Chapter 3

"So, Irene, you signed up for the outstanding student rep too?" Frankie called out.

Frankie's voice cut through the chatter.

I glanced up and met his cold stare—he was looking at me like I was way out of my league, pure disdain in his eyes.

"Why shouldn't I?" I shot back. "I got in with the highest score in the whole school. If you hadn't talked me into giving you the speech slot, I'd be the one up there right now."

Frankie's face went through a storm of emotions, while I could tell Dayana was absolutely fuming.

"I knew it—you're just after the prize," Frankie sneered. "Dayana signed up too, so it's just you and her now. You should just drop out and let her have it."

He said it like it was the law of the universe. I stared at him, incredulous.

Frankie scoffed coldly.

"Oh, I see. You're upset I didn't take your water this morning, so now you're mad and blocked me just to sulk. Whatever—if you give up the spot, I'll have dinner with you instead. How's that for a deal?"

He acted like he was handing me a golden ticket, all smug like he was doing me the biggest favor in the world.

With that, he shoved my stuff aside and pulled Dayana over to sit beside him, leaving me in the dust.

My books and pens crashed to the floor, ink spattering all over the place, and suddenly half the class was staring at me.

Frankie just ignored me completely, carefully wiping down Dayana's desk with a tissue like nothing had happened.

The class was full of whispered gossip, and a wave of humiliation and anger flooded over me—I was so pissed that I could barely stop my hands from shaking.

"Frankie, where do you get the nerve to tell me to give up my spot?" I shot back.

Every second I looked at his face, it felt like I couldn't even breathe.

The scar on my face stung again, dragging up all those painful old memories.

He was the one who abandoned me, spat vicious words at me, and used me like a doormat.

Now, he was the guy who would ruthlessly snatch away what was mine, just to please the girl he was obsessed with.

I fought to keep my fingers from trembling.

"Frankie, who gave you the right to think I can't live without you? You keep stomping on my feelings just because you know I care!" I burst out, furious and hurt.

It wasn't until he saw the tears welling up in my eyes that Frankie finally realized I wasn't joking—his eyes widened, like he'd just been blindsided.

He just stared at me, totally speechless.

Dayana gave his sleeve a little tug, putting on a show of fake vulnerability.

"Forget it, really. Irene clearly cares so much—I'll just let her have it," she said, sounding all selfless and soft.

I fired back right away, "Save your act. I didn't need you to give it up for me; this spot was always mine."

That was when it finally clicked for Frankie.

He looked at me with that condescending pity in his eyes, like he was handing me life advice.

"Irene, I'm just giving you a heads-up because we've known each other forever. Dayana's the only daughter of the Mirellion Group's CEO—the same guy sponsoring this scholarship. He can hand it to whoever he wants. Seriously, don't put yourself out there just to get humiliated. There are plenty of ways to make money, no need to go begging for it and make a fool of yourself."

Ugh, the Mirellion Group again.

I glanced at Dayana in surprise and caught a flicker of guilt flash across her eyes.

But she quickly masked it with a smile, basically admitting it without saying a word.

The classmates around started gushing over Dayana even harder. "Whoa, turns out the CEO's princess is sitting right next to us! Guess I better start bowing down—I'm her biggest fan now!"

"The Mirellion Group's CEO? Super chill in public but an absolute sucker for his daughter. When she hit eighteen, he splurged like crazy and covered the whole city in fireworks!"

"I saw it too! Never thought we'd all get to bask in Dayana's spotlight."

"Rich, gorgeous, and living the dream—she's straight out of a romance novel!"

"How could we even measure up to her? We're all just background extras in her story."

"Seriously, with all that, she's basically guaranteed the school goddess title. Why would anyone else even bother signing up?"

Meanwhile, I was just standing there, with this strange, almost amused look on my face.

Hold on a second, wasn't my dad the CEO of the Mirellion Group?

And that fireworks show? That designer from overseas put it together just for me.

When did Foster Jacobson ever have a daughter with the last name Spears?

As soon as that talk started, people immediately jumped online to look up Foster Jacobson.

Someone blurted out, "Wait, isn't the Mirellion Group's CEO named Foster Jacobson? But Dayana's last name is Spears."

Dayana's face turned beet red, glaring as she snapped, "What, am I not allowed to have my mom's last name?"

"Okay, okay, you rich kids always gotta play by your own rules," the classmate grumbled, backing down fast.

He just threw his hands up, admitting defeat.

The air got awkward fast, and someone hurried to break the tension.