Chapter 3

I replied to Liam with a polite smile, and thanks to his help, I could keep up with everyone else much faster.

Liam and I had gotten pretty close lately.

After school that day, Liam and I were walking side by side, deep in a discussion about math problems, when I suddenly ran right into Aurora.

Standing next to her was Jane Compton.

"So, Liam's all it takes to get you? Guess your taste isn't much to brag about," Aurora snarked.

I didn't bother replying. I just ignored her and kept chatting with Liam.

It didn't matter. Jane would make a move anyway.

"What are you saying, Aurora? That's Ms. Vaughn. We're just broke kids. How could we ever mess with her?" Jane chimed in.

Back in my previous life, it was the same story. Every time Aurora picked on me, Jane would nag me about how I shouldn't piss off the rich kids.

She'd even say she wouldn't hang out with me unless I let her copy my homework.

I was thrilled every time, but of course, she'd just say that and never mean it, treating her own words like hot air, and still help herself to my homework whenever she wanted.

Aurora, with her spoiled attitude, couldn't stand Jane's preaching.

She was about to blow up, but maybe remembering how close Jane and I used to be in my previous life, she managed to hold it in.

With a bright smile, I walked around them with Liam, heading for the exit.

As I got into the car driven by my chauffeur, I watched Jane and Aurora get on a bus together, heading back to the slums.

Meanwhile, I lounged in the leather seat, my mind drifting back to the first time I left school with Jane.

Back then, my adoptive mother had been waiting for me, her eyes full of expectation. The moment I walked in, she asked if I'd made any male friends.

It took her a while to notice Jane standing next to me. After a long silence, she asked, clearly annoyed, "Why are you hanging out with such a poor girl?"

By then, Jane was already gone and didn't hear a word.

But then it hit me. Even though the Wilde couple was always all about having sons, they never bothered to adopt a boy.

They wanted a daughter just so she could marry rich and rake in cash for their son.

They were hoping some wealthy family would take a liking to me, so they could bleed me dry and make me bankroll their precious son.

So when I struck it rich later on, I kept covering for him, patching up his messes one after another.

But no matter how much I gave, it was never enough. It was a bottomless pit.

Soon, Aurora and I were up against our first test since school started. This time, I was more than ready.

Liam gave me all his old exam papers. I worked through every single one, double-checking every topic to make sure I didn't miss anything, before handing them back to him.

Meanwhile, Aurora didn't study these days; she'd just doze off in class and flip through novels like she owned the place.

Jane rolled her eyes and said, "Seriously, you never do your homework. How do you think you'll pass?"

Jane shot her a look, clearly regretting ever thinking Aurora would be any help. But Aurora was just a total slacker.

Aurora just smirked and said, "Shows what you know. The test's tomorrow, and I'm gonna ace it and take the top spot in the whole school."

She gave me a smug look. In my previous life, this was the exam where I officially claimed the number one spot.

But for Aurora, her grades were never good enough. Her adoptive parents never stopped criticizing her, always holding her up against her sister. She never got a break, not at home, not at school.

Jane looked at her, a little skeptical but not entirely convinced.

I just smiled without saying a word, quietly finishing the last question on my test paper.

The test was over in a flash, but the results took forever to come out. While the scores were still nowhere to be seen, Aurora was already going around the classroom, loudly claiming she'd be number one in the whole school.

Everyone just treated her like a joke.

Some people couldn't help but throw shade her way.

"You never do your homework, just mess around all day, and you think you can be number one? Yeah, right. You must be dreaming."

"She really did it." The announcement hit the room like a bombshell.

Before Aurora could lose her cool, the teacher walked in.

Everyone was in shock. Nobody saw it coming that Aurora actually did it.

Aurora shot everyone a smug look, but before she could even bask in her glory, the teacher hit her with another shocker. "The bottom of the class."

"Aurora, just look at what you wrote. You barely broke a hundred points across all your subjects," the teacher snapped.

The whole class burst out laughing, and Aurora could feel her cheeks burning red.

"But here's the good news. The top student in our class is still from our class. Just not Liam this time," the teacher said.

Everyone perked up, instantly forgetting about teasing Aurora. All eyes were on the teacher, eager to hear who had taken the top spot.

"It's Natalie," the teacher announced.

"No way. There's no way it's Natalie. I'm reporting her. She cheated. She switched my paper with hers," Aurora yelled, furious.