6

The whole morning had been a little easier because of Liam’s help. By lunchtime, though, Camila was already rushing out of school. Just half a day had felt like an entire year.

Even though sitting next to Liam had made things a little less unbearable, she had no intention of staying for afternoon classes.

A part of her was scared, and a part of her still wanted to get into a good university.

But getting into a good school was no longer the thing she cared about most.

She didn’t believe she could catch up with the class anymore, and compared to staying on campus, surrounded by whispers, strange looks, and endless judgment, it felt easier just to stay away.

What mattered most to her now was something else entirely:

making her coldhearted father suffer,

punishing the stepmother who was still free,

and getting revenge on the police who had let a murderer walk.

And when she thought about the police, she inevitably thought of Asher. He was different from every officer she had ever met.

After her mother’s death, she had seen plenty of cops. Some had spoken gently to her, patient and sympathetic. Others had treated her emotional breakdowns with cold detachment.

She had already seen the full range of human warmth and indifference. And in the end, all of it had led to the most disappointing result possible.

She never expected that the next officer she met would be someone like Asher. She couldn’t even put a name to what she felt.

So when Camila ran out through the front gates of Riverside High, she froze at the sight of him standing across the street.

For a second, she honestly thought she was imagining things. She lifted a hand and rubbed her eyes just to make sure.

He was really there.

Her thoughts immediately started racing.

‘Why was he here again?’

She hadn’t caused any trouble all morning.

Before she could figure it out, someone else got to him first. To her surprise, Liam jogged across the street and walked right up to Asher.

Liam was smiling, friendly as always, clearly talking to him with enthusiasm.

Asher, on the other hand, kept his usual calm, unreadable expression.

Still, it was obvious they knew each other.

The way Asher looked at Liam wasn’t guarded or unfamiliar the way it often was with her.

‘Do they know each other?’ Camila’s mind filled with questions.

She was so distracted by the thought that she didn’t notice what was happening around her.

So when someone deliberately shoved her from behind, they caught her completely off guard.

She stumbled forward hard. School had just let out, and most cars were moving slowly or avoiding the crowd, so at least the street itself was safe.

But the concrete sidewalk was another story. When she hit the ground, pain shot through her.

Her knees hurt. Her head hurt.

Camila braced herself with both hands and pushed herself up slightly, glancing down at the blood spreading across the scrape on her knee.

The wound from yesterday had become even worse today.

Her face went cold. She turned around.

A few girls stood together nearby, whispering and laughing.

None of them openly admitted anything, but it was obvious they were laughing at her.

Camila rose slowly, expressionless. Her eyes narrowed at the group.

Among them was Sarah, the same girl who had nearly humiliated her in class that morning.

Without looking away, Camila lifted the hem of her uniform skirt just enough to expose the fresh scrape on her knee, then walked straight toward the group.

Step by step. Her gaze locked onto the tallest girl.

“Did you do this?”

The tall girl’s name was Marvie, and she was also in Camila’s class.

She had always run with the clique that liked targeting Camila. Sarah had started hanging around with her now too.

Honestly, if anyone in school deserved the label of delinquent, it was Marvie.

She was known for cliques, drama, and deciding who was “allowed” to talk to whom. If she didn’t like someone, she made sure everyone around her knew it. If anyone stayed friendly with the wrong person, she’d freeze them out too, and make sure everyone in their group chats heard about it.

It was childish.

The whole thing felt less like high school and more like middle school behavior.

Camila had never bothered with them.

Back when she still had status at school, she had been far more influential than Marvie, and the girl had only been able to swallow her jealousy.

But things were different now.

Now Camila was isolated.

Even her own father had turned his back on her, marrying the woman Camila believed had killed her mother.

That woman even had a ten-year-old son. Sometimes Camila wondered if the boy had been her father’s secret child all along.

Because of all that, Marvie no longer took her seriously.

So when Camila confronted her, Marvie only smiled smugly.

“Yeah, it was me. So what?” She gave an exaggerated shrug. 

“Sorry I accidentally bumped into you. But honestly, you went down way too easily. What, have you not been eating?” Her smile widened, sharp and mocking. “Or is your dad too busy caring about your stepmom and her son now to bother with you at all?”

The scrape on her knee had split open again, blood staining the skin around it.

Camila was still just a teenage girl.

No matter how much anger and pain she buried inside herself, she couldn’t hide it now.

She wanted to lunge at Marvie and teach her a lesson. But before she could move, a tall, straight figure stepped in front of her.

She froze and looked up so suddenly that for a split second she thought it was Asher.

But it wasn’t. 

It was Liam.

“Don’t be so cruel, Marvie,” Liam said sharply, his voice fast and heavy with disapproval. “We’re all classmates. What happened to Camila’s family is a tragedy, not something for you to use as ammunition. What you’re doing is seriously low.”

His tone was enough for everyone nearby to hear how upset he was.

Being called out like that in front of so many students by the most popular guy in school made Marvie’s face burn.

But there was no way she could back down now. 

If she lost face here, how was she supposed to keep her standing with her clique?

“Liam, how can you say that?” she shot back. “I barely touched her. Does she still think she’s some rich princess who needs everyone to treat her delicately?”

She crossed her arms and sneered.

“She falls over from one little bump, and I haven’t even accused her of faking it to frame me. Yet you’re blaming me?”

Marvie glared at Liam, then turned to the people behind her.

“If you don’t believe me, ask everyone. Tell him I’m right.”

The girls around her were all part of her circle. No one was about to embarrass her now.

So naturally, they all nodded along.

Liam gave a cold laugh.

“Hopeless.”

Then he turned, took Camila gently by the hand, and led her away. The hand he grabbed was the one with the bandaged wrist.

Careful not to hurt her, he ended up holding her hand directly instead.

The girls behind them would no doubt turn that into another storm of gossip.

But Camila had no energy to care. Her attention was on someone else entirely.

Liam led her across the street, straight toward Asher.

Asher stood there like an adult watching children’s meaningless drama. The chaos from earlier clearly hadn’t moved him at all.

When Liam brought Camila over, Asher didn’t say much. He simply held out something to her.

Camila had been staring at his face and hadn’t even noticed he was carrying anything until now.

It was a backpack.

More specifically, her backpack.

She stared at it in shock, then looked up at him.

Asher’s voice stayed flat, without the slightest emotional shift.

“Next time you lose something, remember to check the precinct. No one’s going to personally bring it to you every time.”

Only then did Camila understand what he had meant that morning when he told her to borrow notes for half a day.

He had really gone and found her backpack for her. For a moment, she just stood there in silence, too stunned to even take it.

Seeing her freeze, Liam reached out and took the backpack for her instead.

Then he grinned at Asher.

“I’ll hold it for her, Uncle. Where are you eating lunch? Come by our place, Dad’s been asking about you.”

Asher didn’t look at Camila again.

“I’ve still got work to do,” he said shortly. “I’ll eat back at the station.”

And with that, he turned and walked away. 

Under the bright noon sun, his blue uniform looked almost unnaturally crisp and clean. Camila watched him leave without blinking.