Falling For The True Heiress

I ran out into the living room and immediately spotted Camila sitting in the middle of the sofa.

Just as I was about to reach her—

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The doorbell rang.

Everyone turned toward the door.

"I think it’s the handsome tutor," Sasha said, popping the last chip into her mouth and immediately tearing open another packet.

Camila smiled, glancing at me. "I think someone standing right there has to go open the door."

I raised my hands, as if I were about to smack her, and she burst out laughing.

I shook my head and walked toward the door.

The moment I opened it, my eyes widened.

A tall man stood outside.

And wow.

He was ridiculously handsome. A blue hoodie hung comfortably on his broad shoulders. White pants. Black sneakers. A small black crossbody bag.

He looked simple, yet somehow he looked like the main character in a movie.

I smiled awkwardly and waved at him.

"Uh..."

For a second, I forgot what I was supposed to say.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a perfect set of sparkling white teeth.

"Hi." He said, waving back at me.

"Hi," I replied awkwardly.

"Hey, what are you doing there?" Danny shouted from inside. Are you planning to keep him outside all day?"

I stepped aside to let him in.

"Come in," I said.

Camila was already on her feet the second he stepped in.

I closed the door behind me and turned back toward the living room.

"Wow... this is perfect." Sasha muttered, her mouth hanging open.

"Mmm." Danny agreed, wrapping an arm around Caleb, who sat beside her.

"Hey, girls, I’m still here," Caleb said loudly. No one responded.

I walked to the window and dropped into the hanging chair near and gently pushed myself back and forth.

"Hey, guys," Camila said, walking toward the man who was apparently our new tutor.

"This is Felix. He’ll be our tutor for this competition." She said, smiling.

The handsome guy gave a small wave.

I’d never seen her smile at anyone like that, except Daniel or her cousin Daniela.

"Welcome!" Caleb said immediately.

"He may as well stay forever. I fully support that," Sasha said, still chewing.

I just sat there, swaying gently in the chair, half-listening, half-smiling at the chaos around me.

"And I’ll officially introduce him, especially to a particular person who’s always wanted to meet him," Camila said, looking directly at me, drawing every set of eyes in the room toward me.

A dangerous smile playing on her lips. The kind she always wore before causing trouble

Sylvia, who I hadn’t even noticed had gone quiet, furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at me like she was silently asking if this was actually true.

Camila let out a soft laugh, glanced at Felix, and then back at me.

"Lia," she said. "This is..."

I sat up a little, ready for whatever she was about to say.

"This is Ghost." She finally said, dropping the bombshell.

"..."

"..."

"WHAT?! I shouted.

I shot to my feet so fast the hanging chair nearly flipped over.

"GHOST?!" We all shouted at once.

I started laughing, shaking my head. "Cam, if this is a—"

"This is the friend I told you about. The one who’d be even more embarrassed than me if she ever saw you." Camila said, cutting me off completely.

Sasha collapsed sideways onto Caleb. Danny was already wiping her eyes.

I stood frozen. Camila wasn’t the type to joke about Ghost. Ever. Which meant if she said this was him, it actually was him.

I burst out laughing. "Are you actually serious?" I asked, walking toward Camila.

I stared at Felix, then at Camila and back at Felix again.

The Ghost?

The gaming legend Ghost? I asked again to confirm whatever I just heard.

"I’m serious," Camila said, crossing her arms.

I reached out to poke his arm, like I needed physical proof he was real, and my knees gave out completely beneath me.

Felix caught me before I hit the floor.

The second I realized whose arms I was in, I scrambled backward; I jumped back like I’d touched a live wire.

Camila lost it entirely, clutching her stomach as she collapsed onto the sofa, laughing until she could barely breathe.

Everyone joined in. Even Felix.

I had never been this embarrassed in my entire life.

"Lia, remember what you said you—"

I lunged and covered Camila’s mouth with both hands before she could finish that sentence and ruin me completely.

I turned to Felix, smiling far too widely.

"She’s talking nonsense. Don’t mind her," I said, nodding firmly, like that would somehow make it true.

Camila nearly choked from laughing.

Felix looked between the two of us.

A small, knowing smile tugged at the corner of Felix’s mouth as he walked over and sat down on the sofa.

I turned to look at Sylvia. She shook her head and smiled when our eyes met.

"Should we begin?" Felix asked, leaning back against the sofa, a small smile still on his face.

"Yeah. Let’s do this," Caleb said, still laughing.

Felix picked up his phone and scrolled through it. "I’ve already arranged a Valorant friendly match for today’s practice."

That immediately got everyone’s attention.

"Today’s match is just us versus a custom bot lobby," he continued. "I don’t care about the score. I want to see how you communicate, how you rotate, and how much you trust each other."

