LOGIN"No."Now that Juliette thought about it, Colton had vanished during the days she was in the hospital. He had not shown up once."Good."Preston looked as though he had expected that answer, and Juliette understood immediately."You had something to do with it, didn't you? You're the reason Colton left Northvale.""I just had his school expel him. That's all."Preston raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. "You're not going to tell me you feel bad for him, are you?""No." Juliette shook her head. She was simply surprised by how much influence Preston carried."He kept saying he'd retake the college entrance exam and get into Kensington to win you back. I just gave him his chance."Juliette finally asked the question that had been sitting at the bottom of her heart. "Preston, why are you helping me?""If I said it's because I like you, would you believe me?" He leaned in, his gaze intense.Juliette's cheeks flushed. "You're joking, Preston. We barely know each other.""I'll st
"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."Juliette smiled and shook her head. "You even brought me tea. So you believe I'm innocent?""I always believed you weren't that kind of person."Hallie fidgeted for a moment before pressing the cup into Juliette's hands. Then she noticed Colton was still in the room."Aren't you the cheater? You did this to Juliette and yet you have the nerve to stand there?"Juliette, don't you dare go soft on him. Men are trash. If he can cheat once, he'll do it again.""I won't, Juliette!" Colton scrambled to explain, but Juliette was no longer listening."Please leave. I have things to discuss with my friend."Colton had no choice but to walk out."He's still clinging to you? After everything he put you through? Does he have zero self-awareness?"Hallie was fuming, her cheeks puffed. "If it were me, I'd take this straight to his school and make sure he got expelled."Juliette smiled faintly. "He'll leave in a few days. Just ignore him.""By the way,
"Yes."Colton's gaze was unwavering. "Kelsey's lost it. She's completely out of control. If she's willing to do something like this to you, then the police need to be involved."You're the one who said it. We're adults now, and adults take responsibility for what they've done. So I reported her."Juliette bit her lip, unsure of what to say.Kelsey was only 18. She had gotten into Lakewood. Her future had been wide open, but she had thrown it all away because she could not let go.Juliette exhaled slowly. "You're right, Colton. People should answer for what they've done. And that goes for you too. I'm grateful you showed up yesterday, but everything I went through happened because of you in the first place."So from this point on, we're even. Neither of us owes the other anything.""If we're even, can we start over? We can be friends first. Let me win you back. Please."The tears he had been holding back spilled over. He could not contain it anymore. He was falling apart."No.
How could she do this?They had known each other for three years. They had been the closest of friends, and yet Kelsey was willing to do this to her, all for Colton.The forum post had not been enough. She had even hired people to beat her.Tears spilled from Juliette's eyes. The pain in her chest felt as if someone had carved a piece out of her heart with their bare hands."Ms. Tyndall wired us five grand to take care of you. I'd suggest you cooperate. Otherwise, this is going to end a lot worse."The women exchanged looks, their smiles turning cruel.The fear inside Juliette spread until it consumed her. She crawled backward, trembling. "What are you going to do?""Nothing much. Just strip you down, film it, and put it online. Let everyone see what you really are."Juliette's eyes went wide. She shook her head. "Don't. Kelsey gave you five thousand, right? I'll give you ten. Please, just let me go.""Ten thousand?"They glanced at each other. "Sorry, sweetheart. It's not ab
"Nothing. I just didn't expect you to be this calm after something like that."Juliette kept her expression serious. "That post isn't true. I have nothing to be afraid of. I trust the school to get to the bottom of it and set things right."Preston said nothing. He pushed open the door to the dean's office for her."Go ahead. He's waiting.""Thank you for walking me over, Preston."Juliette stepped inside. "Good afternoon, sir. I'm Juliette Larkin.""Ms. Larkin, I assume you've already seen the post...""I have, and I can explain."She told the dean everything. Once she had finished, she left the office.Preston was still there."You didn't leave?""I was waiting for you. I figured you might not know your way back."He was right. The campus was enormous. Finding her way on her own would have taken a while."Also, it started raining."Preston opened an umbrella. "Get under. I'll walk you back.""Thank you, Preston."On the way, the rain picked up. Not a single drop lande
The post was long, and every word was calculated.In barely 15 minutes, it had shot to the top of the local trending page. Thousands of people were reading it, and the comment section had already descended into chaos.Juliette's face darkened as she read. She did not need to guess to know Kelsey had written it.The girl had truly lost her mind.She had twisted the entire story and dragged Juliette's name through the dirt. Kelsey was the other woman, and now she had reinvented herself as the victim, betrayed by both her best friend and her boyfriend."How is this possible? Juliette..." Hallie finished reading and looked shaken."No wonder you never wanted to talk about it whenever I asked if you had a boyfriend. No wonder that guy showed up looking for you..."She took a step back, unsure of what to believe.They had only known each other for a few days, but she genuinely liked Juliette. If Juliette had really been the kind of person who went after someone else's boyfriend, Hall







