Chapter 1

Gideon's POV

I took one last look at Mallory Spencer before rising from my seat and walking away.

"Gideon's temper is as bad as ever. It's all my fault. I told you I didn't want to come today, and now I've ruined everyone's mood…"

Hank Coleman's voice drifted from behind me, sounding as spoiled and entitled as ever, along with a hint of feigned hurt. The Coleman family's bankruptcy didn't seem to have changed his personality at all.

Unable to resist, I glanced back. Mallory had turned toward him. She was patting his shoulder as she murmured words of comfort.

…

At exactly 10:00 pm, Mallory walked through the door. She didn't even bother taking off her designer blazer before launching into a lecture.

"You should apologize to Hank tomorrow. From the moment you left the restaurant, he kept blaming himself for it."

She looked at me with disappointment in her eyes.

"You're a grown man, Gideon. So many of our friends were there today, besides Hank. You shouldn't always put your own feelings first. It's incredibly unbecoming of you."

Maybe it was because I hadn't slept well the night before, but my heart was pounding in a way that made me feel unwell.

"It was just a bowl of pomegranate seeds. Does he not have hands of his own? If he wants to eat some, why can't he peel the pomegranate himself?" I asked.

I was abruptly reminded of something that happened during our first year together.

I'd brought over a plate of mangoes and half-jokingly asked Mallory to peel them for me. She'd glanced at the plate and frowned.

"I hate doing anything that's a hassle. If eating something takes that much time and effort, I'd rather go without it. And don't even think about asking me to peel it for you."

Back then, I'd thought she hated going to the trouble of doing things for anyone. As it turned out, there were exceptions. I just wasn't one of them.

"You were all young back then. It's normal for teenage boys to mess around with each other. You shouldn't take those things so seriously. It's time to move on. Stop punishing yourself, and stop holding it against other people," Mallory chided me.

"Besides, his family has gone bankrupt. That's punishment enough."

It'd been a whole five minutes since she walked through the front door, and every word out of her mouth had been in defense of Hank, even though I hadn't said a single thing.

I stared fixedly at her, my eyes stinging as they filled with unshed tears, but I fought to keep my emotions from spilling over.

Mallory sighed, looking utterly exhausted. "See? You're doing it again. I'm trying to have a reasonable conversation with you, so why are you giving me that long face? When you act like this, Gideon, you really exhaust me."

She draped her blazer over the back of the couch. I took a deep breath, doing my best to relax my clenched jaw.

"So you still think this is just about a bowl of pomegranate seeds?"

Mallory frowned almost instinctively, a flicker of impatience crossing her eyes.

I'd put up with the situation long enough to reach my limit. My ears were ringing, and suddenly, I was back in that summer all over again.

"You were born to a penniless loser, Gideon Lyle! Why don't you just drop dead, huh?"

I didn't know if everyone's cruelty was always this senseless. This was happening all because, on the first day of school, I'd worn the same brand of sneakers as Hank.

I'd saved up for a whole year to buy mine, while he had countless pairs. Our outfits were nowhere near identical. Nevertheless, that was all it took for me to become the target of relentless bullying from Hank, the scion of a wealthy family.

Back then, whenever Hank and his friends bullied me, Mallory would always step in front of me. Time and time again, she'd pull me away from them, as if she never tired of doing so.

I'd thought she would always be on my side.

Mallory walked over and patted me on the back. "Enough about that. We only have 20 minutes left. If you keep throwing a tantrum, we'll run out of time."