Chapter 3

Yulia got bullied and locked in the bathroom. Then she went around telling everyone I was the evil genius behind it all.

When she had diarrhea during the big exam, she accused me of slipping laxatives into her milk.

Someone as clueless as me didn't stand a chance against Yulia, the real queen of dirty tricks.

Yulia's schemes kept coming, each more vicious than the last. No matter what I said, Ryan never believed me.

Yulia outdid herself. She stole my parents' only photos, tore them up to push me over the edge. I snapped and slapped her, right as Ryan walked in. Ryan was convinced I was the one bullying Yulia.

Ryan was beyond disappointed in me. Thanks to Yulia stirring up drama over and over, our relationship kept crumbling.

Still, I kept trying to make peace, searching for some crack in Yulia's facade.

Yulia was way out of my league. I never stood a chance against her scheming.

As soon as she learned about my college plans with Ryan, she started plotting to wreck my admission ticket.

She tagged along with Ryan to the Shaw family's place, snuck into my room, and swiped my admission ticket before shredding it into pieces.

Luckily, I realized what she'd done in time and was able to get a replacement, so things didn't spiral out of control.

Yulia was the absolute worst. She was sneaky, shameless, and always plotting behind my back. But in public, she could fake being sweet and helpless better than anyone.

Any time something went wrong, she'd be quick to squeeze out some tears and start telling everyone about her pitiful childhood and her sick mother who picked through the trash to survive.

Sometimes, I couldn't tell if Ryan had fallen for her or if he was hooked by all the drama in her life.

All I knew was that Ryan kept hurting me over and over, all because of Yulia, and I kept swallowing my pride, chasing after him, begging for a second chance every single time.

I couldn't bring myself to give up on my relationship with Ryan, no matter how tough things got.

More than anything, I wanted Ryan to see through Yulia's act of being sweet and innocent while she was a shameless, manipulative faker.

But every attempt I made only seemed to backfire, driving Ryan even farther away from me.

After ten years of him looking out for me, Ryan had become someone I couldn't imagine my life without.

Breaking up with Ryan would tear me apart, so every time he gave me that harsh, cold shoulder or asked to end things because of Yulia, I'd cave in and apologize again and again.

But this time, after hearing the voice message Yulia sent, in which Ryan's voice sounded so bored and annoyed, I snapped out of it.

I saw how pitiful and laughable I'd been, clinging to someone who'd stopped caring ages ago.

It wasn't Yulia's dirty moves that made Ryan stop believing me. It was that, deep down, he'd already grown sick of me.

He wasn't fooled by Yulia. He wanted to get rid of me, so he kept standing against me at every turn.

If that was what he wanted, he had got it. I was done groveling.

About those college applications Yulia tampered with, I was leaving them the way they were.

Instead of switching my application back to the school Ryan and I talked about, I picked up the phone and called that Garolina University professor who had offered me a spot.

"Professor, I've figured things out. I want to take up your offer and go to Garolina University," I said.

The professor sounded relieved as he said, "You made the right call. With your circumstances, we'll get you a special fast track and a hefty scholarship, so tuition won't be a problem for you from now on."

After switching my application to Garolina University, I could lie down and breathe easily.

That night, I slept better than I had in ages.

I didn't waste another second worrying about Ryan being out all night, and I didn't even bother calling him to ask where he was.

The next morning, I was scrolling through social media when I stumbled on Yulia's latest post.

[Ryan got wasted last night, so I had to take care of him the whole time. It was so exhausting,] Yulia posted.

She even posted a picture showing Ryan, shirtless and out cold, sleeping soundly on Yulia's bed.

So Ryan spent the whole night over at Yulia's place, and on top of that, he even crashed into her bed.

It still hurt, but compared to before, I could handle it a lot better this time. Guess I was starting to get over him.

I got up, cleaned up, changed, and headed out.

When I got back, lugging a bunch of shopping bags, I was greeted the moment I opened the door by Yulia's sugary, over-the-top giggle.

In the living room, Yulia and Ryan sat side by side on the couch, watching a tablet together, absorbed in what they were viewing.

As soon as they heard me come in, both glanced my way. Ryan shot me a cold look and quickly turned his eyes away.

Yulia got up with that sugary-sweet voice of hers, plastering on a fake smile. "Hey, there. You bought so much stuff. Need a hand?" she offered.

She reached out, determined to grab one of my bags, but I dodged her, careful not to let her touch me for even a second.

But then, out of nowhere, she crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes, making a big and dramatic thud.

Ryan shot up from the couch, rushed to her side, and pulled her up, shooting me a furious glare. "Juliet, are you losing your mind again? Why did you push Yulia?" he snapped.

"I didn't push her," I snapped back.

"Still denying it, huh? If you didn't do it, how else could she have fallen?" Ryan shot back.

"You're pissed because I took Yulia out to chill last night? Because I crashed at her place after getting drunk? If you've got a problem, take it up with me, not her," Ryan barked.

"Come on, I didn't even touch Yulia. She toppled over by herself. If you don't believe me, let's check the security footage right now," I insisted.

The moment I mentioned the cameras, Yulia broke her silent, tearful act and spoke up.

"It's not Juliet's fault. I slipped. It hurts so bad," Yulia whimpered.

Ryan's face froze for a second, realizing he'd jumped to conclusions, but instead of apologizing, he turned to Yulia, all worried. "Your hand is scraped. Let me help you deal with it," he offered.

I saw the provocative glint in Yulia's eyes. I kept my cool, ignored her, and headed upstairs.

Yulia probably figured I'd flip out, go all hysterical, and make a scene like before.

But that version of Juliet was gone. After hearing her voice message last night and seeing Ryan half-naked in her bed, I was done playing the fool. Never again.