James stepped back to his baseline.

Across the net, Scott took a deep breath.

Both were focused on each other.

BOOM!

The ball exploded off James’s racket and flew straight for Scott’s backhand.

Scott didn’t blink.

He anticipated the brutal RPMs, lunged, and fired it back with a heavy, two-handed return. James countered instantly as his left arm moved in an arc that sent the ball rocketing for the opposite baseline.

What followed was, well... not easy to follow.

The two men tore across the grass, striking the ball as far as possible from their opponent. But their skills were on a completely different level. They threw themselves into the match, flipping, rolling, and sliding across the turf just to get their rackets under the ball on time.

PA! PA! PA!

The ball kept flying around the court at top speeds.

You would think they were playing with a sniper bullet and not a tennis ball.

It left the entire country club breathless.

"Good god, look at the depth of those shots! James is using a textbook aggressive baseline strategy, but his left-handed torque is putting an impossible spin on the ball!"

"But look at Scott! His positioning is unorthodox and there’s this unrefined roughness about how he plays. Such pure instinct and grit!"

"James clearly has the upper hand, but... damn it, you can’t help but root for the underdog here! Scott is playing like his life depends on it!"

James tracked a high lob and leaped into the air where he unleashed a vicious overhead smash that looked destined to end the rally.

But Scott anticipated the bounce.

Sprinting forward like a madman, he met the ball just as it cleared the net and gently dinked it back with a delicate drop shot before it could even go far.

The ball died on James’s side of the court.

It barely bounced twice before James could reach it.

[Game, McQueen! The score is tied!]

James panted softly.

"Not bad. You actually have some reflexes."

Scott wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm and returned the glare.

"And you talk too much for a woman-beater who just lost a point to a dink."

"Tch."

The match continued.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

The back and forth attack was brutal.

It took quite a toll on them as they started bleeding from torn blisters in their palms. And the way their shirts were soaked from sweating would make you think they were stranded in a desert.

James could barely breathe as he leaned slightly on his worn-out racket.

"Hey... isn’t a nobody like you tired yet?"

Scott just let out a rough laugh

"Tired? I hasn’t even broken a sweat yet, dick."

[Score is 40-40! Deuce! Next point wins the game and the Trevors Cup!]

Scott bounced the tennis ball against the grass with his blistered hand.

"This is the last one, huh?"

James coughed a little as his chest ached.

"Just... take the damn serve already."

Up on the VIP deck.

Chairman Trevors stood up from his seat as his hands gripped the railing.

"Come on..."

Down in the stands, many other club members followed suit as they stood on their feet. At this point, the elitist biases had completely melted away. They didn’t even care who won the game anymore after witnessing such a magnificent show of tennis.

But Thomas didn’t give a hoot about that.

"James! You better win this! Do you hear me?!"

James didn’t even look up.

"Shut up, old man..."

Thomas’s veins popped on his forehead. He gritted his teeth furiously and his hands shook as he did his absolute best to hold his raging anger back.

Scott took one final deep breath.

He tossed the ball high into the bright sunlight, arched his back, and smashed down on it so hard that he felt his wrist audibly dislocate a little.

BOOM!

Propelled by a literal force of nature, the ball travelled down and across the net. It was moving so fast that it formed a tiny vortex of wind around it’s distorting shape.

James’s eyes widened.

This is danger!

He ran forward and clamped both hands onto his racket to return the power serve. The impact was killer; the sheer force caused both of James’s tired wrists to pop though he still managed to redirect the ball.

It flew straight for the farthest angle of the opposite court.

Without a doubt, the most perfect strike of a tennis ball James had ever executed in his entire life.

The ball was too high for Scott to reach.

"No..."

And its landing spot was miles away from where he was currently positioned.

Everyone in the audience KNEW it was over.

"He did it! It’s over!"

Thomas was already celebrating and so were many of the arrogant club members.

"Back to the gutter, boy!"

"HAH! He thought he was worth something!"

Right then, the Chairman lost all his restraint and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"SCOTT! I BEG OF YOU!!"

The shout echoed across the court.

Scott hadn’t moved yet.

James fell heavily to his knees and his broken wrists hung limply as he gasped out.

"I win—"

If only it wasn’t short-lived.

In a split second, Scott grabbed the earth with his feet and bent his knees before exploding upward. He took a leap so high he looked like a missile.

WAPAAAH!

Scott intercepted the ball at its highest point and smashed it with everything he had left. The ball flew straight down like a streak of lemon light and slammed into James’s side of the court entirely uninterrupted.

Thud.

An unconscious Scott fell flat onto the grass

The entire country club was dead silent.

James didn’t know what to do or how to feel.

"I... I can’t believe... that just happened..."

Thomas collapsed back into his luxury seat.

He was now pale as a ghost.

"No... no... this is impossible..."

He’d never seen his son lose before. NEVER.

It didn’t make any sense. Why now?!

The referee threw his hands into the air.

