Chapter 2

Mark hurried over and immediately hugged Alice, whispering calming words in her ear.

He did not even glance at me as I stood with a shocked look on my face.

Only after Alice's tears stopped did Mark finally turn to me. He just frowned and started scolding me without asking any questions.

"If you're innocent, why were the nuts found in your pocket and not someone else's?

"Admit what you did and apologize to Alice. It's not going to kill you.

"Mr. and Mrs. Clark didn't send you here to pick on a poor girl!"

Each word he shouted felt like a knife cutting into my heart.

The other students, seeing Mark take charge, stopped their whispers. They began to join him in blaming me.

"If even Helen's fiancé is accusing her, then she must be guilty of triggering Alice’s allergies!”

"Yeah, Helen's jealousy is scary. She'd do anything to stop Alice from becoming the Belle of the Ball. No wonder Mark is upset with her!"

Alice's smug thoughts echoed in my head again.

'I just love that he stood up for me against his own bride-to-be. It's so nice to be protected by someone so rich and clueless!'

'Helen, you're such a loser!'

I looked over at Alice.

She was small, but she stood behind the tall and protective Mark. When she caught my eye, she just smirked and raised her eyebrows as if she had won.

I kept telling myself that even if Mark did not believe me, I could not let Alice ruin my good name.

"I already told you I didn't do it. If you don't believe me, let's go check the security cameras," I said.

Some classmates who had not joined the others in blaming me nodded in agreement.

"Right, there are cameras at this event. Instead of arguing, let's just watch the footage," one of them said.

"Helen sounds so sure of herself. Maybe there's been a big mix-up. We should look at the cameras to find out what really happened," another added.

Alice's eyes filled with tears again.

She gave Mark a sad, puppy-dog look.

Mark gently patted her shoulder and then turned to me with an icy sneer.

"Ms. Clark, how much are you planning to pay off the security guys, since you're so keen on checking the cameras?" he asked.

I froze, staring at Mark. It felt like he was a stranger now.

The man who used to always stand by me, no matter what, was now on Alice's side.

Alice pulled at Mark's sleeve and said in a small voice, "It's okay, Mark. Let Helen have a look. I don't want any hard feelings."

I honestly thought that once we looked at the footage, I would be off the hook.

However, the guy from the security room said the cameras had been messed with that morning.

Everyone turned and stared at me.

I was totally lost for words.

Mark just shrugged and laughed meanly.

"See? I told you so," he said.

"Helen, you've really outdone yourself trying to pick on Alice.

"Are you that jealous of her? Are you scared she'll take your spot in my heart?"

My spot?

I had known Mark my whole life, and I thought I understood him.

I never planned on marrying anyone but him, and I thought he felt the same.

That was until Alice showed up.

He told me, "Alice is strong, hardworking, and pure. She’s nothing like you and those other rich girls.”

Ignoring our engagement, he kept siding with her, choosing her over me. He crushed my pride and reputation beneath his feet.

I let out an icy laugh and turned to walk away, but he yanked me back. His gaze was icy as he snapped, "You're not going anywhere until you apologize to Alice!"