Zurich, August 7, 2009. In the vicinity of the Elite Falls Academy—the country’s most exclusive and secluded institution, accessible only to the wealthiest, most influential, and prestigious families in Switzerland—a phrase echoes that no one dares forget: Don't fall for a Graison. It’s not advice; it’s a warning passed down for years, and it makes perfect sense when you meet the protagonists: three brothers, all nineteen years old, heirs to a lineage dating back centuries, a bloodline of feared warriors and brilliant strategists who have emerged victorious from impossible battles and business deals generation after generation. They live in a vast mansion hidden in the woods on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by high walls, cameras, and security guards who allow nobody in without permission. In the academy, they move as if the place belongs to them—because, to a great extent, their influence is so vast, it practically does.
But what really makes everyone lose their minds is their appearance: all three are immensely handsome, each with a different but equally striking beauty that makes people stop and stare the moment they appear. However, that beauty hides a ruthless attitude: having grown up almost exclusively around men, they have learned to view girls only as weak, something easy to obtain and discard when no longer needed. They call others innocent or stupid for falling for them, using girls for their own pleasure and leaving them behind like old paper, regardless of the damage they cause.
The oldest is Rider: the blond one, with a sharp, piercing gaze, a smile always confident and arrogant, the coldest, most sarcastic, and rudest of the three, who does whatever he wants without ever asking for permission or apology. Beside him is Cyrus: with soft but intense features, a smile that disarms anyone, and a mysterious air that never leaves him, attracting everyone without even trying. And finally, there is Rowan: with a serene but very observant gaze, the quietest, most calculating, and attentive, who doesn't speak much but is the first to step in if anyone threatens his brothers.
I was always sure that I was different: the only girl in the whole school who doesn't look at them as if they were gods, who isn't impressed by their infinite money, their famous surname, or that beauty that drives everyone else crazy. I walk past them as if they didn't exist, ignore them when they try to mock me, and tell myself every day that I would never, under any circumstances, fall for one of them. Until today. Until that moment when I saw Rider stop in front of a door, pick up a postcard someone had sent him, and rip it into small pieces without even reading it. Then he kept walking, passed by me as if I were invisible, shot me a look full of contempt, and shoved me hard, without saying a word, without asking for consent, not caring that I almost fell to the ground. In that instant, while my words failed me and I felt my heart beating with a force I couldn't control, I realized I had been wrong: I was not the exception. I was just one more girl who had just fallen for the most dangerous boy in the world, and he was going to break my heart without hesitation.