An hour earlier.

Scott was sitting on his bed with his laptop balanced on his knees. He initiated a group video call with his five girlfriends to catch up on the long, exhausting day.

Gwen was the first to pop up on the screen. She held her phone with a pretty little grin as her bright eyes instantly eased Scott’s tension.

"YO!" she chirped. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Scott waved back, leaning against his pillows.

"Gwennn! How’s it going over in New York? Having a fun Christmas with the family?"

Gwen groaned softly and her eyes turned half-lidded as she slumped back.

"Ugh, don’t remind me. My dad always wants to talk about biological enhancements that can help the medical industry. Just recently, he made some massive breakthrough in the central dogma of molecular biology. You know, just boring stu—"

"Holy shit, seriously?!"

Scott suddenly interrupted as he leaned forward so fast his face almost blocked the camera.

His inner science geek was instantly triggered.

"Can you ask him to give me his research on that new breakthrough? I honestly thought they’d stop at how the transcription factor can regulate that specific path, but if he managed to—" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Gwen frowned her face at him, letting out a dramatic pout. She had temporarily forgotten that her boyfriend was just as much of a massive geek as her father was.

"Hmph! So that’s all you care about?" (⸝⸝⩌⸝⸝⩌⸝⸝)

She huffed, looking away from the camera.

Scott scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, letting out an awkward chuckle.

"Come on, it’s not like that, babe. I just got excited."

Right on cue, both Emma and Nadia popped into the group video chat with bright smiles.

"Hello, handsome~"

Emma greeted with a mild smile.

In her background, the faint, booming sounds of Marcus and Isla aggressively playing video games and yelling at the TV could be heard.

"Hi, Scott..."

Nadia said warmly.

In her background, a soft, traditional Arabic melody was playing quietly.

Before Scott could even say hello, Emma held out her phone to her laptop camera. It was the selfie Bella had posted on Instaflick earlier that day... the one where she was smiling brightly right next to Scott.

Emma arched an eyebrow.

"BAAAABE! Since when did you start being close friends with Bella Trevors, hmm?!"

Scott chuckled nervously, rubbing his chin.

"Uh, it’s a long story."

Nadia peered closer at her screen as her gentle face softened with concern.

"Are you eating properly? You look a little pale."

Gwen turned back to the camera, holding her cheeks as they turned red.

"Aww! He must be missing us so much that he can’t even eat! Right, Scotty?"

Nadia giggled softly at Gwen’s antics.

"He’s probably missing my cooking too."

Emma nodded at their words and smiled softly.

"Well, you won’t have to starve for long. I actually prepared a care package for you yesterday. I’ll let logistics know it should be rerouted and delivered straight to Los Angeles instead of Metro City."

Scott smiled at her.

"You’re a great girlfriend."

"Heh. Praise me more." (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)

Emma proudly folded her arms.

The final two screens flickered open as Beca and Kara joined the call.

Beca was lounging on a beach chair, wearing nothing but a black bikini and dark sunglasses. She waved lazily at the camera before taking a slow sip from her long island iced tea. It seems she and her sisters were still living it up in Ibiza.

Kara appeared next, sporting a cute, radiant smile.

"Hey, Scott! Have you been well? Brigid has been incredibly bored without you around. She’s practically crying every single day because she wants to join you wherever you are. I think you should take her ehehe..."

That’s what Brigid begged her to say at least.

Scott’s heart melted a little as he looked at the five beautiful faces on his screen.

"Let her know I miss her too. I miss all of you."

Meanwhile, just outside the guest room.

Adira Crowe sashayed down the hallway.

She was dressed in a loose, flowing black silk robe that did absolutely nothing to hide her dangerously buxom and shapely body. Because Adira was a gigantic woman with an incredibly statuesque build, standard clothes never fitted quite right. She had everything specially tailored for her, because the slightest bend would completely rip her pants, and the littlest exhale would pop a button. Tonight, the deep V-neck slicing down her middle allowed the cleavage of her enormous breasts to breathe free.

A foxy was on her beautiful face.

『My, my. Maybe I can still have a little bit of fun with Scott tonight... I wonder what his face will look like when he finds out I’m not wearing a anything under this robe? He really is such a fun person to tease, fufu ♥️』

But just as she approached his door, she spotted a figure turning the corner at the far end of the hallway. It was Chairman Bernard Trevors, walking with a troubled look on his face straight toward Scott’s room.

