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THE STAFF INSIDE THE restaurant were all scrambling around the place, making sure every little thing was perfect. The owner of the restaurant called them yesterday, and it seemed like VIP customers were arriving soon. The owner emphasized how important these guests were, so everything had to be perfect.

     "Are all the dishes ready!?" the restaurant manager asks before running out to where the other customers are to check if there were any other problems. The customers who were waiting were all confused as to why everyone looked so tense, but at the same time, they couldn't help but be curious.

     "Is the queen coming or something?" One of the customers jokingly asks before sipping her wine.

     Three servers then went to the entrance, wearing the best uniforms they had, while the host, who has constantly been looking at his watch, takes a deep breath before standing still near the door, ready to welcome the important guest.

     After a few minutes, the first guest finally arrived. He arrived in a luxury car that made everyone stop eating just so they could catch of glimpse of who the supposed VIP was.

    "They're here?! Why are they early?!" The restaurant manager panics before clearing his throat and calming himself down.

     The luxurious car parks in front of the restaurant. The driver then hurriedly heads out of the car to open the back door. After a while, someone finally emerges. It was a tall and handsome man wearing a black suit with a black turtle neck inside that was matched with his perfectly charming smile.

     Everyone couldn't look away. Even those who were only passing by outside stopped just to take a look.

     "Isn't that...Hans de Vries? He's rumored to be a part of Crème de la crème, right?" One of the customers asks as Hans steps inside the restaurant like he was some kind of celebrity.

     "Mr. de Vries, good afternoon. Y-You're early,"  the host nervously says.

     Hans looks around the restaurant with a serious face. When he sees one of the customers looking at him, he winks at them before looking back at the host. "I like being early, is there a problem with that?" He casually answers. 

     "Well, t-that's not a problem at all...sir. Please, just follow one of our servers here and he'll lead you to the VIP room," the host says with a wide smile that could strain his cheeks if he wouldn't lose it up a bit.

     "Am I the first one here?" Hans then asks, and the host nodded his head as an answer.

     As Hans finally followed one of the servers to the VIP room, another car arrives. Everyone was once again curious to see who it might be this time, and they were honestly expecting another CEO's son to arrive considering how the first guest was Hans. Everyone was waiting patiently, but to their surprise, a famous person's face welcomes them instead.

     It was River Karlsson, who everyone knew as Sky Hansen.

     Due to the safety of their family's personal life, their family decided to continue keeping Sky's identity while everything settles down, so River will be forced to act as Sky for the time being. This also means that he had to cover the scar on his face again with jet-black shades.

     "Holy shit it's Sky."

     "That's Sky, the famous model."

     "He's friends with Hans de Vries?"

     People started pulling out their phones to take a photo of the charming "Sky" who—unlike Hans—was wearing much more casual clothes. And since River still wasn't used to being seen by people, he didn't really know how to act, so he awkwardly smiled at the people who were waving at him before heading inside the restaurant as well where he was welcomed by the staff.

     "Good afternoon, Mr. Hansen," the host says with a quick bow before gesturing his hand towards one of the servers. "Please, you may follow her to the VIP room. Mr. de Vries is already waiting inside."

     "Thank you." River says with a sweet smile before heading inside as well.

     After a couple more minutes, their third VIP guest arrives as another luxury car parks in front of the restaurant. This time, a man who looked like a bodyguard heads out of the car first to open the back door. The guest who went out of the car soon after was none other than Krist Hyusen, who was wearing a simpler suit compared to Hans. 

     People knew who he was, considering how his mother is a famous company president who sells a very famous perfume brand, but because of his aura, people would mistake him for a member of the mafia.

     "Another millionaire? What the hell is going on? Why are these people meeting up here of all places?" One of the customers asks, probably thinking how lucky he and his girlfriend are for choosing this particular restaurant to have their lunch. The expensive food was definitely worth it now.

