"Maxton Hall - The World Between Us"
Introduce a world where the glamour of luxury hides dark secrets and unexpected alliances. The story follows Ruby Bell, a scholarship student determined to secure a spot at Oxford, who strives to remain invisibl...
I have always been the center of attention, or at least, that's what I was taught to be. Lavish parties, stunning women, expensive cars—all orchestrated as a spectacle of luxury. My parents—my father, a ruthless magnate, and my mother, a former socialite admired for her elegance—built my life to be the perfect image of wealth and power. But despite all the glory, I despised being in the spotlight. I wanted more—something beyond the forced smiles and admiring glances. I wanted freedom, but freedom seemed distant, existing only in my daydreams, far away from the parties and the prying eyes of others.
The morning after one of those parties, I woke up in a messy room surrounded by disheveled sheets and naked bodies. The drunken laughter and clumsy footsteps of my friends sounded like a distant hum, a melody so familiar it irritated me. Sunlight poured through the mansion's glass windows, burning my eyes and making my head spin. I dragged myself out of the room, still carrying the weight of the previous night on my shoulders.
The pool seemed like the only place I could breathe. When I reached the water's edge, I saw my twin sister, Ligia. The contrast with her usual perfect and immaculate image was striking. Her face was smeared with smudged makeup, her eyes red from crying. Her vulnerability scared me. Ligia never showed weakness. She had always been my shining shadow, the epitome of the perfection everyone expected. And now, here she was—shattered.
"She saw everything... Ruby Bell is going to destroy us!" Ligia said, her voice breaking between sobs.
Ruby Bell... The girl who, until then, had been nothing more than a shadow in my world, now seemed to hold the power to tear down everything my family had built. Something told me this girl was different. She was the opposite of everything I'd ever known. She didn't care about the parties, the designer brands, or the dirty secrets hidden behind big names. Ruby Bell wasn't afraid to show who she really was. And somehow, that drew me to her.
•Ruby Bell's Version•
I've always been invisible. I never belonged to the Beauforts' world, with their wealth and extravagance. I was here at Maxton Hall, a scholarship student among the children of powerful magnates, trying to stay out of the spotlight. My focus was always on the future—on Oxford, on a life far away from this empty façade. But then, everything changed one afternoon.
I was rushing to the library, eager to grab some books for an important assignment, when I stumbled upon a scene I could never have imagined: Ligia Beaufort—the perfect girl, the embodiment of a world of status and luxury—kissing Mr. Richard Miles. I froze. I didn't know what to do. What was I supposed to do? They had no idea I'd seen them, but I knew enough to destroy everything they were trying to hide.
When I finally managed to pull myself together, I ran away, my face burning with shame. But deep down, a part of me knew my life would never be the same. I now carried a secret that could ruin the Beauforts—a truth that was in my hands. And I knew that to survive this game, I had to be cunning. I had to use it as my weapon.
What I didn't expect was how hard it would be to ignore James Beaufort. He started seeking me out, approaching me in ways I couldn't understand. I, who had always tried to go unnoticed, now found myself face to face with the boy who was my complete opposite. He, with his arrogant eyes and defiant smile, seemed determined to make me fall into his traps. But no matter how much I tried not to care, there was something about him that drew me in.
I began to realize that he wasn't just the prince of Maxton Hall but someone lost, someone as trapped by his family's expectations as I was by mine. There was something painful about him, something that made me question my own choices. Maybe he was as trapped as I was.
Between tense encounters and sharp words, something began to grow between us. I didn't know what was happening, but every meeting with James made me feel something I wasn't prepared to face. He challenged me, tested me, and I felt a growing desire for him—something I didn't want but couldn't ignore.
• James Beaufort's Version •
With every meeting with Ruby, I found myself more captivated. She had something no one else had—a brutal honesty that made me question my own life. I had grown up surrounded by lies and expectations, always being what everyone wanted me to be. But Ruby... Ruby didn't care. She had something I couldn't fully understand, something that inexplicably drew me to her.
As the days went by, I found myself eagerly anticipating our conversations. I provoked her, but she didn't give in. And the more she resisted, the more I wanted to see her surrender. But there was something else—something more than just a game of power and control. Something real.
Ruby, on the other hand, seemed so distant, so wrapped up in her own world. She challenged me in ways no one else ever had. It was as if every word she spoke pulled me deeper into an abyss of emotions and feelings I didn't know how to handle.
Then, in one of those moments of tension, something happened. I don't know what exactly drove me, but it was as if the world stopped for an instant. I looked at her differently, and she did the same. What had once been just tension between us now felt like something more—something that could either destroy us or turn us into something we never imagined possible.
And in that moment, I realized: I was hopelessly drawn to Ruby Bell. And I didn't know if that was good or bad.
• Ruby Bell's Version •
I knew I was entering a dangerous game. James Beaufort, the perfect prince, was more than I had imagined. He provoked me, made me question everything around me. But the worst part was that he made me feel things I didn't want to feel. I knew the attraction I felt for him wasn't simple. But I also knew I couldn't give in so easily.
Every encounter with James left me wanting more, but at the same time, it pushed me away. I was torn between the need to protect myself and the desire for something more—something real. But I knew that if I let myself give in, I would lose control. And control was the only thing I had.
What surprised me was that as our relationship intensified, I began to see James in a different light. He wasn't just the arrogant boy I thought I knew. He was also someone afraid, someone who, like me, was struggling to find his place in a world full of expectations.
*SPOILER*
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