Chapter 2

Ethan and I were in the same class, and we were deskmates.

In my previous life, exchanges between us were rare. The only proper conversation we ever had was initiated by Ethan.

*****

His voice was low and raspy, thick with a vulnerability that made it difficult for him to raise his eyes to mine.

"Wendy," he began, his voice barely a whisper, "would you... want some tutoring?"

He wore the blue and white school uniform, his fists clenched white-knuckled, the veins bulging beneath his skin.

Caught in the sunlight, his messy hair glowed, his eyes strikingly clear. For a heart-stopping second, he looked completely otherworldly.

But back then, Jake was constantly feeding me lies about Ethan, poisoning my impression of him. I ended up disliking the guy I shared a desk with.

I was aware Ethan's family struggled, but the thought that he might be tutoring classmates just to make ends meet gave me pause. Had it really come to that?

The last time the school organized a fundraiser for students in need, I made a casual donation to Ethan—ten thousand dollars, if I remember correctly.

To me, it was nothing, but Jake was livid. He was angry that I had given so much to Ethan but had gotten him nothing. He gave me the silent treatment for a week.

In the end, I had to smooth things over by giving him a Casio watch.

What stunned me, though, was discovering that during that same week he was giving me the cold shoulder, Jake had gone behind my back and demanded Ethan return the money.

When I confronted him, he didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. He just spun some story.

He said, "I heard him talking about you, calling you a naive rich girl who's an easy target. I was so angry for you that I got your money back. You're not mad at me, are you, Wendy?"

Jake simply pocketed the money himself. And just as he had planned, my dislike for Ethan only grew.

*****

Asking me that must have taken every ounce of courage and pride Ethan had. But I just shredded it.

"Any tutor my parents hire is leagues better than you," I retorted. "Who do you think you are?"

My rejection clearly stunned him. He didn't get angry or defensive, though. He just dropped his gaze and murmured, "Yeah... my mistake. I overstepped."

His fists clenched at his sides, and then he turned and walked off.

For a split second, a thought flickered in my mind: maybe Ethan wasn't the person Jake had described.

A pang of guilt hit me, and I almost called out to him, thinking I could at least refer him to someone else who needed tutoring.

But then Jake's voice cut through the air, and the moment shattered, forgotten as quickly as it had come.

*****

Back then, Jake turned up his nose at the cafeteria food, so I always had my family's housekeeper pack an extra lunch for him.

One day, I was on my way down to deliver his lunch when I accidentally witnessed a side of him he'd kept hidden.

Jake was oozing arrogance. "What's the matter, Ethan? Running a little short on cash?" he sneered, then stomped his foot down on Ethan's test paper.

Ethan bent down to pick it up, but Jake just shoved him hard with his foot, sending him stumbling back. "What good are your grades now? In this world, money talks!"

Ethan's hands balled into tight fists, but after a tense moment, they fell slack at his sides.

He probably couldn't even afford the doctor's bills if a fight sent him to the hospital.

I walked over and thumped the lunchbox down on a nearby ledge.

Jake froze mid-taunt, turning slowly to face me. A flash of pure panic showed in his eyes. "Wendy, it's not what it looks like. Let me explain—"

I strode forward and slapped him hard across the face. "You were bullying the classmate?" I demanded, my voice shaking with anger. "Well, let's hear your excuse!"

Jake just stammered, unable to get a single word out.

He shot a few nervous glances at Ethan before pulling me aside. "You've got this all wrong, Wendy. I just don't want some outsider coming between us."

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "He's not just poor, he's twisted. The truth is, that creep has got a thing for me!"

That day, I bought into Jake's lies. Blind with rage, I marched up to Ethan and slapped him. "You're just as bad as he says! You're disgusting!"

I couldn't recall the exact look on my face, but I would never forget the way he looked at me—a stunned, hollow stare, his eyes welling up in an instant.

After that day, he never once looked me directly in the eye again.