[Game, Set, and Match! McQueen and Crowe! They win the Trevors Cup!]

The country club absolutely went wild.

James dragged himself up from his knees as he cradled his broken wrists.

"It’s a lie! I should’ve won this! I never lose! I’m James Roosevelt! I never fucking lose!"

Chairman Trevors ignored the screaming heir and signaled the medical staff.

"Get out there and take care of Mr. McQueen!"

He glared coldly at James.

"Since you are no longer my son-in-law to be, I really don’t have to give a single damn about your health or put up with your shit. I’m sure your loud-mouthed father over there will handle your medical bills just fine."

The medics rushed past a screaming James to tend to Scott’s limp body.

James continued to screech.

"This is crap! I’ve never lost before, dammit!"

Scott just lay there with a weak smile on his face.

And that was how the Trevors Cup ended.

...

A few days quickly passed.

Scott still hadn’t woken up.

Using grandmaster skills of a professional tennis player on a normal human body for that long had left his central nervous system totally fried. Because of his prolonged coma, he completely missed the entirety of Christmas that year of 2045. It was a year he would undoubtedly come to talk about for quite some time, considering how iconic it was to him.

While he was out, his girlfriends had flooded his phone with hundreds of messages, desperately worried that he might actually be dead. Even Jake had called multiple times when he heard Scott had gone MIA.

Finally, on the morning of December 27th...

Scott’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

The light was too bright but he could recognize these fancy walls no matter where he went. He was in the luxury guest room of the mansion.

He groaned, attempting to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his upper body. He looked down to find a heavy plaster cast on his right wrist and his left arm securely bound in a medical sling.

"Ouch... what on earth is going on?"

Right then, the heavy oak door swung open.

Morgan stepped inside holding a tray. The moment he saw Scott, his composure evaporated. He dropped the tray onto a side table and rushed over and threw his arms around Scott in a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you’re alive, Master Scott!"

Scott’s eyes went wide like flashlights.

Sensing the hesitation, Morgan pulled back.

"Master Scott? Is something wrong? Any pains?"

The old butler looked so worried.

Scott chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his uninjured fingers.

"Uhm... no, it’s not that. It’s just... I sort of get hurt a lot, you know? And usually, whenever I finally wake up, there’s a cute girl or someone waiting to hug me... so I guess my brain was just expecting that."

He really thought it’d be Bella.

Morgan’s face turned flat.

He crossed his arms with a deep frown.

"So... you’re disappointed it’s me? Is that it?"

"No! No, not at all! It’s totally fine, Morgan, I swear!"

Scott stammered, taking a few nervous steps back while laughing uncomfortably.

Morgan kept up his stern glare for a terrifying three seconds before suddenly giggling in the silence.

From right outside the doorway, both Bella and Chairman Trevors walked into the room laughing.

Scott’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Bella.

"Bella! Hey, is your face okay? How are you feeling?"

Bella swished her gorgeous blonde hair back and smiled like her usual proud self.

"Of course I’m okay. A little rogue tennis ball can’t take down the first lady of Hollywood, you know."

Chairman Trevors smiled warmly at this then walked over to pat Scott’s shoulder.

"You’ve been unconscious for days and yet the first thing you do when you see my daughter is ask about her well-being. You truly are an excellent man."

Scott smiled sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

"Ah, the praise is a bit too much, sir. I just wanted to make sure—wait."

Scott froze up mid-sentence.

"Hold on. Did you say I’ve been out for days? That means... that means..."

He screamed so loudly it flew down the corridors.

"THAT MEANS I MISSED CHRISTMAS!!"

Outside the mansion, several groundskeepers and security staff paused their work as they looked up at the grand villa with deeply worried faces.

Bella let out a soft sigh as she got closer to him.

"I’m so sorry, Scott... if the game hadn’t gone crazy at the last minute, you would’ve enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with us. It’s my fault..."

She lowered her head and her lower lip trembled slightly as if she were on the verge of tears.

Despite her usual mean-queen persona and spoiled bad-girl act, deep down, Bella was a soft, vulnerable girl who had simply been pampered since childhood.

Scott’s expression softened, and he gently patted her head with his good hand.

"Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s totally fine."

The chairman did a loud ahem! then stepped forward with a proud smile on his face.

"Well, since you missed the actual day, I took the liberty of preparing a late Christmas gift for you."

As if it was rehearsed, Morgan appeared out of nowhere with a custom-tailored ox-blood blazer and handed it directly to the chairman.

Scott’s eyes went wide.

So fast! Morgan is the the most capable butler.

Chairman Trevors held the blazer out toward Scott.

"As the official winner of the Trevors Cup, you’re entitled to a standard one-year membership at the Pinnacle Country Club. However, I felt that was an insulting reward for what you sacrificed. Inside this pocket is a lifetime membership card... an honor strictly reserved for direct members of my side of the Trevors family."

Scott looked closely at the premium fabric and noticed the gold embroidery near the lapel.

"Wow... it actually has my name on it."