     "Can't believe I woke up early for this," Krist says before pulling his necktie to loosen it up, making the girls swoon.

    Like Hans and River, the host welcomes him while a server guides him to the VIP room where the rest are waiting. Only half of the guests have arrived, yet the restaurant manager was already sweating buckets.

     "Alright, we already have Mr. de Vries, Mr. Hansen, and Mr. Hyusen in the building. We're now left with—" While the manager was checking his tablet, a white car suddenly arrived and parked right in front of their entrance, almost making him drop his tablet to the floor.

     "Holy shit they're here," the manager says, shoving his tablet to one of the servers before running to the entrance to personally welcome guests who just arrived.

     When everyone saw the emblem on the hood of the car, everyone started talking to each other. Some even stood up from their seats to get a better look. This particular guest was so well-known that even his car was recognizable.

     "Look sharp everyone," the manager says as a dashing butler steps out of the car to open the back seat for his master.

     The people who were passing by stopped waking as well to the point where the car was already being surrounded by a huge crowd. Surprisingly enough, the restaurant prepared a couple of guards to make sure the guests are safe. But what's more surprising is the fact that the paparazzi didn't know anything about this at all, so no one was at the site.

     "Step away from the car everyone! Step away!" One of the guards shouted as a man wearing a long black coat heads out of the car with a serious expression on his face. His appearance alone made everyone buzzing.

     "Oh my god, that's Sinclaire! Babe, that's Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire!" The woman, who's on a date with her boyfriend, excitedly shouted as she quickly pulls out her phone to get a picture. Any boyfriend would be upset by how their date is acting, but seeing Max out like this was such a rare occurrence that even the boyfriend was taking pictures for himself.

     "I told the others that we'd get too much attention for doing this, but no one listened. Instead, they decided to reserve a restaurant in the middle of the busiest street in the city," Max says with an annoyed expression. Someone from inside the car then chuckles and says, "I'm certain that you're the only one who's grabbing attention here."

    Max rolls his eyes and looks back at the car before stretching his hand out. "Believe me, both of us will be in front of the newspaper headlines again after this. Why did you even want to come here together when you could have easily flown yourself here?"

     A slender hand peeks out of the car as it reaches out to grab hold of Max's hand. Everyone was as curious as a cat, but when a beautiful girl in a fancy dress steps out of the car, everyone's jaw dropped in an instant. The women were dying in envy of her beauty, while the men were dying in envy of Max.

     "Well, it was your brother's idea, not mine. Besides, being in the newspaper is the only time I'll get to have a decent photo with you, so it's a win for me," Cindy says as she finally steps out of the car, Max flicking her forehead soon after.

     Cindy innocently pouts while massaging her forehead, but the action only made the crowd go into a frenzy. Camera flashes from people's phones practically blinded the two, but thankfully Étienne was there to cover them up until they got inside the enclosed restaurant.

     As soon as they got inside, the staff instantly bowed to the two figures. Not only are Cindy and Max well-known faces, but they're also the rumored rank 1 and 2 of Crème de la crème, which in fact isn't really a rumor but the truth. The power these two people hold can turn the entire business world around. They were the perfect match.

     "Mr. Sinclaire, madam Lin. It is a pleasure to have you here in our humble restaurant," the manager says with a respectable bow.

     "I've heard about this restaurant from my mother's friends, but I never really tried it out before. I'm expecting a lot," Cindy says, making the manager smile on the outside, but inside it only made him even more nervous.

    "O-Of course, we won't let you down. Please, follow me and I'll show you your room."

     Cindy holds onto Max's arm as the two head to the room where the others were waiting. When they arrived, the manager gestured at the door as one of the servers opened it for them. The two went inside, and to their surprise, the room was bigger than they expected it to be. There were also some snacks prepared, and even a bottle of wine.

     "Please ring us up as soon as you're all ready to eat. We'll serve you your food as soon as possible," the manager says as he heads out of the room, leaving the five alone.

