My parents’ adopted son, Tyler Levesque, saw me as his enemy.

Thus, I went abroad to live a more peaceful life.

However, he came up with a scheme to trick me into coming back home. He locked me in my room and humiliated me. He did his very best to put me under his thumb…

My archenemy, Tyler Levesque, forced a kiss on me.

Rage and resentment swirled and churned within me and made me feel like I was going to explode.

I woke up with a start.

Whew!

Thankfully, it was only a dream.

Just as I thought that, a dark figure pressed me down.

“Ah—Mmph!”

A hand muffled my scream.

“It’s me. Quiet!”

Tyler’s voice was low and husky. His eyes burned.

He grabbed a scarf and shoved it into my mouth.

I struggled viciously, but Tyler was a ruthless man, and I had never beaten him before.

His body was hot, and his breathing was ragged.

“Be good. If you don’t behave, I’ll post photos of you sleeping online.”

My hands were tied to the headboard. Shame flooded me and made me feel even angrier. I glared daggers at him.

He smirked, and his eyes glinted. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s so tempting.”

“You’ll regret this,” I wanted to say. Unfortunately, I could not speak, so all that came out was a bunch of muffled nonsense.

I had just woken up from a nightmare, but it seemed like reality was even worse.

“You won’t escape me, Henry Levesque!”

…

When I was eighteen years old, I lost my mother. She had been my only family.

A few days later, a well-dressed middle-aged couple showed up and took me to the hospital for some check-ups.

It turned out that I was the Levesque family’s long-lost son.

Tyler had been prized and pampered in the Levesque family for eighteen years. Suddenly, he lost half of his parents’ love and attention. Because of that, he had broken down.

“He’s just a country bumpkin. There’s no way I’ll ever consider him my older brother. He’s not worthy!”

Tyler looked exactly like the typical rich boy: handsome, arrogant, and spoiled.

I stood there with my ill-fitting clothes, feeling awkward.

My supposed birth mother, Natalie Levesque, spoke to Tyler softly to ease the tension.

“It’s okay if you can’t. But he’s only just a few days older. Just be nice to him, okay?”

Natalie seemed to be in a good mood. She put my hand in Tyler’s.

“All of a sudden, I have two handsome sons. It’s like a dream!”

With a dark face, Tyler flung my hand away.

“I’m not even your biological son. Who knows? You might kick me out one day.”

He turned and stomped upstairs.

…

Tyler did not come downstairs to have dinner that evening. Meanwhile, my birth parents were very nice to me and treated me with the greatest care.

However, I did not feel very comfortable.

My bedroom was right opposite Tyler’s.

When I opened my door, a snake fell on me. My face went pale, and I took a step back instinctively.

After that, a rat sprang out.

I was not afraid of them, but it was surprising that they would show up in such a lavish villa.

Tyler, with his arms folded, leaned against the wall. He grinned in delight.

He said mockingly, “Wow, for someone from the countryside, you sure scare easily! Don’t you guys see stuff like this all the time there? I can’t stand fake people.”

Natalie heard the commotion from downstairs. “What’s wrong, Henry? Your bath’s ready. Come down when you’re done unpacking.”

Tyler forced me into a corner. His fists were clenched tight, and he threatened me. “Don’t you dare snitch on me! If you do, it’ll only get worse.”

I huffed and pushed him away.

“Well, at least you admitted it was you.”

I went back into my room to pick up the toy snake. “How immature! Don’t worry, I don’t have time to waste on this.”

I threw the snake and rat into the bin, grabbed my pajamas, and went downstairs.

…

On the way to school, I stuck to the right side of the sidewalk, and Tyler kept to the left. We did not even want to breathe the same air.

When I stood up to introduce myself in class, I heard some girls whispering to each other.

“Wow, he’s really handsome!”

Tyler sat in the very last row in class.

He scoffed and said, “How very boring!”

We had PE class in the afternoon.

Out of the blue, a basketball hit me in the head. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

Tyler shot me a careless glance.

“Oops, my bad! Didn’t see you there.”

A group of people huddled over. “Hey, Ty, isn’t he your friend?”

Tyler dribbled the basketball as he moved away, but his voice was firm and clear.

“We’re not friends.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous because you aren’t the only handsome guy in class anymore! Is that it?”

Some people really liked to watch the world burn as they poured more fuel over it.

I was ready to leave the scene before things escalated.

Tyler suddenly got in my way. His gaze was filled with disdain as he assessed me.

“How about a little challenge? Just a simple three-point shootout. Let’s see who’s better.”

He spun the basketball lazily on his finger.

Meanwhile, some guys fanned the flames and hyped him up.

“Hey, he’s obviously a star student. He’s not like you, Tyler. He doesn’t mess around on the basketball court all the time!”

“That just means he’s chicken!”

Someone else tried to speak up for me.

