Chapter 3

Matthew's POV

Charles thought that Shannon hadn't heard him, so he repeated himself and held out the bouquet.

She took a step back and kept a polite smile on her face. "Thanks, Charles, but I can't accept the flowers. My boyfriend will be here to pick me up soon."

The bouquet slipped from Charles' hand and hit the ground. It was the first time he had ever heard Shannon admit that I was her boyfriend.

Helen couldn't help asking, "Shannon, I thought you said you didn't like Matthew. What's going on?"

Shannon simply shook her head and looked at Charles. "Sorry you came all this way, but Matthew will be here any minute. You should go. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

Charles looked lost for a moment, then smiled. "Shannon, you probably don't know this yet, but Matthew isn't coming. He texted me to come pick you up."

Shannon froze. "That's impossible. He loves me more than anything. Why would he tell you to do that?"

Everyone in our circle knew how crazy I was about her and how possessive I could be. Shannon believed I'd never let another guy pick her up, especially someone I saw as a rival.

When Charles saw how convinced Shannon was, he scoffed and tried to pull up my message.

"Matthew's a playboy. Maybe he's already gotten tired of you and sent me here to pick you up in his place. Shannon, he's a jerk. I'm the one who truly loves you. Don't worry. I'll make something of myself and give you a good life."

"No, that's not possible! Gary just called and said he was on his way!"

Shannon's face went pale as she stared at the watch on her wrist. It was 10:30 am.

Just then, a red luxury car roared up and stopped in front of them.

Relief washed over Shannon's face when she saw Gary step out. Charles had been lying to her after all!

She quickly composed herself and ran over with a sweet smile. "Hi, Gary!"

Gary was usually warm and friendly, but this time he couldn't quite meet her eyes. He stammered, "Ms. Ruppert, get… get in the car. I'll drive you to school."

Instead of getting in, Shannon clutched her dress and stared at the rear passenger door.

If I'd been there, I probably would have known what she was waiting for.

In my previous life, I'd leapt out with a bouquet of jasmine before the car even stopped, just to see her sooner.

But this time, there was no movement in the back seat.

Shannon couldn't stop thinking about Charles' claim that I'd asked him to pick her up.

"Ms… Ms. Ruppert?" Gary said.

"Gary, is Matthew… is he in there?" Shannon asked.

Gary avoided her gaze as he explained, "Mr. Matthew… hasn't gotten up yet. Let me take you to school first."

Shannon smiled. "Then let's go get him. I'll go to school with him."

Cold sweat beaded on Gary's forehead. He couldn't understand why Shannon, who had always seemed indifferent toward me, suddenly cared so much.

Gary wiped away his sweat and said, "Ms. Ruppert… I should just take you to school first. Mr. Matthew already left on his own."

Shannon picked up the jasmine from the ground. "But you just said he wasn't in the car. Didn't he want to go to school with me?"

"Well…" With no way left to hide it, Gary finally told her the truth. "Mr. Matthew took the high-speed train to Belham…"

Before he could finish, Charles found my message. "Look, here's what he texted me!"

Shannon, who had kept herself together until then, snatched the phone from him. Her whole body trembled as she read the message. "He said I was yours? He loves me so much. How could he say something like that?"

Her voice cracked as she said, "Gary, tell me this isn't true!"

Gary said nothing. His silence was answer enough.

Her eyes were red. After standing there for two minutes, she finally said hoarsely, "Gary, can I borrow the car?"

Gary couldn't help saying, "At this point, Mr. Matthew's probably already on the train. It might be too late to catch him now."

But Shannon had already slid into the driver's seat, her voice trembling. "It's not too late. Even if he's on a plane, I'll catch up to him. He's never getting away from me!"