     "No wonder it was so loud outside. You two arrived together like some kind of Hollywood couple," Hans teases as Cindy sat beside him while Max sat beside River on the other side.

     "Well, I'm glad you all came. I know this was short notice, but thank you for coming regardless," Max says, and Hans and the others just nodded their heads, telling Max that it wasn't a big deal, to begin with.

     As everyone was chatting, Cindy places her bag on her lap before looking at the person who was sitting beside Max. When she realized who he was, she gives out a small smile and asks, "You must be...River, is that correct? Leigh told me so much about you when we were in the car."

    River looks back at Cindy and smiles at her before removing his glasses to show his scar. "Yes, and it seems like we've indirectly met each other at my sister's funeral."

     Hans and Krist were surprised, but then Cindy takes a deep breath and reaches out to touch River's hand. "Your sister...she taught me everything I know. I am who I am now because of her. I have great admiration for Serine, so when I heard about what happened, I was devastated. I couldn't imagine what you could have felt."

     River doesn't say anything, but he puts his hand over Cindy's and warmly smiles at her, showing how glad he is that someone admired his sister like that.

     "Well, I'm still in shock that you're Serenity's brother. In all honesty, I never even knew that she had siblings." Krist comments before taking a sip of his wine.

     When River pulled his hand away from Cindy, he looks back at Krist and reveals to him, "Sky and I...we're products of our mother's affair, which is why our background is not open to the public."

     Everyone at the table was shocked, especially Max since he didn't know anything about this either. Looks like there's more to River than they thought. This boy definitely went through a lot.

     "W-Wait, is that the reason why she's still listed as rank 8 in Crème de la crème even though she had already passed?" Max quickly remembered, hoping to get an answer from this since it had been bugging him ever since he found out about it.

    Everyone looks at River, and after a while, River nods his head to confirm it.

    "Serenity was rank 8, but when she died, our family couldn't pass the title on since Sky and I are both illegitimate sons. From what I know, the rank was secretly given to someone else," River reveals, surprising them even more.

     "That can't be. It's common for the ranks to move, especially since this happened when everyone thought Viktor died. Giving someone an official rank is rare, but whenever that happens, we usually get an official letter." Hans clarifies, and Max and Cindy nodded their heads to agree to it.

     This also happened with Matthew Grey Cullen, J.S High's previous Elite's president. He was the previous rank 5, and when he died, the ranking moved. Hans—who is now rank 7—was previously in rank 9 before Viktor and Grey left the list. This can also apply to Max who was previously in rank 2 but became rank 1 when Viktor allegedly died.

    Another thing is whenever an heir becomes a CEO or a chairman, they will also officially be taken off of the list since Crème de la crème only consists of heirs. But as stated before, the rank will only move. A new face won't just suddenly replace a certain rank. Someone new will usually start from the very bottom, which is rank 12.

     That's how it's always been.

     "So you're saying someone really just...took the spot? Isn't that like a very special case?" Krist confusingly asks. Everyone looked at each other with confused expressions. This never happened before.

     "Then who is it? What type of heir would skip all the ranks and would automatically take the 8th spot?" Max asks, but before anyone could even answer, the door opens, revealing a man who had a cigarette in his mouth.

    "I apologize for the delay," Cj says before pulling the cigarette out from his mouth and disposing of it in the proper bin.

    "You're never really early anyway," Krist mumbles before looking away from Cj and chugging down his wine.

     Cj looked like he wasn't able to sleep, considering how there were dark circles in his eyes. He also smelled like cigarette smoke, giving everyone a hint that he must have smoked a whole pack before he got here.

     "Well, now that you're here. Let's take a seat first and settle down," Max suggests.

     Cj doesn't say anything as he walks toward them with a serious expression. Max honestly wanted them to sit down first and have lunch so they could all loosen up before talking about any serious topics, but to everyone's surprise, Cj stands in front of River, and without any hesitation, he goes down on his knees, practically pressing his head down on the floor. The action surprised everyone in the room.