“This isn’t fair, Tyler. You’re obviously trying to bully him!”

I turned around and snatched the basketball from Tyler. With practiced ease, I ran a few steps forward and made the shot. It went right through the hoop with no fanfare.

“Let’s go, Tyler.”

Everyone was shocked into silence. Someone said softly, “Ty, are you sure you can win? He’s a sneaky one.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Tyler said. “Listen up, Henry. If you lose, you’ll have to move out of Levesque Manor.”

“I won’t lose.”

In the end, we each took ten shots, and all of them went in. We were tied.

Tyler’s expression grew darker and darker as he pushed us to make every shot count.

I threw the basketball to him. “I’m out!”

I turned to leave.

All afternoon, I kept feeling eyes on my back. He clearly was not happy with how things turned out.

As I waited at the school gates, Tyler glared at me. “Don’t tattle on me when you get home.”

I smiled. “Everything comes with a price. What’ll you give me in return?”

It was obvious that Tyler had not expected me to fight back. He breathed heavily and gritted his teeth.

“Just name it.”

But I could not be bothered with something so childish.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Tyler did not pull any more pranks. It did not seem like him. He was probably just planning something bigger.

…

After school, I was heading to the bookstore nearby for some stuff when gangsters blocked my way.

“Are you Henry Levesque?”

I retreated to a huge tree and ducked behind it to try to flee.

But it was too late. The gangsters came up and started beating me up.

“Stop!”

Just then, a teacher walked by, and the gangsters ran off.

The teacher called my parents just when we were having dinner.

Natalie looked at my bruised forehead and asked, “Why did you lie to me, Henry? You said you tripped! Why didn’t you tell me that someone was bullying you?”

She turned to Tyler. “Did you know about this, Tyler? Why didn’t you walk home with Henry?”

Tyler put down his spoon and fork with a clatter. His face was cloudy.

“What does that have to do with me? All I know is that you guys don’t like me anymore.”

He stomped upstairs.

After finishing my homework, I went out to the balcony for some air.

“Don’t think even for a second that I’ll thank you for keeping your mouth shut. You ruined my life and took away what belongs to me! I hate you.”

I turned to Tyler and calmly stared at him.

“I won’t be living here for long. I’ll move out after I graduate from high school. I’m not interested in the Levesque family’s assets, so you don’t have to be wary of me.”

It was obvious that he did not believe me.

“I’ve met a lot of people like you. You’re all liars!”

“Believe what you want.”

I went back to my room and closed the door.

…

After the first midterm, I ended up with the highest grade. Tyler looked like he was ready to kill.

When we got home, Natalie asked me to tutor him.

Surprisingly, he agreed to it.

He must clearly be cooking up another scheme to use against me.

I went to his room at the agreed time.

There were lots of model airplanes all over his room. The walls were peppered with posters of sports stars.

Tyler paused his game and shot me a glance.

“I don’t want to be tutored. I know what you think of me. Why would I need a diploma? The Levesque family has enough money for me to waste for a lifetime.”

“Great. I don’t want to look at you either.”

I turned to leave.

Suddenly, he reached the door and blocked my way. He then locked the door.

His gaze was sinister and dark.

He reached out and grabbed me by the chin.

“Don’t go yet. Let’s play a game.”

I grabbed his wrist and met his eyes. I stepped forward.

“Sure. I’m not scared of you.”

He pressed me into a chair. “You won’t be able to leave after this. We’re having a biology class today.”

Tyler turned his laptop on. An adult video was playing on it. The suggestive noise coming from the speaker made my face go red.

Tyler was prepared. He calmly waited to watch me embarrass myself.

I pressed my lips tightly together as I felt strangely aroused.

“You’re going too far, Tyler.”

Tyler snickered. He looked me up and down before resting his gaze somewhere down.

“That’s a pretty huge reaction. We’re both guys here. It’s not like I’m forcing you to do this. We’re just sharing what we like.

“Don’t tell me this is new to you. Tsk, tsk… It’s kind of sad for someone with a face like yours.”

I jumped up, stumbled, and flung the door open. Somehow, I managed to escape to my room.

I leaned back against the door with my heart pounding in my chest.

‘Tyler’s such a nuisance! There’s really no escaping him,’ I thought to myself.

Tyler’s mocking voice sounded through the door. “Hey, Henry, let’s continue with our lessons tomorrow! I’ll be waiting for you! If you don’t show up, it just means you’re not willing to help me out. I’m not the one being stubborn here!”

…

When Natalie asked about the tutoring, I told her I would rather do the lessons in the living room.

Tyler acted like he did not mind.

“Sure! I’ll agree with whatever you want.”

He lay on the couch and put a hand to his forehead. “Ah, my head is killing me!”

I tidied up my things. “You’re overreacting!”

He followed me up the stairs.

“Doesn’t matter as long as it works.”

“You’re so childish.”

“And you’re a phony.”