Chapter 1

The sound of his footsteps echoing as he walked down the university corridor hit Josh's ears, along with the lively laughter and chatter of other university students.

Josh checked the time on his wristwatch, and a sigh escaped his lips as he saw that he was running very late for his part time job. He worked a part time job to support himself, and he had been doing this since he was eighteen, when he left the orphanage that he lived in.

As Josh continued to walk down the hallway, he walked past two girls who were standing in the hallway, having a conversation. One of them was Sarah, a 20 year old confident and sharp-tongued brunette. She was wearing tight jeans and a casual shirt. Her friend, Emily, was a bit younger at 19 years old, with her striking blonde hair and a knack for fashion. She had on a red-striped skirt paired with a black top.

When the two girls noticed Josh, they exchanged glances, whispering something to each other.

"Oh, look, it's the schools, number one loser, josh." Sara sneered, looking at Josh from head to toe.

Emily just laughed, but did not comment.

However Josh paid no mind to Sarah's comment and just continued walking. It was nothing new to him and he had been used to it by now. He had been bullied and ridiculed by his peers ever since he was a child, and his university life was no different. He was often called derogatory names and treated like an outsider.

Despite the challenges he faced, Josh was determined to succeed. He was a hard worker and a good student, and he was determined to prove to his bullies that he was not a loser.

As Josh continued walking down the hallway in a hurry, he heard someone calling out to him. "Hey, loser, wait!" The person demanded.

Josh sighed, he was no stranger to this derogatory nickname, as it had become an unfortunate part of his daily life. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the person calling out to him. 'Just ignore them, josh… you don't have time for this.' He thought to himself as he continued walking, without looking back at them.

"I'm talking to you, loser!" the person yelled again, clearly even more annoyed by Josh's silence.

Josh finally stopped walking and turned around, his eyes meeting a group of students standing there. Among them was their leader, a fat 20 year old kid, Brian Newman. Brian was the school's bully, and his favorite victim just happened to be Josh.

Raised in a wealthy family, Brian was the son of a successful businessman known for his affluence in the community. Growing up with privilege had given Brian a sense of entitlement, and he often wielded his family's wealth to exert influence and dominance over others.

"What do you want?" Josh asked his gaze meeting with Brian's for a second.

"We just wanted to remind you of your place, trashbag," one of the students said.

"You're nothing but a worthless piece of trash." Another one said, their voices to loud to not attract attention from the other students who were minding their business in the hallway.

Josh didn't even understand what he did for them to approach him and start saying those words.

Clenching his fists, Josh felt his anger rising, but he knew that he needed to stay calm. He didn't want to give the bullies the satisfaction of seeing him react. It was not like he was incapable of handling himself, Incase of a fight if he wanted to, it was the fact that the kids came from rich families, and if he were to react and assault any one of them, then he might get expelled from school.

Josh slowly unclenched his fists, "I'm not going to let you get to me," he calmly said. "I'm better than you."

The students laughed even harder.

"You're not better than us," one of the students said. "You're nothing."

"Just look at the clothes you wear, a homeless man could dress better than you."

Some of the other students who were just standing in the hallway and minding their own business, couldn't help but start laughing after hearing the university's most miserable and poor person say that he was better than Brian and his minions.

"Oh my god, apart from being poor, he is also delusional too."

"Yeah, can you believe it? Just how did someone like him end up at such a university."

Josh couldn't help feeling humiliated and feeling like he was nothing and alone as everyone laughed at him and called him names. He turned and walked away, leaving the bullies behind. He didn't want to give them any more of his time.

Josh knew that he would always have to deal with bullies, but he was very earger to not let them define him. He was going to succeed in life, no matter what.

As Josh walked away from the bullies, he thought about his girlfriend. She was the only person who treated him with respect and kindness. She was the only person who made him feel like he was worth something.

Josh was grateful for his girlfriend, and he knew that he was lucky to have her. He also knew that he would never give up on his dreams, no matter what challenges he faced.

As he exited the hallway and darted on the outside of the school building, he felt the sun beat down on him, as he made his way across the famous yard. A heavy backpack slung over one shoulder, his thoughts were consumed by the fact that he hadn't seen his girlfriend in almost a week, he couldn't help but feel like she had been avoiding him these past days. 'Maybe she has been busy, with studying or something.' Josh thought to himself, trying to not overthink it.

He checked his watch again, a reminder that he was running late to his job. Unfortunately now he was even more late, thanks to Brian and his little minions, and Josh couldn't help feeling even more hatred for Brian, his entourage, and everyone who had made fun of him.

Josh yearned for a world where he could compel the bullies to cease their torment, to earn the respect he rightfully deserved as a fellow human being. Yet, he recognized the harsh reality: such a transformation seemed impossible unless he could attain the wealth that they seemingly valued above all else.

As he passed a row of trees, a sudden and forceful spray of water hit him, drenching him from head to toe. Stumbling backward, Josh barely managed to stay on his feet, his backpack now a wet burden on his shoulders. He wiped the water from his eyes, struggling to see who had put him to this unexpected drenching. The laughter of a group of students echoed around him, but their faces remained hidden as he wiped his face.

Josh's initial shock quickly turned into a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He clenched his fists, considering whether to confront the culprits or simply continue on his way, letting it slide. Ultimately Josh chose to let it go. He realized that if he reacted then he would be giving them exactly what they wanted.

