment.
Lucas wasn't stupid; he knew damn well that Drew had stolen the song from Prim do you the humiliation the mockery the beating he nearly lost his life .
Drew had practically crawled through glass and stared death in the face just to get Lucas to glance at him had made prim sound difficult to deal with. He had only secured this private room because he promised Lucas he would drug Prim and hand him over on a silver platter.
That was the only reason Lucas paid for this private room.
The only reason Drew was sitting among luxury he could never afford.
And it was all because of Prim.
The thought made his stomach twist with resentment.
Would he actually hand Prim over to Lucas?
Absolutely not.
What if Prim somehow turned the situation around and took revenge on him?
No.
Drew had a better plan.
He had gathered his former coworkers here, including Prim, for one reason only.
He would kidnap prim force Prim to write more songs.
One way or another.
And once he got everything he needed, he would get rid of him.
If he couldn't kill him, he would ruin him.
Destroy that face.
That damned face that attracted attention without effort.
Let's see who cares about you when that's gone, Drew thought viciously.
Hatred burned in his eyes, impossible to hide.
Prim noticed it immediately.
But he acted as if he hadn't.
Calmly, he pulled out a chair and took his seat.
As for his uncle's warning?
Drew had long since thrown it away.
In fact, he hated the man now.
Drew had suggested kidnapping Prim.
His uncle had refused without hesitation.
"Prim isn't someone we can touch," the man had warned. "Stop causing trouble and focus on your work."
He had even threatened Drew.
The old bastard had happily accepted benefits from him for years, yet the moment Drew needed help, he backed away.
Did he really think they were still on the same level?
Anyone who stood in his way would pay the price.
His uncle included.
Drew lowered his head and smiled.
The smile looked harmless.
But the madness inside his eyes continued to grow.
Across the room, Prim lazily picked up a glass of juice and took a sip.
For some reason...
He suddenly felt that tonight was going to be very troublesome.
"Everyone's here, so let me order for everyone," Drew announced confidently.
The room immediately erupted into applause.
"Brother Drew really made it big, yet he still remembers us. We're grateful," one of the men said with admiration.
"Brother Drew has always been generous." A beautiful woman dressed like a vixen smiled sweetly as she deliberately moved closer to him.
The expressions of the other women instantly darkened.
"Bitch," another woman whispered under her breath.
Drew felt disgust rise in his chest.
Not because she was flirting with him.
But because, in his mind, she was now far beneath his status.
His eyes swept across the room before landing on Prim.
"So, Prim," Drew suddenly said, "how's your job as a waiter going?"
Everyone turned toward Prim.
"A waiter?" one man asked in surprise."Since when did Prim become a waiter?"
"Don't tell me you quit your office job just to become a waiter. Even as a part-timer, the office paid pretty well, didn't it?" another person said with obvious disdain.
A woman frowned.
"Prim, I thought you quit to focus on your studies. Don't tell me you lied. That's honestly disgusting."
Prim blinked.
"What is disgusting about it?"
His tone was calm and sweet he looked so innocent you can hardly find fault with him.
"Being a waiter is still a job. Besides, I earn more there. My salary is higher than yours, I think."
The room immediately became quiet.
Several people's expressions soured.
How could a waiter earn more than them?
Of course they didn't believe him.
Drew seized the opportunity.
"With a face like yours, getting a job isn't difficult in that expensive and restaurant only graduate are hired yet a highschool student was hired."
He smirked.
"Who knows? Maybe you didn't just use your face to get hired did you sleep your way there."
The room fell silent.
Several people immediately looked at Prim differently.
Prim tilted his head.
"I did sleep."
Everyone froze.
Prim continued sincerely,
"I sleep every day. A healthy body keeps your face young. Is sleeping bad?"
For a moment, complete silence filled the room.
Then laughter erupted.
Several people nearly choked.
Even some of the women couldn't help laughing.
The innocent expression on Prim's face made it impossible to think he meant anything inappropriate.
Instead, everyone started looking at Drew strangely
Why did Brother Drew's words sound dirty when Prim obviously meant something normal?
Drew's face darkened.
Meanwhile, Prim smiled softly.
"Brother Drew is really impressive."
The room immediately quieted again.
"I work at a restaurant. Some customers spend over two million CU dollars in a single meal."
Everyone inhaled sharply.
Two million?
In one meal?
And that in cu dollar not zen CU dollars
Several women immediately sat straighter.
Prim continued innocently.
"So when I heard Brother Drew was hosting today, I came immediately."
His smile widened.
"Someone who can afford a private room here definitely won't mind spending more than two million CU dollars."
Everyone's eyes brightened.
"He even bought a contact card from me for fifty-five thousand CU dollars just to help a poor person like me."
Prim looked genuinely touched.
"Brother Drew is such a generous person."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
The compliments started pouring in.
"Brother Drew is amazing!"
"No wonder he became successful!"
"A successful songwriter is different!"
The women became even more enthusiastic.
Several of them moved closer to Drew.
Drew's expression became complicated.
Part of him felt proud.
The praise was intoxicating.
But another part of him was panicking.