Chapter 4

Third-Person POV

When Karen Hart and Caspian Lockwood came back from their vacation and found Adrian gone, they simply assumed he'd run off somewhere again. Neither of them even bothered to call.

Then Julian's acceptance letter arrived. The couple immediately decided it called for a celebration. They invited relatives and family friends over, ordered enough food for a crowd, and turned the whole thing into a party in Julian's honor.

On the day of the celebration, Julian was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, looking every bit like the guest of honor.

Relatives surrounded him from every direction, congratulating him and showering him with praise until he looked like some pampered young prince holding court.

Across the room, a group of aunts and older relatives had gathered around the food, chatting and gossiping as they ate.

Eventually, one of them turned to Caspian and asked about the twins' results.

Caspian immediately got to his feet, beaming as he raised his glass.

"Julian did exceptionally well," he announced proudly. "Far better than we expected."

That was a lie, of course. But Caspian didn't stop there.

"He's always been incredibly bright. His health just made things harder for him growing up. If he hadn't had to deal with that, he could've gotten into any university in the country."

The room immediately filled with praise.

"I always knew that boy was smart."

"Of course, he did well. Just look at him."

"He's got a bright future ahead of him, that's for sure."

"You're going to make your parents very proud, Julian."

Julian leaned into Karen's side and lowered his head, pretending to be embarrassed by all the attention. But the smug satisfaction in his eyes gave him away.

Once the congratulations finally died down, one of the twins' aunts spoke up. "What about Adrian? Where's he going to college?"

Karen's expression changed instantly. She let out a heavy sigh and put on a look of practiced disappointment. "I'd rather not talk about it. His grades just weren't good enough. The best he could manage was a local community college. There's really no comparing the two."

Just then, two familiar faces appeared at the entrance. They were teachers from the twins' high school, Chris Worth and Shaun Mont.

Karen and Caspian immediately lit up.

"Oh, Mr. Worth and Mr. Mont, what a wonderful surprise!" Karen exclaimed, hurrying over to greet them.

Caspian quickly ushered Julian forward, practically presenting him to them. "You came all this way just for the celebration? Please, come in. I'm sure Julian will be thrilled to hear what his teachers have to say about him."

Julian immediately straightened, a pleased little smile already forming on his face as he waited for the praise he was certain was coming.

But the two teachers barely seemed to notice Julian. Their eyes swept over the room as if they were looking for someone else.

"Where's Adrian?" one of them asked. "We heard the Lockwoods were having a college celebration today, so we wanted to stop by and congratulate him."

The smile on Caspian's face froze. "Adrian? Don't you mean Julian?"

Chris blinked. He looked just as confused by the question. "No. I mean Adrian. Adrian was the only student in his graduating class accepted to Westbridge University this year.

"It's one of the most selective universities in the country. He's one of the strongest students we've had in years. We came here specifically to congratulate him."