Theif

Esme ignored everyone and directly walked to the principal's office. But she didn't have to go inside his cabin. Because she found Nicole crying outside the principal's office while Noah was comforting her. Professor Night was glaring at Nicole, while the Principal was speaking with someone on the phone.

"Right away, sir, I understand," he said before disconnecting the call.

"Prof, Night" Esme greeted the Professor, ignoring Nosh and Nicole.

But they had other plans.

"Esme, how can you steal Nicole's project? Did you know how hard she worked on this project? Are you even a human? She is your best friend. What kind of person does these kinds of things to her best friend? Are you not satisfied with pushing her into the pool on her birthday? You had to do this, too?" Noah started scolding Esme on Nicole's behalf.

Esme smiled at him bitterly. She never thought that a day would come when her best friend, who always used to have her back, would stand against her.

"You, out of all people, know that I am not a novice when it comes to interior design. It's you who encouraged me to take this as my major in the beginning. Now you are accusing me of stealing her work? Don't you think it's funny, Noah? Do you remember that I used to help her with the drafts from the beginning? Then how come she suddenly became a pro in the interior designing that I had to steal her work?" Esme pointed out.

Noah frowned, understanding the logic behind Esme's words. Noticing how Noah's opinion is swaying, Nicole decided to defend herself.

"Esme, your dad is in the hospital and you didn't get much time to study these days. I can understand that you might have become desperate to submit the project before the deadline. I can understand why you stole my work. But you should know that it's not fair for me," Nicole spoke so softly, that Noah frowned with anger.

"Nicole, we did what we should do. Now the principal would decide for you. Why are you wasting your breath on someone like her?" Noah told Nicole.

Esme's eyes stung with unshed tears.

"Yes, my dad was in the hospital. But that never stopped me from studying. He passed away two weeks ago, which definitely affected my attendance, but not my competence." Esme paused, trying to compose herself.

She noticed a flicker of guilt passing through Noah's eyes. But it's too late to feel guilty now.

"I finished my project a month ago. It was Prof. Night who reviewed my project. I couldn't submit it because I was grieving my dad's loss. How would I have known that someone would steal my project when I was grieving, and now the same person is accusing me of stealing?" Esme pointed out.

Nicole gasped sharply and immediately tears appeared in her eyes. Esme is amazed at how she could summon tears at a flicker of her fingers.

"Esme, we are best friends. How can you do this to me?" she whispered while tears streamed down her cheeks.

Noah immediately hugged Nicole.

"Nicole, please don't cry. I saw it with my own eyes how vicious she is when she pushed you into the pool. Now she is proving it again. Don't be sad," he consoled Nicole.

Esme chuckled bitterly.

"You mean, i pushed her into the pool? I was the person who was standing close to the pool, I am the person who is scared of depths, and I am the person who doesn't know how to swim, while she is a good swimmer. What do you think I would achieve by pushing her into the water? Apart from me drowning to my death, I don't think she got affected at all. And you call me vicious?" Esme demanded angrily.

Noah frowned, clearly confused. He knows everything Esme just pointed out is true. But he still went to save Nicole when he clearly knew that Esme was the one who needed saving.

Nicole noted the shift in Noah, so she immediately chimed in.

"I can get that you must be upset that Noah was celebrating my birthday for me. I can understand that you must have been angry when he commented about your dressing. I don't blame you for the lapse in your judgment when you decided to ruin my birthday. I don't blame you. I can see that you were stressed" Nicole spoke so earnestly, that Esme would have been fooled once again if she were not the victim here.

"You should have chosen acting as your major, Nicole, because your acting is perfect. You are fooling everyone around you. I don't care what you are up to. I came here to prove my innocence. I don't have time to waste on this nonsense," Esme muttered.

This is the first time she is seeing Nicole's true colors. She was fooled for so long, that Esme used to trust Nicole even when she used to make fun of her in front of everyone. She realized that Nicole never deserved her trust, but it's too late now. Noah is completely under Nicole's spell.

"Esme, don't you dare accuse Nicole of lying. You are the liar here," Noah fumed.

"Enough, I have informed Esme's guardian about this issue. He will be here soon. Then I will decide what should be done. As it is Nicole who submitted the project first, I am considering her project as real and believe Esme plagiarized her work. If Esme fails to prove her innocence, she will be expelled from the university and all her four years of education will not be considered either" the principal declared.

Esme is stunned. Her dad passed away, and she no longer has any guardian's name registered in her college registration. She is wondering who the principal called. She is not worried about the project. She knows how to prove her innocence.

"There he comes, Esme's guardian," the principal declared.

Esme turned to see who the person was. She gasped with shock when her gaze landed on her new guardian.