Love's Dark Legacy

|Pre game pt2.

A harmless segment on the beauty of Alvaynia high school skyline quickly turned into front-page scandal, the shot zooming in on Herculeana and Brian as they lost themselves in the kiss.

Across the city, TVs flickered on. The crowd in bars gasped. People froze in their tracks in public places as their screens showed the passionate embrace between the two teens, their identities unmistakable. Herculeana and Brian, plastered across every screen in the city, and being confronted by James later on was enough to make their story the news of the year. The sons and daughter of the most powerful men in the world.

---

Later that night, Herculeana returned home, her mind spinning from the confrontation, her emotions raw. Her father was waiting for her in the living room, his face twisted with anger.

"You have no idea the shame you've brought on this family," he spat, pacing back and forth. "Do you even think? Or is this what you do? Run around making a fool of yourself on live television for the world to see?"

Herculeana could barely look at him. She sat quietly, her heart pounding, knowing what was coming next.

"You're slandering the family name!" he continued, his voice rising. "And if people find out... if they learn about your pregnancy..." His voice trailed off, leaving an unspoken threat hanging in the air.

She waited for her mother to come defend her, but she didn't.

The weight of his words settled on her shoulders, a burden she couldn't shake. The whispers had already begun, spreading like wildfire through social media and the city's streets. Everyone was talking about her now, the scandal of Herculeana, the girl caught making out on television.

Her hands shook as she sat there, terrified that soon someone would dig deeper, that her secret would come out — the pregnancy she had hidden from the world. She could feel her world closing in, her paranoia eating at her.

---

James sat in his room, trying to calm the storm in his head, but the argument downstairs made it impossible to think straight. His mother was furious, pacing the room as she lectured him about what had happened on TV.

"You're out there, making a scene like some street thug, while the entire city is watching! I thought I told you to stay right beside me, when did you reach out there James?" Astrid Blackwood's voice was harsh, filled with disappointment. "What are people going to think about our family now? All this just a few days before the games... cant wait till you father calls you. Fucking embarrassing You think this makes us look strong, James? No, it makes us look like fools."

"I don't care what people think," James muttered, rubbing his sore knuckles. "I wasn't going to let him disrespect me like that." He knew it was never about Brian for him, but his mother thought it was, she only saw the half where he pushed Brian.

Astrid sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "This isn't about respect, James. It's about control. And right now, you're losing it."

James clenched his fists, trying to block her voice out, but his thoughts were racing. He hadn't heard from Azeilia in days. She had been distant lately, and now, as everything around him spiraled out of control, he felt a gnawing sense of unease growing in the pit of his stomach.

Zael turned to him from the couch he was sitting "I can't believe Herculeana would do that though,"

James chuckled "Zael you don't get it do you? She's the fakest fucking person I've ever met, and today just reminded me why I couldn't fucking be in a relationship with her... look look" he got up "she pretends to be this person, you never know who she is until a few months maybe even years after knowing her, she has this image that she portrays. Luckily I knew who she was from the start,"