Chapter 2
Ryan was wearing a shirt that had been washed so many times it was almost white. He glanced at Jason, whose face was twisted in pain.
When he turned to me, his eyes were full of disappointment.
"Natalie Morgan."
He frowned, his voice cold.
"I used to think you were just a little spoiled, but now I see how ruthless you really are. You can just stand there and watch someone from your own school get beaten up."
His tone dropped further as he glanced at Claire. "You even stopped your friend from helping."
I was about to say something, and Claire got there first.
She stepped right in front of me and let loose.
Claire snapped, "You're a grown man, and your buddy is getting jumped, so why didn't you step in? Those thugs were right here, and you were nowhere. Now that they're gone, you show up to lecture us? Have you got no shame?
"And you heard it yourself. Your friend got beaten because he doesn't pay what he owes. If the great Ryan Carter is so full of loyalty, why not use your financial aid to cover his debt? Stop pretending you're above all of it."
She rattled off her words so fast, Ryan's face twisted with anger and embarrassment.
With that, she grabbed my hand and dragged me away.
Ryan pressed his lips together, looking like he wanted to chase after us and say something.
But Jason, finally making his way over with Emily's help, cut him off.
"Ryan, don't bother arguing with people like them. Mark my words, they'll regret it someday!"
Jason was sweating bullets from the pain, but he still gritted his teeth and spoke in a cold, hard voice.
"Yeah, Jason's totally gonna be a superstar one day!"
Emily nodded fiercely, waving her tiny fist defiantly at Claire and me as we walked away.
She scoffed, "So what if they're rich? Does money mean they get to walk over their own classmates? All they've got is money. That's it!"
With that, she dashed over to Ryan, looking up at him with stars in her eyes.
She gushed, "Ryan, I heard you submitted your application. You're about to be Professor Cole's first protégé in a decade.
"Soon, everyone in business will be lining up to kiss your boots. Girls like them, who only know how to mooch off their families, will never understand what that really means!"
Ryan's expression softened a little. He gave a gentle "mm" and affectionately ruffled her hair.
He slipped back into his usual composure and gave me a casual once-over.
Our eyes met, and he caught something in my face that I hadn't meant to show him.
He froze, his expression stiffening.
After a beat, like something suddenly clicked. He yanked Emily behind him, putting himself between us, and shot me a dark, guarded look.
He said, "Some people have nothing to do with me anymore. I'm not letting her drag Emily into it over whatever we used to be."
I stopped in my tracks.
How ridiculous.
So he thought I was going after his childhood sweetheart?
He actually believed I was still circling him the way I had before, and taking it out on Emily.
I looked at him.
Their words had reminded me of something.
Edmund Cole was an old friend of my dad's, despite the age gap.
In my previous life, I found out from my dad that Ryan's application got lost in the shuffle and never even made it to Edmund.
I nagged my dad for three whole months until he finally agreed to step in and say something for Ryan.
Edmund was stubborn, and that was the only way he finally gave in and made an exception for a student whose talent was ordinary at best.
And just to protect Ryan's fragile, almost pathetic pride.
I never brought it up myself.
I thought he'd at least realize something.
But I never expected.
He truly believed every bit of it had come from his own effort.
Just then, Jason hobbled over, putting himself in front of Emily like a shield.
He glared fiercely at Claire.
Then he turned to Emily, his tone suddenly gentle.
"Emily, don't be scared.
"From now on, nobody's going to push me around or control me. This time, I'll protect you and make sure you can live your life in peace."