Chapter 2

As my classmates eyed me expectantly, I gathered my things, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked out of the exam hall.

They started looking anxious, but all they could do now was lower their heads and answer the questions under Ms. Clarke's watchful gaze.

I finally let out a quiet breath of relief. Now that they could no longer hear the wrong answers from my tampered "thoughts", they couldn't possibly blame me for their results, right?

…

At noon, my boyfriend, Justin Wilde, came to the nurse's office, his expression rather unpleasant.

The moment he came in, he questioned me suspiciously, "Did you really defer the exam because your period made you feel unwell?"

Confused, I nodded in response. Thankfully, my period came yesterday.

However, Justin's expression didn't improve.

"You never get period cramps. Why did it suddenly hurt this time? Is what they're saying true? Were you really…"

I saw a mix of disbelief and anger in his eyes, making me frown.

"Who's been saying what about me?"

Justin threw his phone at me.

"Look at this post. No names were mentioned, but the person it describes sounds a lot like you!"

After reading the post, I felt a wave of anger wash over me.

The title read, "Female College Student Takes Exam With Vibrator Stuck Inside Her. Stop Embarrassing Us Students!"

According to the poster, she'd been nervously doing her midterms when, all of a sudden, she heard a strange vibrating sound. When she looked up, she saw a female student with a flushed face, and the sounds were coming from her seat.

The female student proceeded to ignore the rules and leave the exam hall early, claiming that she wanted a deferment.

I recalled seeing Yvonne whisper something to Ms. Clarke earlier. Since she couldn't use the exam results to turn the class against me, she'd resorted to a different trick, huh?

Expression frosty, I returned the phone to Justin and took mine out. I sent the post to my father, asking him to help me find out who'd made that post.

Meanwhile, Justin's expression remained ugly. "Aren't you going to explain yourself to me?"

I looked at him in disappointment. "Why do I need to explain myself? I applied for a deferment because of my period cramps. Who heard any so-called sounds from a vibrator coming from me, huh? And you saw what was in my backpack this morning. What else was there, besides my books and stationery?"

Justin had no response.

My phone buzzed, and I clicked on Dad's reply. As expected, the account that made that post belonged to Yvonne. Once I read the rest of Dad's message and saw that the account had been banned, I put my phone away again.

After seeing how dark my expression was, Justin finally took my hand and said, "Oh, alright. I'm sorry, Calista. I only got upset and doubted you because I care a lot about you. I was wrong, okay? Don't be mad anymore. It's your birthday tomorrow. Let's have a proper celebration and not fight, okay?"

At the mention of my birthday, I abruptly recalled something.

In my previous life, I'd felt blindsided and hurt that I'd been removed from my position as class representative. To cheer me up, Justin planned out an elaborate birthday party for me.

Everything went well during the day. However, when we were strolling by the lake in the evening, I thought about how touched I was by the effort he'd put in.

Then, out of nowhere, he went pale with fury and told me he wanted to break up with me.

Had that also been due to Yvonne's tampering?

…

The next evening, Justin and I went for a stroll by the lake. I scanned the surroundings and, true enough, I spotted Yvonne sitting nearby.

I deliberately allowed a thought to pass through my head. [Justin treats me so well.]

At the very next second, an entirely different sentence rang out in my head. [This dumb fool has no idea I'm keeping eight other guys on the hook as my backups.]

Justin's expression stiffened at once.

I tried again. [He put in so much effort to celebrate my birthday for me.]

[I only chose to make him my official boyfriend because he's the most spineless and submissive out of all the guys I've seduced. I bet he has no clue I also have a sugar daddy who's in his 50s. With all the money my sugar daddy gives me, I can easily get at least ten more guys to be at my beck and call.]

By now, Justin looked like he might murder someone. He flung my hand away, his eyes blazing with fury.

When I saw the look of pure rage and hurt on his face, I spoke up before he could say anything.

"Thank you for putting in all that effort to celebrate my birthday for me, Justin. But I don't think we're right for each other. Let's break up."