Chapter 26
Whenever Rhett came to school, he’d bring little gifts–for Lorena, never for her.
She remembered crying about it once. Jeremy told her, “If you behaved better, maybe you’d get something too.”
But now? Sadie didn’t care about those so–called gifts anymore.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a call–from Sean.
Her eyes widened. She quickly grabbed the phone, walked out into the hallway, and took a deep breath before answering.
“Hello.”
“How’d you do on the exam?”
7
Sadie hesitated, her voice soft. “I made it into the top 100… but it looks like my score might get thrown out.”
Sean’s casual tone instantly shifted. He sounded sharp, serious. “What happened?”
Sadie had been trying to convince herself not to care.
Lorena was up to her usual tricks–pulling strings, dragging
Chapter 26
Rhett to school, trying to get her exam results tossed out. Odds
were, she’d succeed.
But when Sean asked about her score, the hurt still hit her like a
punch to the gut.
Just as she was about to answer, someone called out beside her,
“Sadie, the homeroom teacher wants to see you in the office.”
She pressed her lips into a tight line. “I’ll go. We’ll talk later.”
She hung up and headed straight to the teacher’s office.
As soon as she stepped in, she saw Rhett was already there–and
the air felt heavy with tension.
Rhett’s face was stone cold. “Sadie, I can’t believe you’d cheat on
an exam just to win a bet. Do you have any idea what that
means?”
Sadie didn’t even flinch. She already knew he wouldn’t believe
her.
Her gaze was calm and unwavering. “I didn’t cheat.””
She wasn’t going to admit to something she didn’t do–ever.
Rhett narrowed his eyes. “You’re still denying it? Based on your
usual grades and how you act at home, there’s no way you
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improved that much. And you had every reason to cheat! Just
own up to it. If you admit it now, maybe the school won’t mark
it down as a formal violation.”
Sadie let out a cold, sharp laugh. “Is that what you’re calling
evidence? That I don’t ‘seem‘ capable of doing well?”
Rhett stood up, furious. “Look at what you’ve turned into!”
The homeroom teacher quickly stepped between them. “Please,
speak to her calmly. She’s still a student.””
Rhett’s tone was filled with frustration as he turned to the
teacher. “Sorry. It’s just–she cheated because she’s angry at the
family. Let’s go with what we discussed. Have her write a
statement, apologize in front of the whole school, and drop the
disciplinary action.”
The teacher sighed. “That’s acceptable. Hopefully she’ll learn
from this and turn things around.”
After all, graduation was just around the corner. A formal
record this late in the game would only hurt her.
Sadie stared at the floor, her heart sinking even lower.
With just a few words, they’d made up their minds. No one had
ever even tried to believe her.
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“You’ve disgraced the entire Douglas family,” Rhett snapped.
“How could we have a sister like you? Honestly, it’s
embarrassing just saying you’re related to us.”
“You think I want to be part of your family?”
Her features were delicate and pale, but her eyes were sharp,
cold, and unreadable.
She didn’t care anymore. About any of it.
Rhett’s expression darkened. “Say that again, I dare you.”
He looked like he was about to explode.
“Let’s not be so aggressive,” said a calm voice from the doorway.
“You’ll scare her.”
An elderly man stepped in, face kind, eyes sharp beneath his
gentle smile.
The homeroom teacher quickly stood up. “Mr. Reese! What
brings you here?”
“I heard there’s a senior student who made a big leap in the
rankings, and now people are accusing her of cheating. Sounded
like things were getting a little out of hand, so I came to take a
