After I confessed to my childhood crush, he smirked and said, "If you can get that loser to drink from the same bottle you did, I'll date you." Seriously? Was I really reborn fifteen years ago? I raced over to Noah—top of the class and hot as hell—and dropped the water bottle on his desk in front of everyone. He clocked the lipstick stain, face turning crimson. Future business mogul? Right now, he looked like some poor kid waiting to get crushed. I nudged the bottle closer. "Using that genius brain to collect bottles for cash? Kinda tragic. Be my private tutor instead." He might be broke, but lucky for him, I've got money to burn.
Lihat lebih banyakJust as I was spiraling, the call finally connected.Mom's voice came through, calm as ever. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Why all the calls?""The roads near the suburbs are dangerous," I blurted. "Tell Dad to stay under twenty-five. Please."It was random, but they always caved for me.They complained about crawling along while cars behind them honked nonstop, but they did it.Ten minutes later, Dad slammed the brakes.Mom shouted, "What is wrong with these kids?! Shoving someone into traffic—do they have a death wish? Good thing we were driving slow. We almost hit her! Honey, call the cops—I'm checking on that lady!"Because of my warning, nothing happened this time.My knees buckled and I dropped on the spot.Noah darted over. "What's wrong? You hurt?"I blinked hard, swallowing the burn in my eyes. "Just tired. Can't walk anymore."One second later and my dad would've been a killer. Noah and I would've been enemies."Don't cry. I'll carry you.""But my clothes are dirty.
In the end, Noah still came with me.Everyone in our class showed—except Henry.The white sand was soft under my feet as I tugged Noah to the shoreline.The waves washed over our toes, cool and teasing.Behind us, everyone splashed, snapped pics, buzzing loud."Crazy how fast he leveled up," someone sneered. "Hasn't even hit college and already landed a rich girl.""Please. Andrea chased Henry for years, then ditched him. She'll drop Noah too.""Yeah. No rich kid's dumb enough to stay with someone like him. Status matters."I dropped Noah's hand, fire already on my tongue.He caught my arm and faced them. "Yeah, I didn't grow up with much. But I'll work hard. Someday I'll be worthy of her. And even if she's over me, that's fine—I'll never be over her."Noah had this way of talking that made you believe him. His eyes—steady, sharp.The ones who tried to laugh just looked stupid.The rest of the trip? Smooth. Not a single snide word after that.Still, I couldn't shake the th
Noah looked like he'd seen it coming. When he glanced at me, his smile was bitter."Are you scared of me? For setting up my own dad? My relatives always said I was calculating, that nobody wanted to deal with me. It's fine if you hate me. I—"I broke. Threw myself into his arms, sobbing. "You should've told me sooner! I could've found another way to get him locked up. You didn't have to go through that!"I'd sworn I'd protect him this time.But I hadn't.Noah froze.After a long silence, he finally hugged me back, voice rough. "Andrea, don't be so good to me. I won't be able to let you go.""Then don't."I still wanted Henry behind bars.But he'd paid Albert in cash—no proof left.And I've never been the type to just take a hit.So I stormed straight to Henry's house.Right in front of his parents, I tore the mask off."Mr. Rummell, your mistress and her daughter? Henry already wrecked them. And that scholarship girl living with you—who even knows if the baby's yours or yo
My legs buckled. I grabbed the wall before I hit the floor.After everything Noah had pushed through, his trash dad was really gonna wreck it all?Hadn't he suffered enough?I was still shaking when his messages popped up:[This is a scheduled message. If I don't make it to the test, don't worry. I've already been admitted to Harven. I just wanted the SAT for a shot at the state's top scorer award—heard there's a cash prize.][Andrea, good luck on your exam. You've got this.]Harven University. World-class. The real deal.The way he worded it, he'd been ready for Albert's stunt from the start.And he hadn't even told me. Almost gave me a heart attack.I burst out laughing through the tears, wiped my face, and bolted into the test center.Reading and Writing was my jam, and this year's section felt like a breeze.The second it ended, I went straight for Noah.After twisting through alleys and backstreets, I finally landed at this run-down housing block on the edge of town. T
In both lives, I'd never seen him like that.My eye twitched. My stomach dropped. I forced a smile, ready to explain.But he just said, "Sorry to interrupt," and turned away.Henry smirked. "At least he knows his place. Andrea, now that no one's bothering us—"He leaned in again.Smack!I slapped him so hard my palm stung, wishing I could take his teeth with it.I'd worked so hard to fix things with Noah, and Henry trashed it all.His face twisted. "Andrea Ambrose, playing hard to get only works to a point. Push it too far and it gets old."Smug, arrogant—how had I ever fallen for this jerk?"Hard to get, my ass. Kissing you's nastier than eating garbage. Get lost."I didn't waste another second on him. I went after Noah.But he was dodging me.In lineup, he stood way off.In volleyball, he'd rather sit out—same old Noah—than team with me.After class, he ducked into the guys' restroom. No chance following him there.By the final bell, I had no choice but to corner him
Noah's eyes were ice. Words weren't gonna melt that.And honestly? I couldn't blame him.I never picked on him, but Henry and his crew sure did. I just stood there, watching. In his book, that made me the same as them.You can't undo that overnight. I'd have to earn it, slow and steady.I talked Dad into secretly covering Noah's tuition and living costs—no more scraping by on bottle money.He used to skip lunch, just chewing on bread. I hated it, so I had the maid pack an extra meal every day.He wouldn't touch it. Said he didn't want to owe me.I dropped it.This time around, I wasn't just set on saving him. I had to level up too. That was the only way to keep my family's company alive—and protect my parents.I bugged Noah nonstop with questions I couldn't figure out. At first, he shut me out, then finally tossed his notes at me like, 'figure it out yourself.'So I did.When he realized I wasn't joking, he started thawing a little. Then one day he got jumped after school, a
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