Chapter 2
I met Ethan’s girlfriend the next day at school.
A girl was sitting on my desk.
The books and test papers I had stacked neatly had been swept onto the floor. She sat at an angle, deliberately twisting herself into what she probably thought was an alluring pose. Her oversized school uniform had been altered to cling to her body. The collar hung open wide enough to show the edge of a low-cut bra underneath.
Even from above, I knew exactly who she was.
Madison Brooks from the class next door.
With her grades, getting into a good university would already be a miracle.
I stopped in front of her.
“Move. That’s my seat.”
She didn’t budge.
“Oh, so this is Ethan’s little childhood friend.” She looked me up and down. “Pretty plain, but you sure dream big.”
Then she raised her voice so the whole class could hear.
“I heard you left your lingerie at Ethan’s place yesterday. Mrs. Lane didn’t hit you, did she?”
The nearby students instantly perked up. Sleepiness vanished. Gossip always woke people up better than coffee.
Ethan sat a few rows away and said nothing.
I smiled.
“Madison, it’s not a good look to badmouth your own boyfriend. You two have already gotten intimate, and now you’re too scared to admit it, so you want to pin it on me instead?”
“Enough,” Ethan snapped, finally standing up. He looked at me with disappointment, as if I were the one embarrassing him. “Why are you joining in on this nonsense?”
I took a breath and stared at him.
“Control your girlfriend. If she keeps spreading rumors about me, I’ll tell Mrs. Lane about you too.”
Madison’s face changed immediately.
She clearly knew exactly how terrifying Victoria Lane was.
She shut her mouth.
I knelt to gather my things from the floor, stuffed them into my backpack, and walked straight to the last row.
Then I sat down next to the school bully.
His name was Derek Frost.
Tall, broad-shouldered, perpetually half asleep, he spent most of the year stretched across the back row like a bored wolf. No one dared mess with him.
He lifted his head to glance at me.
Then he dropped it back down.
A few seconds later, Ethan came over and lowered his voice.
“What are you doing? Move back to your seat. Don’t joke around with your grades.”
I looked up at him and suddenly felt disgust.
In my past life, I had taken the blame for him.
What had he done afterward?
After my entire family died, after Mrs. Lane was sentenced, Ethan quietly reinvented himself. He changed his name, repeated senior year, and eventually made it to MIT. He went on to live a brilliant, happy life without ever once saying sorry.
Where I sat was my business.
I lowered my eyes to my book.
“Don’t bother me.”
During break, I went to the bathroom.
The moment I closed the stall door, I heard a click.
Someone had locked it from the outside.
Madison’s laughter floated in.
“Lily, you were pretty bold just now, huh? Kneel down and beg me, and maybe I’ll be nice enough not to pour too much water on you.”
A second later, icy water came crashing down from above.
I was drenched from head to toe.
Outside, Madison and her friends howled with laughter.
I wiped the water from my face, stepped back two paces, and slammed my shoulder into the stall door.
Bang.
The lock broke.
I stormed out and grabbed Madison by the hair, then shoved her face straight into the dirty sink beside us.
She screamed.
The other three girls froze in terror.
I pressed her down harder and enunciated every word.
“I’m not interested in Ethan. Don’t provoke me again. Got it?”
That was when Ethan rushed in.
Without even asking what happened, he slapped me across the face.
The sting exploded across my cheek.
“Lily, this is bullying.”
He stood protectively in front of Madison.
Of course he did.
The dean arrived at the commotion.
“Everyone stop right now!”
Madison covered her face and collapsed into Ethan’s arms. “I don’t know why she suddenly attacked me.”
Ethan’s face was cold. “Dean, Lily struck first.”
I laughed.
“Then explain why I’m soaked.”
I pointed toward the door.
“There’s a surveillance camera at the bathroom entrance. One look at the footage and it’ll be obvious who’s lying.”
The dean looked from me to Ethan.
I knew what he was thinking.
Ethan was ranked first in the grade. I was ranked second. We were both considered top students with Ivy League potential. Punishing either of us too harshly would cause complications.
His eyes finally landed on Madison.
“Madison Brooks. Five-thousand-word self-criticism. You’ll read it aloud at Monday’s school assembly.”
Madison glared at me with naked hatred.
“Lily, I’m not done with you.”
I met her eyes without blinking.
No.
She wasn’t done.
But neither was I.