But somehow, he still thought Sadie was the better one.
‘Fine,‘ she thought bitterly. ‘I’ll win this next match. I’ll make him give up on Sadie for good.‘
Rhett’s smile faded as a flicker of worry crossed his face.
The wild card match was coming up–and it was critical. If they lost, it would be game over.
Lorena had been working hard, but she just didn’t have the natural talent. And with only a month left before the match, there was no way she’d be ready in time.
If they wanted to beat that kid from the Francis family, they needed someone with real skill.
And that someone… was Sadie.
But Rhett couldn’t bring himself to ask her.
For years, it had always been Sadie chasing after him–eager, obedient, trying to win his approval.
He’d gotten used to that dynamic. Changing it now felt almost… unnatural.
But he thought, ‘Seriously, how long is she planning to hold this grudge?
Is she really going to force me to be the one to bow my head?‘
Rhett was feeling a little stressed about the upcoming competition.
Stressed about the
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Jeremy gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Once the results are out, I’ll talk to her. The revival match is a big deal.”
Rhett frowned. “It took Sadie forever to convince me to teach her how to play, and now she’s trying to push me around? When did she get so calculating?”
“If it comes to that, we’ll have Ethan step in. No way she’d ignore his opinion.”
Off to the side, Lorena was silently stewing.
There was no way she was giving up her spot to Sadie. That spot belonged to her.
*****
When Sadie arrived at school, everyone was buzzing about the exam results.
One of Lorena’s followers glanced at her and said loudly, “Some people have been working so hard lately. Wonder how they actually did on the test?”
Sadie tried to keep a calm expression as she pulled out her textbook to review, but her stomach was in knots.
Before long, the homeroom teacher walked in holding the score sheets, and the class instantly perked up.
The teacher tapped the desk. “Alright, settle down. Overall, the results this time weren’t great. Now’s not the time to slack off. A special mention–Lorena dropped more than 200 spots.”
Lorena’s face went pale. She knew she hadn’t been in top form lately, but she hadn’t expected to bomb this badly.
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The teacher turned to Sadie and hesitated for a moment. “Sadie, on the other hand, made a lot of progress. Keep it up.”
One of the followers piped up. “What’s her rank now?”
“She’s ranked 100th in the grade.”
The classroom exploded.
A small smile appeared on Sadie’s face–she’d actually done it.
Her heart raced. Now she could finally report her results to Sean.
All the late nights and effort hadn’t been for nothing.
At this rate, if she kept it up, she just might have a shot at getting into Wonder University.
“I don’t think Sadie’s results are legit. There’s no way she could’ve improved this much so fast!”
Silence fell over the classroom.
Everyone turned to look at Sadie, eyes filled with doubt.
Even the teacher, despite having seen her hard work, couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious.
Then Lorena spoke up softly, “Sadie’s been really determined to prove herself. She made a bet with her brother, so please don’t question her score. It really means a lot to her. I’m begging you.”
It was the perfect performance.
But Sadie just gave a cold, mocking smile. What a pro at playing the
innocent victim.
No wonder she’d fallen into Lorena’s trap in her previous life.
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As expected, the teacher’s expression changed–now it looked like he believed Sadie had cheated just to win the bet.
