Chapter 1
I was bringing study notes to the boy I liked, who was burning up with a fever, when suddenly a barrage of comments popped up in front of me.
[It was tonight that Jeffrey Walton slept with her and got her pregnant. In the finale, she died on the operating table of some shady clinic.]
I suddenly froze.
Just then, Jeffrey wrapped his strong, toned arm around my waist.
His chin rested on my shoulder, his voice low and husky, teasing just a little. "Maeve, I'm not feeling well. Stay with me tonight, okay?"
[It's pretty sad. Maeve is kind of pathetic. She's a star student who got a chance to go to Beloris University, yet she got pregnant, abandoned, and dead by the finale.]
[She had it coming. Maeve is always hogging first place and pushing Eleanor down. Jeffrey did nothing wrong.]
[Totally. Maeve is just a side character. Did she really think she could go after Jeffrey? Too naive.]
Insults and snarky comments scrolled past in front of me.
I stood there, completely caught off guard.
I could clearly feel the warmth of Jeffrey's arm through my clothes, so hot that it made me shiver.
I snapped back to my senses and jumped up from the chair, pulling away from his touch.
Jeffrey's arm hung awkwardly in the air.
He looked surprised, then quickly put on a pitiful expression. "Maeve, there's no one home tonight. If I pass out from the fever, no one will even know. Can you stay and look after me?"
Jeffrey was stupidly handsome, with that bad boy energy and those smoldering eyes that could make anyone lose control. I was completely obsessed.
If I hadn't seen those comments, I would have said yes to Jeffrey in a heartbeat. I was head over heels for him.
When we were kids, I was always trailing after him. Even after we grew up, I kept doing whatever he said, giving to him without hesitation.
When he was punished for talking back to a teacher, I quietly did the homework for him. I wrote until my hands shook so badly that I could barely hold my pen afterward.
Knowing that he flunked a test and got yelled at by his father, I risked serious punishment to secretly help him during a test.
When he was making out with Eleanor Yates on the rooftop, I was shivering in the cold, dark stairwell, keeping watch and making sure the teacher didn't show up.
Right, Eleanor.
If I were the "side character" the comments talked about, and Jeffrey was the "male lead", then Eleanor was the "female lead".
A sudden clarity struck me, and I said, "Aren't you chasing after Eleanor? If she finds out I'm spending the night at your place, she'd definitely be pissed.
"Do you want me to text Eleanor and ask her to come look after you instead?"
As soon as I said that, Jeffrey looked totally stunned.
The comments also went wild.
[What just happened?]
[Isn't Maeve supposed to be totally lovesick for Jeffrey? He's making a move, and she actually turned him down.]
[No way. Eleanor, don't come. If things get out of hand, their perfect future will be ruined.]
The words chilled me to the bone.
No wonder Jeffrey was being so gentle with me tonight.
It turned out he just wanted to satisfy his desires, yet was unwilling to risk hurting the one he truly cared about, so I became the convenient substitute for something he didn't dare cross with Eleanor.
Jeffrey was still ridiculously handsome, but now, just looking at him made me feel nauseous.
Honestly, he was disgusting.
"No, don't bother." Jeffrey instantly waved it off as soon as Eleanor's name was mentioned.
He said, "It's pouring out there, and Eleanor is scared of the dark. What if she gets sick or falls on the way over? Besides, if she looks after me tonight, she won't have the energy to focus in class tomorrow."
I listened in a daze, my mind blank.
Jeffrey knew how to care about someone, but I was simply never the one who deserved it.
I swallowed the ache in my chest and quietly interrupted him. "Jeffrey, I'm also scared of the dark, and I have school tomorrow."
Jeffrey looked flustered. "You're not like her."
He fumbled for words, but just couldn't get a full sentence out.
I dropped my gaze and coldly changed the subject. "If you're that sick, you should stop studying. I have to go."
I stood up, grabbing my study notes as I left.
Jeffrey looked confused, totally clueless about why I had suddenly turned so distant.
With him just staring at me in shock, I walked briskly to the door.
I pulled it open, looked back over my shoulder, and shot him a quick smile. "Drink some water. See you."