THE HEIR'S AGONY TRIAL BY FIRE

outcast

Pacific West University, with its towering buildings and pristine campus, was a world away from the crumbling streets he had grown up on. But that world, with its sprawling lawns and gleaming halls, welcomed him only as an outsider. The rich, the powerful—they saw him as nothing more than a charity case, a reminder that some kids didn’t belong. And Aidan could feel it in every step he took on campus, like the eyes of the privileged students were tracking him, judging him, wondering what he was doing there.

Every day was a test. He’d walk to class with his head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. The looks he got, the whispered conversations that stopped as soon as he came near—he hated it. He could hear their mocking voices in his head: "Scholarship kid," they’d say. "Bet he doesn’t even know what it's like to have real money." Their laughter echoed in his ears long after they’d stopped, and the weight of it felt like a hundred pounds pressing down on him.

It wasn’t just the looks; it was the little things. The way they’d subtly push him out of the way when he stood too close to them. The way they’d hold their designer bags and expensive electronics like they were trophies, as though he didn’t even exist in their world. The way they’d never offer him a seat at lunch, leaving him to find some corner of the cafeteria where he could eat alone. It was a constant reminder that he wasn’t part of their world, that no matter how hard he tried to fit in, he never would.

At first, Aidan tried to ignore it, telling himself that he was here for a reason. He had earned his place at Pacific West, and that should be enough. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, he began to feel the weight of their cruelty more and more. He was never invited to any parties, never included in group activities. They never even tried to talk to him. He wasn’t worth their time.

One afternoon, while walking across the campus to his next class, he overheard a conversation between two students. Their laughter was loud, their voices ringing in the air as they walked past him.

"Did you hear about the scholarship kid?" one of them said, barely masking the amusement in her voice. "I bet he’s so grateful to be here. I heard his clothes are as old as he is."

Aidan froze, feeling the sting of the words like a slap to his face. He didn’t turn to confront them, didn’t look back. He couldn’t. He just kept walking, his heart pounding in his chest, the humiliation creeping up his throat. The girl’s voice followed him, cutting through the air like a knife. "What do you think? Think he’s ever been to a real store? He probably doesn't even know what real food tastes like."

The insults kept coming, endless and sharp, echoing in his mind. He had always been the target. At school, in the neighborhood, at home—he was always the one who didn’t quite belong. He had learned long ago to shut out the world, to retreat into the safety of his own thoughts. But even here, in the sanctuary of the university, he couldn’t escape. The whispers followed him everywhere, the sneers, the sideways glances.

It wasn’t just the students, either. Aidan noticed it in the way some of the professors treated him, too. They were polite enough, but there was a certain coldness in their eyes. It was as though they saw him as an anomaly, a mistake they had to tolerate. He wasn’t one of them, not really. He didn’t have the connections, the pedigree, the wealth. He was just a scholarship kid who somehow managed to make it into a world he didn’t belong in.

He couldn’t even escape it in his dorm. His roommates—three guys who came from families with money—barely acknowledged him unless they had to. If he ever tried to join them for a conversation, they’d look at him like he was interrupting their world, as though his presence was an inconvenience. And when they spoke, they spoke in a language he didn’t understand—the language of wealth, of privilege. They would talk about their vacations in Paris, their family estates in the Hamptons, their designer clothes. It was as if they were speaking a different language, one Aidan had never learned to speak.

He tried to ignore it, tried to bury the hurt deep inside. He told himself that it didn’t matter, that he was there to get an education, to prove that he could make something of himself. But the isolation was suffocating. The loneliness was unbearable. He couldn’t escape it. Even in the crowded lecture halls, in the bustling campus, he felt completely invisible.

One day, after a particularly cruel remark from a group of students in the cafeteria, Aidan retreated to the library. It was the only place where he could be alone without the constant judgment. He wandered through the rows of books, his fingers brushing against the spines as he searched for something to distract him from the pain. But no matter how hard he tried, the words of the students, their mocking laughter, wouldn’t leave his head. He could still hear them, loud and clear.

That was when he stumbled upon it—the thing that would change everything. As he passed a shelf in the back corner of the library, his eyes caught a glimpse of something odd. A book, out of place, shoved between two old textbooks. He pulled it out, dusting off the cover. It was a leather-bound journal, its pages yellowed with age.

Curious, he opened it. The handwriting inside was elegant, flowing, as if the person who had written it had taken great care. The journal was filled with entries about Pacific West University—its history, its founding, and a name that made Aidan’s heart skip a beat: William Cross.

He knew that name. It was his father’s name. The man who had disappeared from his life before he had even known him, the man whose absence had haunted Aidan for as long as he could remember.

As he flipped through the pages, the journal spoke of a legacy, of a family that had built Pacific West University from the ground up. Aidan’s father was not just a student at the university—he had been one of its founding members. His name had been etched into the history of the school, a man of power, influence, and wealth.

Aidan’s mind raced. He had never known any of this. His mother had always been tight-lipped about his father’s past, refusing to speak of him. But now, with this journal in his hands, Aidan could see the truth for what it was: his father was a part of the world he now found himself trapped in. A world of privilege, of wealth, of power.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. His father wasn’t just a name on a birth certificate. He had been a key player in the very world Aidan was trying so hard to belong to. And now, Aidan was here—at Pacific West University—living in the shadow of a man he barely knew, a man whose legacy he could never hope to live up to.

The questions began to flood his mind. Why had his father left? Why had his mother kept him a secret? And most importantly, why had no one ever told Aidan the truth?

As he sat there in the dimly lit corner of the library, the weight of the journal in his hands, Aidan felt a sense of clarity—something he had never felt before. This wasn’t just about fitting in. This wasn’t just about surviving in a world that had never accepted him. This was about finding out who he really was. And as the echoes of mockery and judgment rang in his ears, Aidan made a decision. He would uncover the truth about his father’s past, about the legacy that tied him to Pacific West, no matter what it cost him.

But even as he made the decision, a voice in the back of his mind whispered a warning: What if some things are better left unknown?

Aidan clenched his jaw. It was too late for that now. The truth was out there, and he was going to find it, no matter the consequences.

He stood up, tucking the journal under his arm. As he walked out of the library, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, but he brushed it off. He had no time for paranoia, no time for fear. He had a mission now, a purpose that would see him through the storm that was about to come.

Little did Aidan know, the secrets he was about to uncover would change everything—about himself, about his father, and about the world he had thought he understood. The mockery he had endured was just the beginning. The truth was far darker, far more dangerous than he could have ever imagined.