Chapter 23
She sighed. ‘Alright, I’ll hold off–just a little longer. At least until I
see how I did.
Still, after a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out her phone and
sent him a message.
[Mr. Francis, I didn’t go to the infirmary after school last week
because Jeremy noticed I wasn’t coming home on time. I was
worried he’d discover my secret hideout, so I stayed away.]
After sending it, she stared at the chat screen for a while.
No response.
She tapped into his feed–completely blank.
‘He doesn’t post anything? Not even a single update? Weird!
Across town, Sean read her message, eyes narrowing slightly.
“Sean, who just messaged you?”
Sean locked his phone without answering.
Chapter 23
Nick raised a brow. “From the profile pic, it looked like a girl.
Don’t tell me it’s that one you helped the other day–what was
her name again? Sadie–something?”
“You talk too much.”
Nick smirked. “Come on, you’re obviously flustered. You were
practically living in the infirmary last week, and then suddenly
you stopped showing up. You’ve been walking around with a
storm cloud over your head ever since. Don’t tell me you two
had a fight?”
Sean turned to him, eyes sharp with warning. “Mind your own
business.”
“We’ve been friends since diapers. Don’t act like I don’t know
your tells. Stop pretending.”
Sean ignored him and walked out to the balcony with his
phone. He glanced down at the message.
He wondered, ‘So the infirmary is her ‘secret base“?”
A rare smile tugged at his lips as he tapped into her feed.
Her posts were mostly light and casual–little bits of daily life, the
kind of thing typical for a high school girl.
Chapter 23
He scrolled through a few, then suddenly realized he’d been
staring at her profile for far too long. The feeling was…
unsettling, like something slipping out of his control.
Without hesitation, Sean closed the app and headed back to the
living room.
Sadie, meanwhile, waited all day for a reply–but none came.
‘Is he mad?‘
Still, she didn’t dare send another message. Better to wait until
her test results came out on Monday.
She spent the entire weekend at home studying.
Lorena and the brothers didn’t return–they were staying
overnight at the training camp again.
*****
Monday morning.
Sadie came downstairs and finally saw Lorena and her brothers
again.
They were all chatting and laughing like a tight–knit group,
clearly even closer than before.
Chapter 23
She said nothing and walked straight to the dining room to grab
breakfast.
Rhett’s voice rang out with a mocking edge, “Today’s the day
grades come out, huh?”
Sadie nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’ve told you before–should’ve joined the team. Let’s be honest,
with your grades, you’re not getting into any top schools.
Instead of wasting time pretending to study, you could’ve been
training to go pro. With the Douglas family backing you, fame.
would just be a matter of time. But you blew it. Now that spot’s
Lorena’s.”
Sadie remembered the humiliation of being replaced in her
previous life.
She kept her tone even. “I’m not bothered.”
Grabbing a sandwich, she turned and walked out of the room
without another word.
Rhett scowled. “Look at her–doesn’t care about anything. I can’t
wait to see her so–called ‘amazing‘ results.”
Lorena breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter 23
Sadie had officially declined to join the team again, which
meant her own position was secure.
She knew very well that Sadie had real gaming talent. If she
joined, there’d be no room left for Lorena.
But with her usual sweet smile, she said, “Don’t be mad, Rhett.
Sadie’s just being stubborn. If she changes her mind and wants
to join, I’ll gladly give her my spot.”
Rhett beamed. “You really are the most thoughtful one.”
Lorena’s smile froze for a moment, her chest tightening with resentment.
She’d been working herself to the bone these past few weeks, training nonstop just to gain his approval.
