THE PUBLIC DISGRACE

Bryan’s POV

Chris turned slowly, his eyes narrowing at Kia, who stood trembling behind him.

For a moment, he just stared. Then, without warning, he closed the gap between them, his hand rising to her cheek—not with tenderness, but with a sudden, sharp shove.

Kia hit the floor with a gasp, her books scattering across the hallway tiles. The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs, but Chris didn’t flinch. He turned his back on her like she was nothing, facing Tessa again, his voice breaking.

“I love you, Tessa,” he said, chest heaving. “I only love you. No one else.”

The corridor held its breath. Tessa stayed still, her lips slightly parted as though she was trying to absorb every bit of what he had said.

Then—

“A lie,” a voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Heads turned.

Ava.

She stepped forward from seemingly nowhere, her phone raised high in one hand. Her expression was cold, her gaze fell on Chris like a predator that had cornered its prey.

“Let’s all hear what you really are, Chris,” she said, her voice carrying through the hall. With a single tap on her screen, a voice recording filled the air.

Chris’s own voice. Clear and unmistakable.

“I love you, Liana. You’re the only one who gets me. I can’t stop thinking about that night with you. You are sweeter than I imagined.”

Gasps tore through the crowd like ripples in water. Heads whipped toward a shadowed corner—and there she was.

Liana.

She had been hiding, but there was no hiding now. A pair of furious girls from the senior class stormed toward her, grabbing her arms and dragging her out into the open. The crowd erupted, students pelting her with wadded paper, candy wrappers—anything they could throw.

Tessa’s face went pale. Her feet grew weak at the scene. Her lips trembled—not with anger at first, but with something deeper.

Something pierced through her like she has been butchered from the inside and the pain was written boldly on her face.

She turned, ready to walk away.

But Ava’s voice sliced through the noise again like a blade.

“Leaving so soon, Tessa? You might want to see this first.”

She lifted her phone again. This time, the video that lit up the screen froze everyone mid-breath.

The camera was shaky, but the figures were clear enough—Liana, pressed against a wall. Chris leaning in. His hand on her waist. His mouth on hers, and him thrusting into her with everything in him. Tessa felt like fainting.

“What!” Someone screamed from the crowd as they raised their phones to capture the moment. Now, the gasps were louder—because Chris’s face was undeniable.

Tessa staggered back as if the air had been punched from her lungs. It felt like a nightmare she prayed to wake up from.

Chris’s brows drew together, his fists curling, and he took a step toward Ava. “You—”

“Don’t you dare,” Tessa’s voice rose, vibrating with anger and pain.

He froze.

Tessa walked forward, her heels clicking against the tiles until she stood before the chaos in the center of the hall—where Liana was now surrounded, her hair disheveled, her clothes tugged by the hands dragging her.

Without hesitation, Tessa reached forward, fisting a handful of Liana’s hair and yanking it back to reveal her face fully to the crowd.

“Here she is,” Tessa announced, her voice shaking not from fear but rage. “The girl who planned to poison Ava and kill her baby.”

The hall erupted in shouts. Bottles, empty cans, crumpled notebooks rained down on Liana again. She shielded her face, but the crowd only pushed in closer.

From the back, a voice rose—deep, disgusted. Tony.

“She’s the black sheep!” he roared. “We don’t want her in our midst anymore!”

The chant caught on fast. Black sheep! Black sheep!

Liana’s eyes darted around desperately, but there was no way out. No one was on her side now. Not even Chris.

It wasn’t long before Mrs. Forrest stepped in with Mr. Johnson close behind her. The chanting faltered but didn’t die completely—murmurs and angry whispers still swelled like a storm that refused to settle.

“What is going on here?” Mrs. Forrest’s voice rang sharp, her gaze sweeping over the scene—the roses scattered like blood on the floor, Kia still on the ground gathering her books, Chris standing rigid with his jaw clenched, Tessa gripping Liana’s hair like she might never let go, and Ava in the middle of it all with her phone still raised.

Liana whimpered, trying to twist free, but Tessa’s grip only tightened. Chris’s eyes flicked between them, his breathing uneven, his shoulders tense as if deciding whether to fight for Liana or pretend he didn’t know her at all.

“Enough!” Mrs. Forrest barked, stepping forward. “Tessa, let her go!”

Tessa’s hand loosened, but her glare didn’t. Liana dragged herself to the wall behind her, chest heaving, eyes shimmering with panic and hatred.

Mr. Johnson moved toward her, perhaps to pull her out of the crowd, but Ava’s voice cut in again—thick, cold, and without remorse.

“She hasn’t spilled it yet.”

The heat came again and the students who were prepared to disperse froze in the middle of their stride.

Ava took a slow step forward, her phone still glowing in her hand, her gaze fixed on Mrs. Forrest. “You care to know who Liana truly is? Why she’s after me and why she hates me so much?…” She tilted her head, her lips curling into a faint, dangerous smile. “It’s time I told you the secret, dear friend,” she said, turning to Liana now.

The students’ eyes widened, ready to hear the next hit. Chris’s face drained of color, his fists clenched, and his heart pounded so hard as though it were about to explode out of his chest. I guessed he had a glimmer of what I was about to say.

Mrs. Forrest’s eyes narrowed. “Ava… what are you talking about?”

Ava didn’t answer. She just tapped her phone screen again, and Liana’s voice burst from the phone’s speaker.

Her blood froze.