Chapter 2

“Actually, I realized something was wrong around 3:00 am, but I was so exhausted that I accidentally fell asleep. I only remembered just now… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone to sleep…”

She just said a few lines, but it was clear she was guilt-tripping me. However, that trick did not work on me.

Still, it worked on Dylan and the others.

He turned to her and gently reassured her.

“How were you supposed to take the exam properly if you hadn't gotten any sleep? Everyone’s responsible for their own exams. It was kind of you to help everyone, but you can’t ruin your own future over it.”

Arielle blinked at him, and two fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Dylan’s brows knitted with concern. He pulled me aside and lowered his voice. “Tessa, you’ve been spoiled rotten. You’re selfish, and you have zero empathy. Honestly, I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like being married to you.

“Let me make this crystal clear. The Lowe family doesn’t want a spoiled princess like you as their daughter-in-law.

“You only have two choices now. First, you can't apply to the Moire Institute of Technology after the college entrance exam. Second, you have to skip the exam. Don’t even think about going to the same college as us. I’m not going to stand by and watch you bully her again. Otherwise, our engagement is off!”

He straightened up after saying it, giving me a stern look.

I tightened my grip on my backpack strap. There was not a trace of emotion in my eyes.

“Dylan, the homeroom teacher sent everyone’s exam venue assignments to the class group chat days ago.

“It was a finalized list. She stayed up for two nights just to organize it, and she still managed to get my exam venue wrong. Do you really think someone with that level of intelligence can get into the Moire Institute of Technology?”

Arielle’s face instantly went pale.

The others immediately turned to me.

“That was way out of line! So what if you’re ranked first?”

“Why don't you just take an Uber? Or have your family driver pick you up? Is there really any reason to make those snide comments at Arielle over something this small?”

Dylan lowered his eyes with his jaw clenched. “Tessa, if Arielle’s family hadn’t gone through what they did, causing her to lose focus in school, she wouldn’t be any worse than you.

“You think you got first place entirely on your own? How many tutors did your family hire for you? How much money did they spend on you? You know exactly how much help you’ve had.”

I listened to accusation after accusation and gave a faint, bitter smile.

It was true that I had had a few private tutors last year. However, the Lowe family had hired them for Dylan. He was too embarrassed to go alone, so he insisted I join him.

Now, those tutors had become proof that I got first place only because of them.

The funny thing was that Dylan had not always been like this.

We grew up together. Our families arranged for us to be engaged when we were still kids, and he had not minded at all.

Everything changed when Arielle transferred to our school from another province during our freshman year. She was gentle, well-off, and naturally likable. Everyone adored her.

At first, Dylan simply looked out for her, but then he started including her in everything.

When her family went bankrupt during our sophomore year, the entire class treated her like she was the most fragile thing. Dylan went even further, announcing to everyone that anyone who messed with Arielle was messing with him.

From that day on, everything Arielle did was right, and everything I did was wrong.

She accused me of stealing her spot in an academic competition, and I was expected to 'give it back'. If she cried in front of me, then obviously, I must have said something wrong.

If she memorized a passage incorrectly in class, she would glance at me with those teary red eyes, and somehow, I would be at fault for distracting her from studying.

At first, I used to argue back, but they never believed me, so eventually, I stopped bothering.

They had already made up their minds. Anything I said would just become another excuse.

“Dylan, what happened to her family wasn’t my fault. You know exactly who those tutors were for."

I replied in a cold tone, then turned toward the road.

Arguing over Arielle was a waste of time. I needed to call my chauffeur and have him pick me up at the school entrance. The exam venue on the east side was ten minutes farther away than the west side.

I had to leave immediately.

“Tessa!” Arielle came hurrying after me. Her eyes were still red. “Please don’t be mad at me, okay? I really didn’t do it on purpose…”

She reached for me. I stepped away and replied in a cold voice, “Fine. I get it.’

However, she did not give up. Instead, she grabbed my wrist even tighter.

I was trying to pull myself free when her hand caught the edge of my hand. When I gave it a sharp tug, my hand swung out and my phone hit the pavement screen first.