The Harsh Reality of Waking Up Without Luxury
The Sterling heirs had never experienced the concept of waking up without luxury.
Their usual mornings consisted of:
Personalized alarms set by their assistants, waking them gently with soft classical music. A gourmet breakfast buffet, expertly prepared by a private chef—fresh fruit, warm pastries, imported coffee. Perfectly steamed clothes, selected for them based on the latest luxury fashion trends.
But today?
Today was something else entirely.
Instead of waking up to the gentle tones of wealth, they woke up to:
A loud car honking outside their tiny apartment window, followed by what sounded like an argument about stolen flip-flops. A suspicious smell coming from the kitchen—was that still the burnt toast from last night?A water stain on the ceiling that looked vaguely like a screaming face.
Zephyr opened his eyes, saw the peeling paint on the walls, and muttered, "This is beneath me."
Solene took one look at the shared bathroom and gasped in horror.
Caspian sniffed the air and asked, "Why does this place smell like despair?"
And then—the true struggle began.
Breakfast Was a Disaster
Zephyr opened the fridge, stared at the ingredients, and realized something horrifying.
There was no prepared food.
There were just…raw materials.
Eggs that weren't already transformed into gourmet omelets.Bread that wasn't already toasted and buttered.Vegetables that weren't already chopped and perfectly arranged in a salad.
He blinked at them, confused, as if expecting the food to prepare itself.
Solene refused to eat "ordinary food" and started searching for organic, imported, gourmet options—only to find generic-brand cereal and instant coffee packets.
Caspian, in an unearned burst of confidence, declared he would "make French toast"—despite having never cooked in his life.
Within five minutes, he had:
Forgotten to add eggs and milk.Burnt the bread beyond recognition.Set off the smoke alarm.
By the time the chaos settled, they were forced to eat sad, dry toast in silence.
For the first time, they realized survival was going to be much harder than expected.
Wardrobe Nightmares & Identity Crisis
Then came the fashion crisis.
Zephyr had never dressed for minimum-wage work.
Solene had never worn anything that wasn't curated for social appearances.
Caspian had never understood why people didn't just wear designer clothes all the time.
Their usual high-end wardrobe choices were completely unfit for their new jobs.
And yet, as they looked at the cheap second-hand clothing Jonathan had left for them, they realized they had no choice but to wear it.
Solene screamed in horror upon discovering the fabric was "not even designer".
Zephyr adjusted his shirt like he was trying to make it look expensive.
Caspian confidently declared, "I can make this work," but then immediately failed to make it work.
By the time they left for their jobs, they looked like undercover billionaires who had lost a bet.
And things were about to get so much worse.