"Tut-tut..."

Adira wasn’t happy at all.

She’s been thoroughly cockblocked by the master of the house, so she casually took a smooth right turn down an adjacent corridor before the Chairman could even spot her.

Knock. Knock.

And that was how Scott found himself jogging with one of the most powerful billionaires in the country at three o’clock in the morning.

Instead of a standard convo in the room, the Chairman had requested they step outside. Now, they were on a quick, steady jog around the massive estate. Scott coolly jogged slightly behind the older man, and it was only now that he truly realized how absurdly fit Bernard Trevors was for his age. Despite the prominent grey hairs mixing into his blonde hair, the man possessed the hard muscles of a twenty-something-year-old athlete.

Scott himself had lean, well-defined muscles and a naturally perfect physique, but he’d long since stopped working to maintain it through traditional jogging or going to the gym. Between the System’s passive enhancements and his brutal, high-stakes vigilante work, his body stayed in peak condition effortlessly.

"I truly do apologize for dragging you into my morning routine, Mr. McQueen."

Chairman Trevors spoke as he jogged.

"Uhm, no problem..." Scott replied calmly.

"Oddly enough, this is the only time of the day where I am actually a free man. From 5:00 a.m. onward, my schedule is nothing but back-to-back meetings with international investors and corporate executives."

Eventually, their jog brought them to a quiet landscaped park nestled deep within the estate. It’s quite beautiful. The area featured a set of heavy-duty monkey bars, a high swing set, and a manicured lawn.

Without warning, the Chairman roared like a wild animal and started a series of explosive, rapid-fire pushups like one of those creatine bros obsessed with the gym.

Scott stopped in his tracks.

"Eh?"

He stood there with a blank face and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black hoodie.

『Jeez...』 (ᵕ—_—)

Scott thought, staring up at the older man.

『With a father like this, Bella really doesn’t need to worry about any of her ex-boyfriends trying to abuse her. This man is a total unit.』

Scott cleared his throat quietly.

"So, what is it you wanted to see me about, sir?"

Chairman Trevors violently propelled himself upward on his final, terrifying push-up, catching the high bar of the monkey bars mid-air. He swung forward, executed a flawless flip over the top, and landed perfectly on his feet without making a single sound on the grass.

"Heh. Still got it..."

He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and faced Scott with a stone cold face.

"Tell me, Scott... what kind of a lady would you say a confident girl like Bella is? To the media, she has no flaws, correct? What do you think of that?"

Scott looked up at the glowing white moon as he placed a hand on his chin to think.

"Well... I definitely wouldn’t say Bella doesn’t have any flaws. In fact, she has a whole lot of them. She’s loud, incredibly proud, wasteful, self-entitled, and she constantly acts like she has everything in life completely figured out."

He paused, a soft smile visiting his face.

"But secretly... she knows she doesn’t. She’s just hiding behind that celebrity mask, hoping that she’s not a hard person to love."

The Chairman’s eyes softened.

"When she was little, she was full of nothing but pure laughter. She was clumsy, bright, and sweet, but her mother trained her ruthlessly from a young age. She was forced to be perfect, to have no flaws, all so she could eventually be the perfect piece to marry into the Roosevelt family to end our century-long rivalry and consolidate the wealth of both empires. Because of that pressure, I always made extra efforts to spoil her rotten, just so she wouldn’t totally miss out on her childhood. But it seems... even with all that rigorous training, she still grew up with so many flaws."

"I see..." Scott muttered quietly.

Minutes later.

The two men were seated directly on the cool grass as they watched the gentle spray of a beautiful mermaid statue fountain in the center of the park.

Scott noticed the profound, uncharacteristic sadness lingering on the billionaire’s face.

"Do you think I hate her?"

Chairman Trevors stared at the water.

"If you hated her... you wouldn’t be here..."

Scott nodded slowly.

"You know, if anyone were to ask me to name all of Bella’s flaws, I could honestly go on for hours without stopping. Yet... I don’t hate her at all."

This made the Chairman sharply turn his head.

What is this young man getting at? He wondered.

Scott smiled faintly.

There was a relaxed energy about him right then.

