Chapter 3

The dean was spitting mad, pointing his finger back and forth between me, Emmett, and Danica.

Danica stood at the very edge, head bowed, her shoulders trembling as tears fell to the floor. She looked like someone who'd been terribly wronged.

Emmett stood in the middle, his neck stiff, his face full of righteous indignation.

"Sir, this has nothing to do with me," he blurted out.

He jabbed his finger at me without a second thought.

Emmett said, "Danica sent me a love letter, but I didn't even read it. I told Janelle to return it for me. I made it clear to Janelle that I'm not interested in Danica and asked her to keep things low-key."

He paused, then turned to glare at me, his voice brimming with pain and anger.

He continued, "Who knows what got into Janelle? She posted the letter on the bulletin board and even wrote those... those humiliating words. Sir, she did it on purpose to get back at me. She's jealous."

So I was jealous?

So he didn't read the love letter?

I stood off to the side, watching Emmett put on his righteous act. I almost wanted to applaud his act.

This was the man I'd loved for thirty years.

When it came to passing the buck, no one did it quicker than him.

The dean shot me a look that screamed disapproval, his brows furrowed in clear annoyance.

I was the top student in the class, quiet and reserved, but the teachers always liked Emmett, the athletic golden boy, way more than me.

"Janelle, is what Emmett said true?" the dean asked, his voice low and serious.

Before I could get a word out, Danica suddenly looked up, her eyes red and puffy. Her voice was quivering.

"Sir, please don't blame Janelle." She sniffled, sounding timid and soft, like a scared little bunny. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have written to Emmett.

"Janelle and Emmett are really close, like siblings. Maybe she got the wrong idea and thought I was trying to take Emmett from her, so that's why..."

Her voice trailed off and she glanced at Emmett again, her eyes pleading and full of grievance.

She said, "Emmett, please don't blame Janelle. She didn't mean it. She just cares about you too much."

That was a masterstroke.

She was absolutely brilliant.

Danica managed to paint me as the crazy, jealous villain, while making it look like there was nothing between her and Emmett. Now I was the one making a scene.

Sure enough, the dean's face grew even darker after hearing that.

He said, "Janelle, what do you have to say for yourself? You're so young, but already so malicious. It's only a little quarrel, and you use such dirty tricks to ruin your classmates' reputation and make them social outcasts?"

The dean jabbed his finger at me, practically yelling. "You're a bully. It shows you have no morals at all.

"Apologize to Emmett and Danica right now. Write a three-thousand-word apology and read it out loud in front of the whole school at the Monday morning assembly."

A cold, self-satisfied smirk flashed across Emmett's face as he crossed his arms, looking down at me like I was nothing but an ant under his shoe.

"Did you hear that? Apologize. Just because I usually let things slide doesn't mean you can walk all over me," Emmett sneered.

Danica stopped crying, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She didn't say a word, but the faint smirk on her lips gave away her gloating.

I stood there, spine straight as a board.

I knew that no matter how I tried to explain myself, with their flawless teamwork, anything I said would be useless.

In my previous life, I was here too, crying as I tried to explain it wasn't on purpose, that Emmett was the one who told me to handle it.

But Emmett retorted, "I told you to return it quietly, not slap it on the bulletin board." After that, I was left utterly speechless.

In the end, I was forced to apologize, got written up, and became the joke of the entire school.

Meanwhile, Danica and Emmett forged an unbreakable alliance on top of my misery.

But this time, I wasn't going to follow their script.

"Sir, I won't apologize," I said.

My tone was icy and steady. There wasn't a shred of panic in me.

The office went dead silent.

The dean's eyes went wide, like he'd heard the craziest thing ever.

"What did you just say? Say that again," he barked.

"I said, I won't apologize," I repeated, staring back at the dean, every word steady and clear. "First, Emmett handed me the letter.

"He couldn't be bothered, tossing it at me like I was his personal gofer. Since he left it entirely up to me, how I dealt with it was my call.

"Second, I had written, [Wishing them a lifetime of happiness together and may them be blessed with many kids.] That's a blessing, not an insult, right?

"Unless Danica actually doesn't want to be with Emmett?"

Turning to Danica, I shot her a look that could cut through steel.

Danica went pale, scrambling to avoid my eyes. "I... I didn't..."