     "Sir Charles what are you—"

     "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Cj says, leaving everyone dumbfounded since they didn't expect to see Cj do something like this.

     The once prideful Charles Justin Mills never bowed to anyone, even to Max, yet here he is, bowing his head to a person who he only met today. It would have been an amusing sight, maybe even funny, but to everyone in the room, all they could feel was remorse that was mixed with pity.

     River couldn't really say anything. He didn't even know how to react, but he slowly stood up from his seat to look at Cj, trying his best not to shed a tear before he could even say a single word. "My sister killed herself because something happened to her. She went crazy, right after visiting J.S High. Something happened to her in that school, I just know it."

    Everyone in the room looked at each other before looking back at Cj who still had his head down. It was obvious that he was still afraid to say anything.

     "Charles, if you know anything, even just the smallest detail, please, tell me. I need to know what happened to her. I'm begging you," River begs for the last time.

     Cj takes a deep breath, and despite his trembling hands, he finally gathered his courage and says, "T-three years ago. I...I saw. I saw...everything."

     The room was filled with silence for a while, but soon after, Cj finally revealed the entire truth to Serenity's brother. Everyone in the room had shocked expressions on their faces, while Cindy and River were both crying, unable to comprehend what they were hearing.

    Everyone couldn't say a single thing. Sobs could be the only thing that one could hear inside. What they heard was something that none of them expected. It was a shock to everyone, even to Max who already knew about it.

     "I've known this for three years yet I couldn't tell anyone about it because I was a coward. This was also the reason why I was willing to break your trust so easily Krist. I am so so sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm really sorry," Cj continues, now looking at Krist who couldn't even look back at him because of how shocked he was by what he heard.

     "I was always the problem. Back when we were still white uniforms, back when I started my own company when I formed Cigarettes and got other students hurt...everything went wrong because I was the problem," Cj says, tears now falling from his eyes.

     "I was the problem, but I couldn't admit it because I was so fucking prideful. I told myself that I didn't have anything to be afraid of. I told myself that I was truthful, and there was nothing for me to hide, yet it was all a lie. I was the opposite of the person I thought I was. I'm not the fearsome count that everyone thought I was. I'm a fraud. I ran away from everything because I didn't want to—"

    Cj stops midsentence when he felt someone wrap their arms around him. Cj looks up and was surprised that the person who was hugging him was actually River. He felt so warm that Cj's entire body relaxes in an instant.

     "Thank you...Thank you so so much," River says, hugging Cj tightly while his own tears streamed down his cheeks. "You must have been so scared. You must have carried all this burden on your own. Thank you so much for telling me. Thank you so much for not running away this time. If Serenity was alive, I'm sure that she wouldn't have blamed you for anything, so please...stop blaming yourself too," River tells Cj.

     Cj was shocked, but when River's words finally sunk in, he grabbed him and hugged him back, burying his face in River's chest, sobbing as if he was finally able to let everything out. All the pain, all the burden, it was all taken away the moment River decided to embrace a selfish and prideful man like him.

    Max sighs in relief while Cindy was wiping his eyes with the table napkin. "Now my makeup's ruined," Cindy then says, and that single statement made everyone feel a little better as River and Cj ended up laughing.

     "Now, stand up and stop bowing. It doesn't suit you...my count," River says, standing up and showing Cj his hand. Cj was hesitant, but he smiles and grabs his hand so he could stand too.

     Max hands River and Cj some tissues. While Cj was wiping his tears, he glances at Krist who was now looking straight at him with a serious expression. Cj crumples the tissue and was about to say something, but then Krist stood from his seat and walked his way towards the count.

     Cj didn't know what he was about to do, but when Krist was finally standing in front of him, Krist suddenly kicks Cj right at his groin area, surprising Hans and the others.

