End Game

Chapter 1

*THIS NOVEL IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - ANY COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED BY THE READER. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR READING MY WORK*

Chapter 1

Aurora

I burst through the doors of the Anderson building at UCLA, my heart racing with anticipation. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life: business school, a taste of freedom, and my first real step away from my pretentious upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut. There, appearances reigned supreme, problems were brushed aside, and my father's wealth dictated every aspect of our lives. Expectations were sky-high, and I had become an expert at wearing a mask of perfection—smiling through the exhaustion of it all.

I'm done pretending.

Growing up as the daughter of Duncan Westbrook—Connecticut's newly elected governor and the mogul behind Westbrook Corporation—came with its own set of burdens. My family's world revolved around status, wealth, and the right connections. Every event felt like a performance, and I was merely a player in a script I never wanted to follow. I longed for the mundane, the average American life, where I could blend into the background instead of being the main attraction in a gaudy spectacle.

My family doesn't get me. My mother, Farrah, is the epitome of the classic housewife—gorgeous, fake blonde hair, and an obsession with status. She fills her days with lunch dates and gossip, prioritizing image over anything real. I love her, but our disconnect is palpable. She dreams of me attending galas in designer dresses, while I fantasize about backpacking through third-world countries or losing myself in a good book.

Then there's my brother, Daniel—a textbook rich-kid disaster. He dropped out of Harvard last spring and now holds a made-up title at our father's company, sauntering in whenever he feels like it while smoking pot and crashing parties. My father views me as his last hope for a future in the family business, which is a heavy weight on my shoulders, especially since I have no desire to join that world. My real passion lies in journalism, capturing the essence of life in a city like Los Angeles, not in boardroom meetings. Convincing my father to let me move to California for college was a feat, and I only managed it by agreeing to study Business—though my plan is to switch to Journalism as soon as I can.

What would my mother think if she knew I'd want a career of my own? She'd be horrified. My brother would probably offer me a joint and ask why I'd want to do anything besides live off my trust fund. And my father would explode at the thought of my defiance. A few years in college—far away from the suffocating expectations of my family—feels like a much-needed escape.

I do miss my boyfriend, though. William Harrington, my high school sweetheart, is at Yale on an academic scholarship. Our fathers are best friends, and yes, he's a great catch, but I sometimes wonder if he's just another piece in my family's puzzle. He's tall, athletic, and charming, but his possessiveness makes me uneasy. When I told him I wanted to attend UCLA, he was less than thrilled. He envisioned me attending Yale with him, or working for my father, not out here pursuing my own dreams.

But I needed this—my chance to reinvent myself and experience life beyond the confines of my upbringing.

I even found a part-time job at the student-run Coffee House and chose to live in the dorms, rejecting my father's offer to pay for a condo off campus. I'm working hard to reinvent myself and finally do everything I've always wanted, without the guilt of feeling "different" from my family.

My heart is still racing as I push through the crowded hallway, dodging students buzzing with indistinct chatter and nervous energy. Breaking free from the pack, I accidentally bump into a girl who looks lost, her eyes darting around the building.