The tennis tournament dragged on for hours. By the time the semi-finals came around, the sun was already starting to fall asleep. The brackets had finally aligned, setting up a highly anticipated match: James and Bella were set to face Irina and The Peak.

Off to the side of the court, Scott was sitting comfortably in a lounge chair next to Adira. Both of them were currently receiving a relaxing shoulder massage from the country club’s top-tier staff.

Adira leaned back, glancing softly at Scott with her sleepy, foxy eyes.

"So, who do you think is winning this one?"

Scott shrugged, keeping his eyes on the court.

"Honestly? I’m a bit close with both girls. It’d be totally unfair for me to support either of them."

Adira let out a soft chuckle, gesturing for her masseuse to pause for a moment.

"Oh, come now. It’d be much more wrong if you didn’t try to support any of them at all. And here I thought you were a bit of a playboy, but you really are just a decent man, aren’t you? How attractive. Tell you what... I’ll teach you a good trick for dealing with ladies."

Before Scott could reply, Adira effortlessly rested her arm over his shoulder and pulled him close, leaning her weight into him until the fragrance of her perfume filled his nostrils. Scott stiffened slightly as he felt the undeniable softness of her heavy breasts pressing against his face.

"If the two ladies don’t know each other well, you can just cheer them on ambiguously. That way, you steal both of their hearts quite easily."

Scott blinked. Oh? ( •͈૦•͈ )

His mind was slightly frazzled by this closeness.

Adira is a married woman, but she likes physical touch.

This wasn’t the first or second time today she’d found an excuse to tempt him with her motherly breasts.

So, it was slowly getting normal to him.

"Woah... does that really work?"

Adira nodded with a teasing smirk.

"Mhm. Try it."

Scott focused back on the court and did an AHEM!

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

The effect was instantaneous.

On the court, both Bella and Irina snapped their heads toward the sound of his voice.

Bella’s cheeks turned a deep, pretty pink.

She looked at him with an affectionate smile.

『Oh my... Scott is so sweet. He’s still doing so much to support me even when we’re not on the same team. Finding a man like him definitely isn’t easy.』

Meanwhile, Irina looked completely embarrassed.

Her face burned red as she stared at the grass and tightly gripped her racket like she’d break it.

『Why is he suddenly cheering me on?!』 (¬////¬)

Irina panicked internally as her heart fluttered.

『I thought he was mad at me, and now he goes and does this?! This is so embarrassing... he’s practically confessing his love for me in public! Well, okay, maybe not ACTUAL love, but it still totally counts!』

Both ladies were bright red like tomatoes, unable to look Scott in the face.

The Peak waved a hand gently at Scott and puffed out his chest under his yellow spandex.

"Hey, no need to cheer me on so much, buddy!"

The Peak called back loudly.

"I already know I’m that impressive, ahahaha!"

He turned and shot a dazzling wink and a thumbs-up directly at his personal media team, who were currently broadcasting the match on a live stream.

Unfortunately for him, the live chat HUD built into his techy blue visor was scrolling at terminal velocity with brutal messages:

[Bro thinks the shoutout was for him LMFAOOO]

[He’s been getting carried by the Russian chick]

[Leave him alone guys he’s a hero!!]

Hm, didn’t know it was April 1st 👀]

The Peak ignored all the comments from the live chat HUD built into his techy blue visor.

He walked over to Irina, trying to look casual.

"Hey, so who exactly is our opponent again?"

Irina took a quick sip from her water bottle.

"Bella Trevors and James Roosevelt. They’re both from the top families in the United States, and one of them’s father owns this place, so everyone here is definitely going to want the nepo couple to win."

The Peak laughed heartily.

"Ahh, got it. I’ll have to go easy on Bella, she’s— wait. Did you say James Roosevelt?"

Irina nodded, looking at him sideways.

"Yeah? Why?"

The Peak froze.

He took a sharp step back, his fingers trembling so violently that his tennis racket slipped from his hand and clattered loudly onto the grass.

"Hey, are you okay?" Irina asked, frowning.

But as she looked closer, she realized he was shaking like a scared mouse.

She’d never seen him like this before.

Well, in non-life-threatening situations.

Off to the side, Scott tilted his head at the bizarre sight.

"What’s wrong with him?"

Very few people actually knew the truth about the man in the yellow spandex. Long before he was "The Peak" he was just a little chubby boy named Angus.

Angus had lived with his grandmother in the Hamptons, and whenever he had the chance, he would go visit Bella in Bel-Air so they could play together. But there was always a third wheel. James Roosevelt.

Even as a child, James had been profoundly strange and dark. He had ruthlessly bullied Angus for being fat. James never missed a single opportunity to belittle him, sneak vile things into his food, or even make fun of his deceased parents. James used to tell him that his parents didn’t want to live with a pig like Angus, which was why they chose to go to hell instead.

Bella had always stepped in to defend him back then and that’s the exact reason Angus had fallen deeply in love with her. But the trauma ran deep. James was a living reminder of every single one of his past insecurities. It was the sole reason he worked himself to the bone as an adult... enduring endless hours at the gym, abusing Ozempic, and pounding heavy creatine just to escape it all.