     Cj winces and was about to fall to the ground because of the pain, but then he grabs Cj by the collar and pulls him towards him, wrapping his arms around Cj for an unexpected hug. "You are the most selfish person I know...yet I can't seem to hate you even if I try," Krist says, and Cj finally sighs in relief, hugging his best friend as if he missed him dearly.

     When the two finally broke free from the hug, Max looks at everyone and says, "Well, it seems like everything is now settled. See, it wasn't so bad now was it?" Max asks with a grin while looking at Cj.

     "You sly little fox," Cj says, reaching out and pinching Max's nose.

     Max pushes Cj away, but he laughs it off as Cj finally took a seat. Cj thought that he was going to get a different reaction. In fact, after this sudden turn of events, Cj ended up regretting the actions he had taken in the past. Apparently, it was this easy. If only he said the truth sooner, he wouldn't have been in this mess. But of course, everything's in the past, and now that the truth has been revealed, it is clear that all of them now have one common enemy.

     "Paradox..." Hans says, gripping his glass and trying his best not to throw it towards the wall out of pure anger. "I should have known they were involved. The old kings were always the root of everything."

     "What are you planning to do then?" Max asks.

     "You mean, what are we going to do," Cindy clarifies. "This isn't about you guys anymore, this is about us too. Serenity was the previous queen yet she had no power over them in the past. We can't let bygones be bygone," Cindy insists, and Max couldn't help but agree despite not being directly involved himself.

     "So you all had something against Paradox too?" River genuinely asks since he wasn't in J.S High during Paradox's reign.

     "Practically all the 4th year students hated them. In fact, all the brotherhoods in J.S High were all tyrants. It might not look like it, but when we replaced the previous kings, princes, marquis, counts, and barons, everyone practically thanked us. And as much as I don't like to admit it, Viktor is a better king than those assholes would ever be," Hans admits, and Cj and Krist couldn't help but agree too.

     "What the hell was my uncle even doing? Why did he let something become this big? Did he really not have any control?" Max asks, obviously frustrated by all this, especially to his uncle.

     Max wasn't directly asking that question to anyone, but when he saw Cj, Krist, and Hans's reaction, he instantly knew that there was something that he didn't know.

    "What is it that you aren't telling me?" Max seriously asks.

     Hans and the other looked at each other. No one wanted to say anything, but since Cj has been opening himself up from the moment he got here, he decided to say it instead. "We never really wanted to say anything since it didn't concern you, but since you're already this deep into the game, then it's only right that you know. The brooch your uncle gave you on your first day...there's a reason why we, Viktor especially, hold a grudge against it." Cj starts, making Max furrow his brows.

    Max remembered that Janus gave him a brooch that had the Sinclaire logo on it. Janus said that it was something that would protect him from the brotherhoods, which is why in the past, most of the brotherhoods didn't do anything to him, especially the royals.

    He didn't think much of the brooch since he thought that his uncle personalized it only for his sake, but looking at their reactions, and looking at how Viktor got irritated when he saw him wearing it during his first week in J.S High, Max realized that there was something more to it. Something far more sinister.

     "Seven years ago, someone else wore it," Cj reveals, surprising Max.

     "What do you mean someone else wore it? How could that be? This is a Sinclaire emblem. Who else would wear something that's..." Max pauses when he realized what he just said. He couldn't help but cover his mouth in shock as he looks back at his protectors with disbelief.

     "The only person in my family who's old enough to have been a student in J.S High was my cousin, Donato Sinclaire. He's my uncle Dante's eldest son. Are you saying that—"

     "Your uncle Dante heavily funded the construction of J.S High when it first started back in 2012," Hans then shares. "During the time J.S High opened in 2017, Dante would then enroll Donato, only with the condition that his son would be protected."

     "W-What?"

     "That's where president Janus made that brooch," Krist adds, his hands clenched in anger as he continues, "That's how Don...became the first king of J.S High."

- END -