A few of his classmates approached Josh, their laughter and degrading words echoing through his ears.

As josh ignored them and continued to walk away, he could hear their laughter getting louder in his ears, making him feel even more annoyed with each passing second.

Some of the students started saying words like, "I can't believe he would do nothing after that, what a sissy man."

Josh just continued walking, he didn't have time to deal with them, he had to get to his part time work ASAP. As he got outside the campus ground's, Josh stood on the side of the road, waiting to get a taxi, but because his clothes were rags, and to add to rags they were drenching, every taxi driver ignored him. thinking he was a beggar or a crazy person.

Josh let out a heavy sigh, his exasperation growing. He was getting extremely late for work, and no taxi driver stopped him because of his soaked shabby clothes. Josh thought about walking on foot, but quickly dismissed that thought, realizing that he might look like a fool, if he were to be walking around the city streets in wet shabby clothes.

But he didn't have any choice. If he didn't get to work, he might lose his job. It was a Catch-22 situation: he couldn't afford to be late for work, but he couldn't walk on foot either, because the stares he would get from people would be unbearable.

He thought about making a phone call to his boss and letting him know he would be late, but when he took out his cellphone, he noticed that it wasn't turning on. It must have been water damaged.

Josh sighed, deciding that getting to work was more important than his soaking wet clothes. He didn't care if anyone was going to stare, or say things about him because of the wet clothes. With that thought in mind, he started walking.

However, before he had gone far, the sound of a car horn caught his attention. As he turned around, his eyes caught sight of a black sedan pulled over to the side of the road. The driver peeked out his head through the windows and called out to him. "Hey, buddy, need a lift?"

The driver was a man in his thirties, wearing a tailored suit that looked expensive. He had dark hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through Josh.

As Josh connected his gaze with the man, he didn't seem surprised at all, in fact there was a look of recognition in his eyes. And that was because he recognised the man, this was not the first time they had met. A shiver ran down Josh's spine in fear.

"You again, what do you want?" Josh asked, attempting to muster a facade of toughness despite his fear. He quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for any witnesses. "What? Trying to kidnap me again?" he asked.

The man leaned on his sedan and replied to Josh, "Well, that depends. You either come with me willingly or I'll just have to take you by force."

A shiver ran down Josh's spine, after hearing the man's words. His mind flashed back to a previous encounter when this same man had come knocking on his door, inquiring about someone named 'Luis De la Cruz.'

Despite clearly stating that he wasn't Luis, but rather Josh, the man had insisted that it was him. Things had taken a menacing turn when the man had asked Josh to come with him. Josh didn't know the man, and he didn't trust him so he had refused to follow, and asked the man to leave his house.

However, the situation quickly escalated when the man coldly ordered his henchmen to seize Josh and forcefully escort him away.

In a harrowing flashback, Josh remembered being blindfolded and shoved into a car by the menacing henchmen. During the journey to an unknown destination, he had somehow managed to escape by jumping from the moving vehicle to regain his freedom.

As Josh came back to the present, he didn't know what to do. His last encounter with the man had shown him that the man was bad news, he knew he had to find a way out and get away from him.

Luckily as Josh glanced around, he spotted a police car driving down the road, approaching their way. A look of relief appeared on his face as he waved his hand, trying to stop the car, and to his great delight the police car stopped.

Two officers emerged from the car, one male and one female. The male officer cast a suspicious glance at the man standing next to a sedan before turning his attention to Josh. The anxiety etched on Josh's face indicated that the man was bothering him

"Is everything alright here?" the male officer inquired.

"No, officer," Josh quickly replied, casting an accusatory glance in the man's way, "This man here is bothering me. He's trying to get me into his car, but I'm refusing, and he's threatening to kidnap me."

The male police officer, maintaining a calm and professional demeanor, turned towards the man, "Sir, can you please step away from the vehicle?" He gestured for the man by the sedan to move aside.

The man listened to the officers instructions and moved away from the car.

As they stood by the side of the road, the officers began to gather information. The male officer questioned Josh further, "Can you tell us what happened, sir?"

Josh recounted the encounter, "I was walking along the road when this man approached me and insisted I get into his car. When I refused, he became threatening."

The officers turned their attention to the man by the sedan, who appeared very agitated by Josh, he clearly didn't like that Josh had gotten the police involved.

"Is there any truth to these allegations?" the female officer asked.

The man shot Josh a look before, strongly denying any wrongdoing, "I was merely offering him a ride. There's been a misunderstanding."

Without concrete evidence to support Josh's claims, the officers found themselves in a difficult position. They couldn't make an arrest or detain the man without enough proof of criminal intent. The male officer turned back to Josh and said, "We understand your concerns, sir, but without evidence, there's little we can do at this point. Please be cautious and contact us if you feel unsafe."

The female officer turned towards the man, and instructed him. "Sir, you can leave now."

The man walked to his sedan, got in and drove off.

The police also did the same. As the police car drove away, Josh was left with a sense of frustration. Knowing that, that man was still out there, made him feel a shiver run down his spine.

'And why the hell, does he want to kidnap me?' Josh wondered to himself.

Josh let out a weary sigh, aware that he was now two hours late for work, thanks to the earlier incident. He continued on his way, relieved that at least his clothes had dried during his walk.

About ten minutes later, as Josh was approaching his workplace, he braced himself for the consequences of his lateness, hoping he could still salvage his job and make amends for the lost time.