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.
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
Chapter 23
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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.
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
Chapter 23
the training camp again.
*****
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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.
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.
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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.