Chairman Trevors laughed heartily.

"Indeed! It was done with the finest silk threads. The jacket alone costs about a quarter million dollars, so I won’t be offended if you ever decide to sell it."

Scott waved his unharmed arm dismissively.

"I’d never dream of selling it, sir..."

Then he flashed a quick wink after.

"Well, unless I’m incredibly tight on cash, of course."

The entire room started laughing.

"OH, SCOTT!!"

BANG!

The bedroom doors burst open as Geraldine barged into the room out of nowhere. Before Scott could even realize her presence, she sprinted across the room and hugged him like a tiny teddy bear. Because she was wearing a low-cut, classy designer gown, Scott immediately had a face full of her abundant cleavage.

"Oh, I have been so incredibly worried about you!"

Geraldine cried out, squeezing him tighter.

"I thought you would never wake up! The way you played that match against James... it was pure poetry! I had no idea you were such a selfless hero! No man has ever fought so hard for my precious daughter’s honor before!"

"Mrs Trevors—!"

He couldn’t breathe if she kept this up.

Her breasts were too tight against his nostrils.

All he could feel right now was the suffocating warmth of her cleavage and the throbbing pain in his broken arm from how tightly she was squeezing him.

『Wait... eh?』

Scott thought to himself, thoroughly bewildered.

『Doesn’t this woman hate my guts?』

Geraldine pulled back just enough to plant a kiss right on the top of his head.

"My, my... you must marry Bella and join our family as soon as possible! I have already instructed my secretaries to begin the wedding preparations, the catering, the venue—"

Bella’s pretty face was red like a tomato.

It’s not easy to make her so flustered.

"MOTHER!! STOP IT!!"

Chairman Trevors simply let out an exhausted sigh and facepalmed.

A second later...

Morgan and three big security guards were now dragging Geraldine out the door.

"Let go of me! I’m making family decisions! Scott belongs to the Trevors family now—!"

Geraldine protested like a total madwoman.

Scott awkwardly watched the doorway where she had just been dragged away and sighed. He honestly couldn’t believe this was the same woman the media routinely called a ruthless corporate demon. Who knew she could be so soft and obsessively clingy?

He shook his head, feeling quite amused.

The chairman grabbed Bella by her slender shoulders and pulled her into a close side hug.

"We will leave you to get some proper rest, son."

He smiled at Scott.

"Take your time."

Bella pouted like a spoiled baby, crossing her arms.

"But Dad, I want to stay here with Scott!"

"He needs some alone time, sweetheart. Men have a lot of priorities in life, you see."

"Whatever..."

They left and the room went quiet.

Scott walked over to his desk and logged into his video chat room.

All five of his girlfriends started screaming at him simultaneously.

"SCOTT!"

Gwen and Emma shouted together as their faces took up the screens.

"So you’ve gone ahead and added another one to your ranks already?!"

Nadia covered her beautiful face in shame and groaned into her hands.

"I know I’m in no position to complain, but Scott... please, have some self-control!"

On her feed, Beca’s fluffy fox ears twitched aggressively as she stroked her tiny chin.

"Scott is way too dominant to be considered a normal human being at this point. Our boyfriend is very clearly a wild dog or a wolf if he’s this eager to constantly acquire more women!"

Sitting quietly on her screen, Kara shyly twiddled her thumbs and blushed.

"Um... I’m actually totally fine with it. Back home on Cortia, it’s normal for powerful men or women to take as many partners as they want..."

Scott raised his uninjured hand, completely baffled.

"Whoa, whoa, girls! Calm down! What on earth are you guys even talking about?"

Suddenly, Brigid popped into the video chat room with a crazy grin on her face.

"BAHAH! Lord Nightwatch has successfully conquered another fair maiden!"

She shared her screen and pulled up a screenshot of Bella’s latest Instaflick post.

The photo was incredibly intimate.

It was a gorgeous, softly smiling Bella leaning over the hospital bed, planting a tender kiss on the cheek of an unconscious Scott. The way her breasts were smushed against him was clearly a strategic move.

The post had over four million likes.

@HollywoodDaily and @Chairman_Bernard were certainly not excluded.

Scott almost fell out of his chair when he saw the post.

"I—I DON’T REMEMBER THAT HAPPENING!!"

Emma crossed her arms and huffed jealously.

"Pssh! Of course you don’t. Probably because you were too busy enjoying it in your sleep!"

"I swear, girls, I was literally in a coma!"

Scott pleaded with an awkward smile as he tried to defend himself.

Emma, Nadia, and Gwen all simultaneously turned their faces away from their cameras, pouting very angrily at him. Yet, despite their furious looks, they still managed to look undeniably adorable.

Scott smiled at their screens softly.

Noticing his sudden change in expression, the girls slowly turned back to look at him with tender cheeks that were a lovely shade of red.

"What... why are you looking at us like that?"

Emma mumbled bashfully.

Scott shrugged with affection eyes.

"Nothing. Merry late Christmas, guys..."