And now, that very thing he ran from was standing right across the net.

The semi-finals officially started.

Bella looked across the net and gave a polite wave.

"Hi, Angus."

The Peak swallowed hard.

He shakily raised a hand.

"Hi—"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

James was staring right at him with that same empty smile that taunted his childhood.

James lazily bounced the tennis ball against the grass as he prepared for a serve.

"Hey, Angus. Why are you so sweaty? I thought that kind of disgusting sweat was only for fat losers. Do you still smell like spoiled beef? Yuck."

The Peak began to shake even more.

"I-, I’m a superhero now, James, I don’t—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, James took a cheap shot. He threw the ball up and executed a vicious power serve so fast that neither opponent could react.

BOOM!

The ball screamed past them.

The Peak was too paralyzed by fear to move, and Irina couldn’t close the distance in time.

Irina clenched her jaw. She could tell immediately that James was purposely firing every single serve directly at The Peak, fully aware that the man was too mentally broken to move or do anything even.

James caught the returning ball for the next serve.

"Hey, remember when you had such a round tummy that it completely covered your tiny wiener? All of our friends made so much fun of you at your fifteenth birthday party. Haha. It’s a little funnier now, right?"

James laughed gently.

Then, he delivered another brutal power serve.

The ball tore into the turf, leaving a dark skid mark before smashing into the back wall.

"Dammit!"

Irina only missed it by a fraction of a second.

The Peak hadn’t even attempted to swing.

Angus looked at James fearfully.

"Y-, You... don’t act like you weren’t the one who told them to make fun of me."

James blinked innocently, spinning his racket.

"Hmm. I don’t remember that."

James fired another power serve. This time, desperate to prove himself, The Peak lunged forward. His racket made contact with the ball, but the sheer velocity bent his wrist back and sent the ball flying out of bounds.

"You can make fun of me all you want, James!"

The Peak yelled.

This was him trying to find his courage.

"But you have to accept the fact that I’m no longer that little chubby kid you can bully! It won’t work on me anymore! I’m a friggin’ superhero! I’m the fucking peak of humanity and you’re just a— a... a beta, yeah!"

Bella nodded happily from her side of the court.

"Fighting!"

While Bella herself wasn’t always the nicest person and had certainly treated Angus poorly in the past, the sheer, systematic cruelty of James was enough to make anyone feel profound sympathy for the guy.

However, The Peak’s sudden moment of defiance only irritated James.

James caught the ball and bounced it slowly.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Angus..."

James gripped his racket tightly.

"You’ve been arrested for drugs. You’re a registered sex offender. And honestly, you’ve done far worse things. Do you really think a piece of trash like you deserves a moment of clarity? You will always be a naked, fat loser that no woman will ever love. No amount of superhero medals and awards is going to change that."

Those harsh words struck Angus down.

His grip failed, and his tennis racket dropped from his trembling hand.

The next thing he saw was a yellow blur. James had delivered a power serve that didn’t just target the court... it aimed right for him. The ball whizzed past, grazing The Peak’s cheek with enough force to leave a red mark.

The scare broke him completely.

In front of the entire country club, The Peak lost control of his bodily functions as he visibly pooped and peed himself like a terrified little child.

James immediately stopped to point his racket at the shivering man on the floor.

"Oops, looks like that’s the only deuce our blonde friend is dropping today!"

The entire country club exploded into laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAH!"

Up on the viewing deck, Thomas laughed so hard he fell sideways onto Chairman Trevors.

The Chairman, however, didn’t even crack a smile.

This was far too harsh.

But Thomas was completely oblivious.

"Oh my goodness! A deuce! Get it, Bernard?! Ah, my son is truly the best!"

Down on the court.

A worried Bella rushed over to the trembling hero.

"Angus! Oh my god, let me help you—"

"Get away from me!"

The Peak slapped her hand away.

He looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

"What do you care?! After all, it’s not like you’ve treated me that good either, so there’s no point in starting now! Go ahead, have fun with James! You two are a perfect match for each other!"

"Come on, Angus, you don’t mean that..."

Bella took a soft step back.

A furious Irina walked over to pick up Angus.

"Hey. We can still win this, okay? Pull it together."

But The Peak wasn’t listening.

He looked down, and the HUD inside his visor was entirely flooded with a ruthless live chat:

[Pack it up. Saying that something scared the shit out of you is supposed to be a figure of speech 💀]

[That didn’t sound like a regular one either 😭 it certainly wasn’t dry. I wouldn’t be surprised if he checked down there and saw all three states of matter]

[Dawg has "defense mechanism" ahh fart]

[I always knew The Peak was full of shit 😭]

The Peak slowly climbed to his feet but kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"No... I’m not doing this shit anymore."

He took off his visor and threw it into the grass.

"I give up."

James shrugged elegantly.

"I would too if I had an ass full of shit."

"Dude, wait!"

Irina tried to convince him.