"Because people aren’t attracted to others based on the presence or total lack of flaws. Rather, it’s just about how attractive that person inherently is. And Bella is a very attractive person. Both her cute, energetic side, and honestly... even her snobbish, bratty side sometimes. Basically, she is exactly who she is. And someone who truly loves her will continue to do so, regardless of what happens. That’s how I see it."

As Scott finished talking, he noticed the Chairman was now facing him completely. The legendary corporate titan slowly bowed his head low as his voice trembled slightly with an emotion he’d suppressed for years.

"Scott McQueen... I ask just one thing of you. I want you to crush the Roosevelt heir on that court. Save my daughter from making the mistake that I put her in."

The Chairman lowered his head more.

"I beg of you."

Scott’s eyes widened slightly in deep shock.

"..."

But he remained entirely quiet.

Slowly, Scott pushed himself up from the grass, slotting his hands back into his hoodie pockets. He looked down at the bowing billionaire.

"Look... I know Bella is probably having an incredibly hard time with this engagement and all, but to be fair, that doesn’t really involve me. But one thing I will say is this... I’m definitely not some kind of hero. I’d never call myself that. But... I always make it my business to save anyone who’s stuck in a dark place. Because I know exactly what that feels like."

This left the Chairman in absolute shock.

He raised his head, staring at the young man as if seeing him clearly for the first time.

Scott finally looked back at the man with a smirk.

"Well, if you’ll excuse me, Chairman... I’m out. Need to get some sleep for the finals."

With that, Scott turned and began a light, easy jog back toward the main estate.

Chairman Bernard Trevors watched him with a relieved smile on his face.

And hidden behind a thick oak tree nearby, Adira Crowe watched the entire exchange. A small, affectionate smile was on her beautiful face and she didn’t even know it. She delicately rested a hand against her cheek as she watched Scott jog away.

"Fufu... he really is the ideal hero..."

She bit her lower lip.

...

The morning sun finally arrived.

The country club members were all gathered around the main tennis court, filling the stands to maximum capacity to watch the grand finals of the Trevors Cup. In fact, there were significantly more people present today than there were yesterday. It was no surprise, really; these ultra-rich folks thoroughly enjoyed watching highly capable, blue-blooded heirs utterly destroy the lower class on a public stage.

You could call it a guilty pleasure of sorts.

Scott stepped onto the grass court as he adjusted his racket. He spotted Bella standing on the opposite end near the net. Her eyes looked a bit tired, but the moment she saw him, her face brightened.

Scott smiled and gave her a warm wave.

Bella’s hand instantly began to rise to wave back—

Until James gave her a cold smile.

Bella’s breath hitched and she stared down quietly.

The sight made Scott’s blood boil.

James lazily rolled his shoulders before looking toward the primary officiator.

"Can we start this already? I’m quite tired."

He then turned his empty smile toward Scott.

"Besides, my opponent is in a hurry to lose."

Scott smiled back.

"Actually, I really don’t have anything to lose even if I don’t win this match, James. But that’s not the same for you, is it? All your family members are sitting right up there. And I’m going to make absolute sure that by the time I’m done with you today... you’re a disgrace to the Roosevelt name."

Up on the VIP deck.

Thomas Roosevelt’s face instantly turned red.

He slammed his hands onto the railing, leaning over as he began to aggressively shout down at the court.

"What did you just say, you insolent little brat?!"

Thomas roared like a mad man.

"You’re just a middle-class nobody! A pathetic, nameless insect! How dare you raise your mouth so foolishly in front of your betters! I will ensure your entire life is ruined before you even leave this—"

Scott didn’t even turn his head.

He simply shifted his razor-sharp gaze to the man.

"Shut up."

It wasn’t a shout.

But it had quite some power.

Everyone in the country club was now quiet.

Thomas Roosevelt’s jaw instantly snapped shut. He didn’t know why, but a sudden spike of fear locked his throat and forced him into silence. He staggered back a half-step as his face turned pale.

The surrounding club members were lost.

"Did... did that boy seriously just tell the head of the Roosevelt family to shut up?"

"Good heavens, the audacity!"

"Wait, why did Thomas actually quiet down?"

"Could he... actually be scared of that brat?"

Down on the court, the head officiator nodded.

"P-, Players to your positions!"

The man shouted nervously.

"Let the finals... BEGIN!"