chapter754

Lydia's eyes went cold as she steered her bike through the battered side gate of the apartment complex.

Up ahead, three guys with hair dyed in wild shades of red, yellow, and blue were blocking Luke's way. Their faces were full of smugness, the kind that only gets worse when they feel like they have the upper hand.

"Bet your parents regret ever saving you!" one of them sneered.

"For real. Would've been better if you'd just kicked the bucket back then. Hahaha.

"What are you staring at? We're not lying. If you did it, you should be able to take the heat when people talk about it."

"Yeah, Luke, you really think you're still the son of some billionaire? You're nothing now. Just a loser."

"Ha, where's your fancy house? All those sports cars you used to brag about? I don't see any of that now. Loser."

Luke's face was pale, almost sickly white, his jaw clenched with barely contained anger. "Move," he said, voice low and sharp.

The guy with yellow hair, Fred, stood right in front of him. Fred was from Lakeview Town, raised by his grandparents after his parents split up. He'd been jealous of Luke for as long as he could remember. After his grandparents died, Fred's dad took off to work odd jobs, and Fred's mom, now remarried, moved him here and put him in this school.

What were the odds? He and Luke, in the same school, even living in the same apartment complex. Now, seeing the once proud rich boy brought down lower than him, Fred felt a twisted sense of satisfaction.

People are like that. They envy the rich and look down on the poor.

Since the start of term, Fred had made sure everyone at school knew Luke's story, twisting the facts, making sure Luke was always the outsider, the one nobody wanted around. The other two guys weren't from Lakeview Town either, but they hung out with Fred, sharing an apartment. No matter where they were, at school or at home, they stuck together just to make Luke's life hell.

Fred looked Luke up and down, grinning. "You want us to move? Sure. Crawl between my legs and we'll let you pass."

He pointed down, right between his own feet.

The other two burst out laughing.

"Yeah, make him crawl. Didn't he act all high and mighty at school?"

"Seriously, what's he got to be proud of? He's just a sick kid who's got it worse than us."

Everyone at school knew about Luke's kidney.

Luke's eyes blazed with rage. He dropped his backpack in one quick motion and swung a punch straight at Fred's face.

Fred was ready. As Luke's fist came in, he ducked out of the way with a mocking little laugh.

"Ha! Pathetic. Loser. Sick boy!"

Luke's anger boiled over. He muttered a curse and, catching Fred off guard this time, landed a punch with everything he had.

There was a loud smack. Fred grabbed his nose and yelled, "You little shit, you actually hit me?"

The other two guys stepped forward, eyes hard. Get him, Fred. Let's beat him to a pulp."

He's just a stray now. If he died, nobody would even care.

Fred wiped his nose with the back

his hand and spat on nex

Luke, you started this er gonna

Im

mess you up for good."

Luke spat too, a wild, cold grin spreading on his face. "You think I'm scared of you? Fred, no matter y what happens to my family, you'll never catch up to me. Not in this life, not in the next, not ever."

For a split second, Fred saw the old Luke, the one who was always so sure of himself, always looking down on everyone else. That look made Fred's blood bon. More than, anything, he hated the way Lake made him feel small.

Luke, you used to have everything handed to you because of your parents. But

from now on, you'll be living like a beggar."