But The Peak rudely shrugged her off and walked away from the court, entirely broken.

Sitting on the sidelines.

Adira watched the dramatic exit and shook her head.

"Wow. Crybaby much?"

"..."

Scott didn’t say a word.

[Game, set, and match by forfeit!]

The commentator announced over the loudspeaker.

[James and Bella advance to the finals!]

The crowd erupted into cheers, clapping politely for the wealthy heirs.

But up on the VIP deck, looking down at the display of pure wickedness, Chairman Bernard Trevors finally realized the catastrophic mistake he’d made.

This boy... this psychopath James didn’t deserve to marry his eldest daughter.

He looked over at Thomas, who was still chuckling to himself and chatting about the "deuce" joke with nearby executives. A wave of profound shame and disgust hit Bernard. The Roosevelts were never good people, and clearly, nothing was ever going to change that. There was absolutely no way he could sell out his lovely daughter just for a chance at ending a century-old family rivalry and fortifying their wealth.

It simply wasn’t worth it.

The second semi-finals took place shortly after. It was Scott and Adira against the Dubois couple... a wealthy pair who owned one of the largest international mattress brands in the world.

The match was an absolute slaughter. With Scott’s newly acquired Grandmaster tennis skills and Adira’s natural athleticism, they brutally dismantled the Dubois couple to end the entire game in record time.

[Game, set, and match! Mr. McQueen and Lady Crowe advance to the finals of the Trevors Cup!]

Scott smiled as he turned toward Adira and extended his hand for what he assumed would be a standard post-game handshake.

Instead, Adira instantly grabbed him and pulled him into a fiercely close, suffocating hug. Scott’s face was effectively smothered into her enormous, bouncy breasts.

"Ohhh, aren’t we absolutely amazing?!"

Adira cheered warmly, squeezing him tightly.

"Mmph... yeah... great game—!" ദ്ദി ( ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ )

Scott’s voice was completely muffled and lost when he tried to talk into her deep cleavage.

The club members frowned.

"Look at that... oh, how I wish I could get that kind of treatment from Lady Crowe."

"Wait, isn’t Lady Crowe married to a high-ranking politician or something?"

"As a politician you either have a deeply devoted wife or a cheating harlot!"

Chairman Trevors stood up from his seat and spoke into his microphone for everyone to hear.

[Attention, everyone. The finals will be postponed and set for tomorrow. I’m sure there are other evening events our members are planning to get into tonight, so why don’t we focus on those.]

The announcement caught everyone off guard.

"What? Why did he just shift the finals?"

"There’s plenty of time left to play it today!"

"Maybe the Chairman wants to watch Master James utterly disgrace that shameless Scott McQueen when they’re both in top form tomorrow!"

Many club members nodded in agreement.

But Thomas Roosevelt wasn’t buying it.

"Bernard, this is madness. The finals should be played today! My boy is ready."

Chairman Trevors glared right back at Thomas.

"The finals are tomorrow because I said so."

Thomas felt the insult bomb through his pride.

His face darkened.

"You’ll regret this, Bernard."

"I know."

And just like that, the finals of the Trevors Cup were officially pushed to the next day.

With the day’s main events over, the club members began to disperse as they headed toward the grand dining halls to eat or engage in other casual sports. There was also the usual high-society chatter about business mergers and newly acquired international properties.

Bella, however, had only one thing on her mind. Now that the matches were over, she was incredibly excited to go see Scott. She scanned the crowd eagerly, finally spotting his thick, stylishly messy hair near the refreshment area where he was quietly drinking a bottle of water.

"SCOTT!"

She called out happily and her face lit up as she started to hurry over to him.

Grab.

A hand suddenly trapped her by the wrist.

Bella looked back and saw James standing there.

"Excuse me?!"

Bella snapped, trying to pull away.

"Let go of me, James!"

Up ahead, Scott noticed the commotion.

He looked over and saw James holding Bella’s wrist. For a split second, his eyes met James’s empty stare. Deciding it wasn’t the right time to make a scene in a crowded club, Scott calmly took another sip of his water and walked in the opposite direction.

James smiled when he saw him leave.

"See that? Your little friend Scott is far too busy for you. Why don’t you come show me around the country club a bit? It’s been ages since I’ve visited."

Bella watched Scott’s retreating back with sad eyes.

It wasn’t as if he was obligated to help her but she at least thought he’d do that.

"Fine. Let’s go."

Eventually, the sun grew tired.

The night was quiet and starry.

Inside his private room at the estate, Scott was sitting in front of his laptop. He was currently in the middle of a video chat with his five girlfriends, catching up on everything that had happened during the day.

Knock. Knock.

Scott blinked, looking at the screen.

"Hey girls, wait a sec."

He walked over to the door and pulled it open.

To his utter surprise, it was the Chairman.

Scott raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? Chairman Trevors?"

The older man looked around the quiet hallway before focusing his weary eyes back on Scott.

"Mr. McQueen... can we talk outside for a bit?"

Scott stared at him for a quiet second.

『Is this a trap?』 ಠ_ಠ