Chapter 5
Malik clenched his fists. “Exactly. She did it on purpose–to get under our skin.”
Lorena listened to them, gritting her teeth quietly.
Sadie’s tactic had clearly worked. She was already driving a wedge between them. That woman can’t be allowed to win.‘
Clutching the tray, she looked up with teary eyes. “Jeremy, Malik… did I mess up again? How could I possibly accept something so precious to Sadie? What should I do?”
Damn that Sadie–setting me up like this!‘ she thought.
Malik scowled. “It’s her apology gift. Just take it. I give it three days before she comes crawling back for it.”
He was already picturing that moment–and when it came, he’d make sure Sadie regretted every second of it.
Jeremy’s voice softened. “Let’s do this, Lorena. Just hold on to it for now. Once she cools off, she’ll come back around.”
Sadie had thrown tantrums before. And every time, she ended up apologizing and making up for it.
He didn’t believe she’d really give all of that up.
Lorena gave a sweet, obedient smile. “Okay. I’ll take good care of it.”
Jeremy let out a breath. Once, Sadie had been this well–behaved too. He could only hope she’d come to her senses soon.
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He looked over at the quiet and gentle Lorena standing beside him. and for a moment, he felt reassured. Thank goodness Lorena isn’t like her‘
*
Back in her room. Sadie lay down. The dizziness from earlier–probably from falling into the water–was still lingering.
She closed her eyes the moment her head hit the pillow.
She needed to figure out how to get out of the Douglas family–for good. She wanted to support herself and live independently.
In her previous life, after the important exam, she had scored high enough for a top university. But because of one offhand comment from Malik, she ended up applying to the second–rate school Lorena chose.
She became Lorena’s personal servant–doing everything for her, taking the fall for her mistakes.
Whenever she stepped out of line, her credit card would get frozen. Despite being a wealthy heiress, she lived worse than students on financial aid.
In the end, Lorena even stole her painstakingly written thesis. She was accused of plagiarism and expelled in disgrace.
She wasn’t letting any of that happen again.
This time, she would get into a top university.
As for tuition and living expenses? She could join an esports team and earn prize money.
With the skills she’d developed in her previous life, she could definitely still make a living in the gaming world.
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Chptr 5
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After the party ended, Jeremy went up to the second floor and stood outside her room.
He hesitated before knocking.
No answer.
The door was locked.
Just then, someone called out behind him, “Jeremy! Lorena’s running a fever–come quick!”
When Jeremy heard the commotion, he withdrew his hand.
Downstairs, he found Lorena flushed and clearly feverish. “I’ll get the
car. We’re going to the hospital,” he said without hesitation.
He and Malik left together to take her to the ER.
*****
Upstairs, in the second–floor bedroom, Sadie lay in bed, her face burning with fever, sweat soaking her sheets.
All night, her body felt light and floaty, drifting in and out of relentless nightmares.
The next morning, her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing with notifications.
Grimacing, Sadie cracked her eyes open and picked up her phone, her expression dark. It was flooded with private messages from a social
app.
She opened them–only to find wave after wave of verbal abuse.
She wasn’t surprised.
Someone had filmed her shoving Lorena into the pool and posted it to
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Chapter 5
288 Vouchers
the school forum the night before. Lorena was beloved on campus, and now the whole student body was out for blood.
Sadie’s head pounded. Annoyed and on edge, she jumped straight into the comments section and started firing back.
She went full scorched–earth: profanity, insults, name–calling–no filters, no restraint.
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