I sat up straighter on the sofa. And beside me, Camila straightened up immediately.

Felix looked around at all of us. "So let’s get started."

Everyone got to their feet and headed toward the gaming room.

"I love the smell of this room," Danny said as she dropped into her favorite chair.

She ran a hand across the desk. "The computers. The keyboards. The victory waiting for me."

"More like defeat waiting for you," Sasha said as she sat down.

"Rude." Caleb snorted and pulled his chair closer to his setup.

Five computers were lined up side by side. Caleb connected everyone to the custom match, cables rolled across the floor, and half-finished snack wrappers were already piling up beside Sasha’s setup.

"Okay, everyone logged in?" Felix asked, leaning over Danny’s shoulder to check the lobby screen.

"Yes, coach," Sasha said, popping a chip into her mouth without looking up.

He pulled a chair over to sit behind us. "Forget the score. I want to see your calls, your rotations, your trust in each other," he repeated.

Sylvia leaned toward me and rested her chin lightly on my shoulder for a second before walking past me. Then she quietly took the empty seat beside Felix and sat down.

Danny spun around in his chair. "Hurry up. I’ve been waiting for this all day."

"You’ve been complaining all day too," Sasha shot back."

Danny pointed at her. "That’s because you take forever to choose a skin."

I laughed and adjusted my headset, already locking in Jett.

Across from me, Camila was logged in already. She locked Sage as usual. Waiting for the rest of us to catch up.

"Are we starting or not?" Camila asked.

"Starting now," Caleb replied.

The match loaded in.

Blue Team

Amelia — Jett

Camila — Sage

Caleb — Cypher

Sasha — Reyna

Danny — Omen

Red Team

Ethan — Phoenix

Noah — Sova

Mia — Killjoy

Liam — Yoru

Ava — Raze

And the game began.

"Let’s rush A," Sasha said immediately.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because every time you say that, you die first." Caleb replied.

Danny burst out laughing.

Sasha gasped dramatically. "I am being bullied."

I smiled. "Come on. Let’s go, B."

We moved together as a team. The moment we entered the site, a grenade landed near us.

"Move!"

Boom!

The explosion sent everyone scrambling.

"RAZE!" Danny yelled.

Another grenade bounced nearby.

"Why is she obsessed with me?!"

"Because you’re loud," I answered.

I dashed forward with Jett. An enemy Phoenix appeared in my crosshair.

Bang!

First elimination. The speakers erupted with the familiar sound effect.

"Nice!" Caleb said.

A second enemy peeked from behind a crate. I flicked my wrist.

Bang!

Another elimination.

"Okay, show off," Sasha muttered.

Camila’s voice came through my headset, low and even. "Lia."

"Hm?"

"Turn around."

I spun instantly. A Yoru had appeared right behind me, gun already raised.

Bang!

Camila eliminated him a half-second before he could fire.

"Thanks."

"Mmm."

She sounded completely calm about it, like it was nothing. But for the rest of the round, I noticed her crosshair never strayed far from my side of the map.

I didn’t say anything about it. I just kept playing.

A few rounds later, the score was tied. None of us were even really focused on winning anymore; we were too busy laughing at each other.

Danny teleported into the wrong room again.

The moment she appeared, three enemies were already waiting for her.

Silence.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Danny stared at his screen. "I don’t want to talk about it."

The whole room burst out laughing, including me.

Sasha wiped tears from her eyes. "You died in less than two seconds."

"I said I don’t want to talk about it."

The next round started. Caleb placed traps everywhere around B site.

"Nobody can get through here."

Ten seconds later, the enemy team walked straight through a completely different entrance.

Caleb sighed. "I hate all of you."

I nearly choked laughing at how personally he took it.

The match dragged on for another hour. Wins. Losses. Arguments. Way too much trash talk thrown across the room.

At some point I glanced back and caught Felix watching us from his chair with his arms crossed.

Eventually the final score popped.

Blue Team: 13

Red Team: 12

"Victory!" Sasha shouted, throwing both hands in the air.

Danny stood up. "I carried."

"No, you didn’t." Everyone said at the same time, both me too.

The room exploded into laughter again.

While Sasha and Danny argued over who carried the team, Camila quietly reached over and pushed my water bottle closer to me.

I grabbed it and glanced at her. "Thanks, Cam."

"Mmm." She replied and looked away before I could notice the small smile on her face.

I leaned back in my chair, smiling, my arms aching pleasantly from how tense I had been holding the mouse the whole match.

Beside me, Camila pulled off her headset and glanced over. "You had fun?"

"Mmm." I nodded.

She smiled. "Good."

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